Google's strength has long been tackling the difficult, hairy, algorithmic tasks of data processing, ranking and retrieval. They rose to absurd prominence by co

Google's strength has long been tackling the difficult, hairy, algorithmic tasks of data processing, ranking and retrieval. They rose to absurd prominence by coupling a smart approach to search with a virtuous mechanism for targeting ads. Users won – they found what they were looking for. Advertisers won – they found customers they needed without wasting money. Google won – they became essential for everyone. Google's strength is emphatically, absolutely not anywhere related to user experience or design. Their early product succeeded because the under-the-hood functionality was superb and they didn't have any taste to design anything beyond the absolute simplest interface that would work. Simplicity and efficacy beat mediocre, complex competition. When you look at the Google of today, there's zero focus and a pile of products where UX is essential to success. They compete with people who can deliver outstanding user experience and reliable results. Can Google evolve to the point where UX is a strength instead of a liability? Can they succeed with such a scattered approach against focused competition? Maybe. I give them even chances – they have more money than god. But if their boredom with their original, solely-profitable core product continues to manifest itself in the sloppiness and neglect we see today, I fear they aren't long for this world.