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Every time there's a post about a Google service being shut down, there are the usual remarks. I'm not saying they aren't deserved, but I'm curious if there's a

Every time there's a post about a Google service being shut down, there are the usual remarks. I'm not saying they aren't deserved, but I'm curious if there's an alternate perspective here? Perhaps sunsetting these services ultimately leads to a more trim and lean Google, and better profit margins? Put another way, is it just the HN circle that is so put off by this?

pwinnski 7y ago
The two positions don't seem to be in any conflict: I'm sure it is good for Google to shut these services down. I'm sure it does result in a leaner and more profitable company. The end result is still that Google cannot be trusted to keep any service running that isn't extremely profitable, and people who come to depend on these less-profitable services still end up orphaned.
- jtbayly 7y ago
  It's good short term anyway. Whether it bites them in the end is basically a question of whether they make their brand untrustworthy. They seem to be doing so.
- lumost 7y ago
  Google has largely failed to diversify. In contrast with Amazon, or Microsoft they only have two closely coupled revenue lines ( search and ads ). Overall this makes them vulnerable to a shift in the marketplace such as increased demand for privacy.
  - xyzzyz 7y ago
    > only have two closely coupled revenue lines ( search and ads ) There is (practically) no "search" revenue that is not "ads" revenue. Ads is close to 90% of all Google's revenue. The remainder is not broken down in the earnings report, although I suspect it's largely their cloud computing business. Thus, Google's two revenue lines are really ads and cloud, with the latter much smaller than the former, and probably with a lower margin too.
  - enos_feedler 7y ago
    Privacy and ads can co-exist
    - stephenr 7y ago
      In the way google does it? They're apparently not interested in offering an ad service that just shows ads related to the topic of the site/article (or that have identified the types/topics of sites/articles they wish the ad to appear on), the way that e.g. magazine ads would be "targeted".
- bigiain 7y ago
  This is the big difference for me. I can much more likely rely on a 10 person startup who're turning over, say 50mil and clearing a few mil a year of profit after all expenses. That's a stable reliable business. At Google, that's defined as "failure" and designed straight to the Google Graveyard. Even a 1 person startup making a few hundred thou per year is a better bet for me - I'd sooner have Pinboard as a critical dependancy for my business than any shiny new Google toy like, say, Flutter...
  - stu432 7y ago
    A ten person startup, turning over 50 million, with a few million of profit??? Where do I sign up?
- vallismortis 7y ago
  Two great examples are the goo.gl URL shortener and the custom site search widget. These two services actively break parts of the internet when they stop working.
rtpg 7y ago
Well one thing is that here there's a full 12 months of sunsetting going on, compared to a lot of "we're killing the product and you have a month to export your data" A year is a pretty long time! I am curious about usage numbers on some of these though.... like if these products were actually really successful I don't think Google would actually kill them.
gdulli 7y ago
If you're an end user, the only relevant perspective is noticing that the company is unreliable. That they're maximizing their own interests is something you can take for granted, but it's of little comfort or interest.
stephenr 7y ago
Right, because when Johnny B. Small business owner realises the google service he relies on for <Insert almost any task you can imagine> is cancelled, he's not thinking "oh great now i have to find/learn/migrate data using a new service", he's thinking "Oh well at least google's bottom line will look a little better".

pwinnski 7y ago

The two positions don't seem to be in any conflict: I'm sure it is good for Google to shut these services down. I'm sure it does result in a leaner and more profitable company. The end result is still that Google cannot be trusted to keep any service running that isn't extremely profitable, and people who come to depend on these less-profitable services still end up orphaned.

jtbayly 7y ago
It's good short term anyway. Whether it bites them in the end is basically a question of whether they make their brand untrustworthy. They seem to be doing so.
lumost 7y ago
Google has largely failed to diversify. In contrast with Amazon, or Microsoft they only have two closely coupled revenue lines ( search and ads ). Overall this makes them vulnerable to a shift in the marketplace such as increased demand for privacy.
- xyzzyz 7y ago
  > only have two closely coupled revenue lines ( search and ads ) There is (practically) no "search" revenue that is not "ads" revenue. Ads is close to 90% of all Google's revenue. The remainder is not broken down in the earnings report, although I suspect it's largely their cloud computing business. Thus, Google's two revenue lines are really ads and cloud, with the latter much smaller than the former, and probably with a lower margin too.
- enos_feedler 7y ago
  Privacy and ads can co-exist
  - stephenr 7y ago
    In the way google does it? They're apparently not interested in offering an ad service that just shows ads related to the topic of the site/article (or that have identified the types/topics of sites/articles they wish the ad to appear on), the way that e.g. magazine ads would be "targeted".
bigiain 7y ago
This is the big difference for me. I can much more likely rely on a 10 person startup who're turning over, say 50mil and clearing a few mil a year of profit after all expenses. That's a stable reliable business. At Google, that's defined as "failure" and designed straight to the Google Graveyard. Even a 1 person startup making a few hundred thou per year is a better bet for me - I'd sooner have Pinboard as a critical dependancy for my business than any shiny new Google toy like, say, Flutter...
- stu432 7y ago
  A ten person startup, turning over 50 million, with a few million of profit??? Where do I sign up?
vallismortis 7y ago
Two great examples are the goo.gl URL shortener and the custom site search widget. These two services actively break parts of the internet when they stop working.

rtpg 7y ago

Well one thing is that here there's a full 12 months of sunsetting going on, compared to a lot of "we're killing the product and you have a month to export your data" A year is a pretty long time! I am curious about usage numbers on some of these though.... like if these products were actually really successful I don't think Google would actually kill them.

gdulli 7y ago

If you're an end user, the only relevant perspective is noticing that the company is unreliable. That they're maximizing their own interests is something you can take for granted, but it's of little comfort or interest.

stephenr 7y ago

Right, because when Johnny B. Small business owner realises the google service he relies on for <Insert almost any task you can imagine> is cancelled, he's not thinking "oh great now i have to find/learn/migrate data using a new service", he's thinking "Oh well at least google's bottom line will look a little better".