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Don't know if Google really gets social. You really need an addictive core product that people are dying to spend hours and hours on. Can Google really make a

Don't know if Google really gets social. You really need an addictive core product that people are dying to spend hours and hours on. Can Google really make a social networking product that goes viral with teens and college students (and then others)? I wouldn't bet on Google developing a social hit internally. I think their best bet might be acquisition of something that's already taking off, like FourSquare of Instagram. They can then iterate from there and try to take on Facebook from another angle. Maybe I'm just still disappointed from Google Buzz.

wtn 16y ago
It's amazing that they can't succeed despite their foothold. Everyone in my age group whom I know uses Gmail and uses chat on the Google Talk network. Almost no one uses Google Reader or Google Buzz.
- Legion 16y ago
  No one uses Google Reader? Is that in general, or among people who understand and use RSS?
  - georgieporgie 16y ago
    Among my friends who work at Google and are avid consumers of RSS feeds, all hate Google Reader. In fact, I heard murmurs about how incompetent the Reader team is/was and how it's not up to snuff compared to other products. I use it, but I hate it. I'm just too lazy to find something better and port my feeds over.
    - rkudeshi 16y ago
      Really? I've been using RSS feeds for years over multiple apps/platforms and Google Reader has been, by far, the best.
    - localhost3000 16y ago
      Google reader gives me exactly what I want in an rss reader. I can't imagine switching... Like all things, you can't please everyone.
    - nostrademons 16y ago
      Huh? My friends at Google tend to love reader and think of the Reader team as one of the better ones at Google. I don't personally use it, but my impression is that it's generally a much beloved product internally.
    - true_religion 16y ago
      Out of curiosity, what's wrong with Google Reader?
      - GiraffeNecktie 16y ago
        My big problem with Google Reader is that I still can't use my Google Apps account with it on my Android device. WTF? This is a Google product on a Google phone accessing a Google service using a Google-based account and Google still can't make it happen?
movingahead 16y ago
Interesting that you say that because Google did buy Dodgeball, but then didn't support it. Dodgeball founder Dennis Crowley left Google with a lot of bad feelings and went on to start Foursquare. http://www.flickr.com/photos/dpstyles/460987802/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/dpstyles/460987802/
brownegg 16y ago
Why is it necessary that the product demand "hours and hours"? I don't have a Facebook account because I simply see no need to be bombarded with invitations, connections, "friends", etc. I specifically WANT something people just use to stay connected in a way they find palatable. Almost by definition anything that people obsess over will never have me as a member. I can't be the only one.
- nkassis 16y ago
  I have a Facebook account but I barely check it, I just can't get addicted to it. I find the experience annoying, the site is a total mess, looking for your friends list takes major efforts for example. Why does it ask me to login to a bunch of site to import friends instead of showing me my list of friends? The messaging system is terrible. Why can't they work at turning that into a more gmail type of experience. My feed is filled with crap I don't care about, I can't create groups of friends like "programmers" to whom I can share cool programming related links... The list goes on but the site just doesn't work for me. After a couple minute I'm so annoyed I don't want to log back in. I'm not the only one, everyone I speak to seems to have the same issues as me but they still find use in the site and revisit it daily.
  - mhb 16y ago
    I find the experience annoying, the site is a total mess, looking for your friends list takes major efforts for example. Yeah. It's ridiculous that there isn't an obvious link for your friends list when you log in. My daughter enlightened me to the unintuitive sequence of clicking Profile and then Friends.
    - localhost3000 16y ago
      they earn money on impressions, don't they?

wtn 16y ago

It's amazing that they can't succeed despite their foothold. Everyone in my age group whom I know uses Gmail and uses chat on the Google Talk network. Almost no one uses Google Reader or Google Buzz.

Legion 16y ago
No one uses Google Reader? Is that in general, or among people who understand and use RSS?
- georgieporgie 16y ago
  Among my friends who work at Google and are avid consumers of RSS feeds, all hate Google Reader. In fact, I heard murmurs about how incompetent the Reader team is/was and how it's not up to snuff compared to other products. I use it, but I hate it. I'm just too lazy to find something better and port my feeds over.
  - rkudeshi 16y ago
    Really? I've been using RSS feeds for years over multiple apps/platforms and Google Reader has been, by far, the best.
  - localhost3000 16y ago
    Google reader gives me exactly what I want in an rss reader. I can't imagine switching... Like all things, you can't please everyone.
  - nostrademons 16y ago
    Huh? My friends at Google tend to love reader and think of the Reader team as one of the better ones at Google. I don't personally use it, but my impression is that it's generally a much beloved product internally.
  - true_religion 16y ago
    Out of curiosity, what's wrong with Google Reader?
    - GiraffeNecktie 16y ago
      My big problem with Google Reader is that I still can't use my Google Apps account with it on my Android device. WTF? This is a Google product on a Google phone accessing a Google service using a Google-based account and Google still can't make it happen?

movingahead 16y ago

Interesting that you say that because Google did buy Dodgeball, but then didn't support it. Dodgeball founder Dennis Crowley left Google with a lot of bad feelings and went on to start Foursquare. http://www.flickr.com/photos/dpstyles/460987802/ http://www.flickr.com/photos/dpstyles/460987802/

brownegg 16y ago

Why is it necessary that the product demand "hours and hours"? I don't have a Facebook account because I simply see no need to be bombarded with invitations, connections, "friends", etc. I specifically WANT something people just use to stay connected in a way they find palatable. Almost by definition anything that people obsess over will never have me as a member. I can't be the only one.

nkassis 16y ago
I have a Facebook account but I barely check it, I just can't get addicted to it. I find the experience annoying, the site is a total mess, looking for your friends list takes major efforts for example. Why does it ask me to login to a bunch of site to import friends instead of showing me my list of friends? The messaging system is terrible. Why can't they work at turning that into a more gmail type of experience. My feed is filled with crap I don't care about, I can't create groups of friends like "programmers" to whom I can share cool programming related links... The list goes on but the site just doesn't work for me. After a couple minute I'm so annoyed I don't want to log back in. I'm not the only one, everyone I speak to seems to have the same issues as me but they still find use in the site and revisit it daily.
- mhb 16y ago
  I find the experience annoying, the site is a total mess, looking for your friends list takes major efforts for example. Yeah. It's ridiculous that there isn't an obvious link for your friends list when you log in. My daughter enlightened me to the unintuitive sequence of clicking Profile and then Friends.
  - localhost3000 16y ago
    they earn money on impressions, don't they?