4 ms·

Google's Flipboard Competitor: Propeller

18 points by schlichtm 15y ago

chugger 15y ago
At the time, sources said, Google told Flipboard execs that if it did not buy the start-up, it planned to do a version of its own. This kind of 90's era Microsoft-style predatory tactics from Google is hurting innovation in the Valley more than patents. Small companies with innovative products are at the mercy of Google. No wonder Apple, MS, Oracle, etc. are suing Google for patent infringement. Can you blame them?
- yanw 15y ago
  It's always buy v build, the rest of your comment doesn't make sense.
  - chugger 15y ago
    Google is a copy cat. Yelp, Groupon, Facebook, Twitter, Skyhook, Flipboard. See any pattern? Does it make sense now?
    - nextparadigms 15y ago
      Skyhook??
    - yanw 15y ago
      Coupons, reviews, social networks and aggregation are hardly novel ideas. They've existed long before computation, and even were implemented in software before those you mention.
      - willifred 15y ago
        While you make a valid point, I also think the parent post might have been also making a different one. It's not so much whether these markets existed prior, but that Google is entering these markets with vastly more resources and (often) with an intent to commoditize the market by giving the product away or undercutting everyone else by a significant margin, so that they can grow their own data-driven advertising business--effectively turning each market they enter into just another 'moat' around their core product. While I wouldn't deny their right to do so, I also wouldn't deny that it often casts them as a bully.
        chii 15y ago
        "I also wouldn't deny that it often casts them as a bully." nothing wrong with throwing their weight around, provided the peopel that matter (who, in my eyes, are the consumers) are treated right. I don't care if a few businesses suffer because of commoditization of their product.
        chugger 15y ago
        "nothing wrong with throwing their weight around" there's a term in business for that. I believe the word is "anti-competitive".
        John212 15y ago
        I agree that their search engine and ad platform could be classified as monopoly. However I disagree that their actions have been anti-competitive in any manner. They have a huge chunk of the search market but you can still use very good search engines like bing, yahoo, ask, aol or the awesome duckduckgo. Google is continually tweaking and improving the design, speed, results and features of their search engine in an effort to stay ahead of the competition. The reasons that people don't use the other engines are not because of google being "anti-competitive" but rather due to them offering a superior service.
    - kkowalczyk 15y ago
      Facebook is a copycat (Friendster, MySpace, Orkut etc.) Yelp is a copycat (CitySearch etc.). Groupon probably isn't the first deal site. If we didn't have VisiCalc and 1-2-3 and Excel, we wouldn't have Apple's Keynote. That's how this industry works: large enough markets attract multiple companies. Increased competition causes all players to step up their game and lower their prices. This benefits consumer i.e. you and me. This is exactly how things are supposed to work.
      - brfox 15y ago
        Innovation is the commercialization of a good idea. So, the ideas are easy to come by, but combining the good idea and the commercialization is what really makes something innovative.
  - technogeek00 15y ago
    That is definitely what it is about. And I don't think Google would consider buying or building something if they didn't believe they could bring a substantially different or greater view to the idea.
- nextparadigms 15y ago
  Really? They are at the mercy of Google because they are going to compete with them? They even told them a year ahead they are going to do it. You don't get that from other big companies.
  - joezydeco 15y ago
    Good point. Microsoft would just make a product announcement and wait for the competition's sales to dry up.
- angryasian 15y ago
  absolutely doesn't make sense, theres probably more stories of failure of big companies trying to copy another companies product than there are success stories. Thats why big companies purchase startups that are innovative and market leaders because its copying just doesn't work. Otherwise I'll wait to hold judgement till I see their product. As someone who's not a big flipboard fan, I look forward to a competing product.
Adaptive 15y ago
I'd be more in Flipboard's corner on this if they had an Android app.
suking 15y ago
Google is going to make a ton of enemies (probably too late) if they keep going after every god damn idea. Damn - make your results better.
- rjd 15y ago
  I've had a few friends and myself go through this. What generally happens is Google flounders and fails. They are extraordinarily bad at launching products and even worse at building momentum. Kind of like Microsoft really... I guess its something to do with getting to big, to much bureaucracy. Its more or less a validation of your product, and probably won't hurt your product if its already got momentum. Hell even gmail hasn't even toppled Yahoo or hotmail and most would agree its Googles second strongest product. If you don't have momentum however you're screwed. People won't take you seriously and if you need backing or help its going to damage you. This happened to me last year, I have a fully completed product ready to go live, I just hung back and waited for Google to nose dive. I think I'll launch in a few months as I have another project I want to finish first. If they get a foot hold as they did with maps, you're stuffed. I had a group of friends running mapping companies similar to google maps, but years before hand. One company doesn't exist any more, another moved into a support structure and has managed to survive.. but its not really what the people wanted to do... its what they had to become to survive. The thing about Google is you have no chance of competing as they release products below production costs by shifting money around. You can't compete. but like I said Google is full of fail ... launching around 1000 products a year... seems every 2-3 years they have one that actually works...
cfinke 15y ago
A social news app called Propeller? It'll never work. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propeller.com http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propeller.com)
EwanG 15y ago
AOL used to have a news site called Propeller. AM I the only one who finds it confusing that Google doesn't know/care?
eekfuh 15y ago
Looks like I need to release my flipboard-esque competitor soon. http://yfrog.com/h440970584p http://yfrog.com/h440970584p http://yfrog.com/mg3ahp http://yfrog.com/mg3ahp

18 points by schlichtm 15y ago

At the time, sources said, Google told Flipboard execs that if it did not buy the start-up, it planned to do a version of its own. This kind of 90's era Microsoft-style predatory tactics from Google is hurting innovation in the Valley more than patents. Small companies with innovative products are at the mercy of Google. No wonder Apple, MS, Oracle, etc. are suing Google for patent infringement. Can you blame them?

yanw 15y ago
It's always buy v build, the rest of your comment doesn't make sense.
- chugger 15y ago
  Google is a copy cat. Yelp, Groupon, Facebook, Twitter, Skyhook, Flipboard. See any pattern? Does it make sense now?
  - nextparadigms 15y ago
    Skyhook??
  - yanw 15y ago
    Coupons, reviews, social networks and aggregation are hardly novel ideas. They've existed long before computation, and even were implemented in software before those you mention.
    - willifred 15y ago
      While you make a valid point, I also think the parent post might have been also making a different one. It's not so much whether these markets existed prior, but that Google is entering these markets with vastly more resources and (often) with an intent to commoditize the market by giving the product away or undercutting everyone else by a significant margin, so that they can grow their own data-driven advertising business--effectively turning each market they enter into just another 'moat' around their core product. While I wouldn't deny their right to do so, I also wouldn't deny that it often casts them as a bully.
      - chii 15y ago
        "I also wouldn't deny that it often casts them as a bully." nothing wrong with throwing their weight around, provided the peopel that matter (who, in my eyes, are the consumers) are treated right. I don't care if a few businesses suffer because of commoditization of their product.
        chugger 15y ago
        "nothing wrong with throwing their weight around" there's a term in business for that. I believe the word is "anti-competitive".
        John212 15y ago
        I agree that their search engine and ad platform could be classified as monopoly. However I disagree that their actions have been anti-competitive in any manner. They have a huge chunk of the search market but you can still use very good search engines like bing, yahoo, ask, aol or the awesome duckduckgo. Google is continually tweaking and improving the design, speed, results and features of their search engine in an effort to stay ahead of the competition. The reasons that people don't use the other engines are not because of google being "anti-competitive" but rather due to them offering a superior service.
  - kkowalczyk 15y ago
    Facebook is a copycat (Friendster, MySpace, Orkut etc.) Yelp is a copycat (CitySearch etc.). Groupon probably isn't the first deal site. If we didn't have VisiCalc and 1-2-3 and Excel, we wouldn't have Apple's Keynote. That's how this industry works: large enough markets attract multiple companies. Increased competition causes all players to step up their game and lower their prices. This benefits consumer i.e. you and me. This is exactly how things are supposed to work.
    - brfox 15y ago
      Innovation is the commercialization of a good idea. So, the ideas are easy to come by, but combining the good idea and the commercialization is what really makes something innovative.
- technogeek00 15y ago
  That is definitely what it is about. And I don't think Google would consider buying or building something if they didn't believe they could bring a substantially different or greater view to the idea.
nextparadigms 15y ago
Really? They are at the mercy of Google because they are going to compete with them? They even told them a year ahead they are going to do it. You don't get that from other big companies.
- joezydeco 15y ago
  Good point. Microsoft would just make a product announcement and wait for the competition's sales to dry up.
angryasian 15y ago
absolutely doesn't make sense, theres probably more stories of failure of big companies trying to copy another companies product than there are success stories. Thats why big companies purchase startups that are innovative and market leaders because its copying just doesn't work. Otherwise I'll wait to hold judgement till I see their product. As someone who's not a big flipboard fan, I look forward to a competing product.

Adaptive 15y ago

I'd be more in Flipboard's corner on this if they had an Android app.

suking 15y ago

Google is going to make a ton of enemies (probably too late) if they keep going after every god damn idea. Damn - make your results better.

rjd 15y ago
I've had a few friends and myself go through this. What generally happens is Google flounders and fails. They are extraordinarily bad at launching products and even worse at building momentum. Kind of like Microsoft really... I guess its something to do with getting to big, to much bureaucracy. Its more or less a validation of your product, and probably won't hurt your product if its already got momentum. Hell even gmail hasn't even toppled Yahoo or hotmail and most would agree its Googles second strongest product. If you don't have momentum however you're screwed. People won't take you seriously and if you need backing or help its going to damage you. This happened to me last year, I have a fully completed product ready to go live, I just hung back and waited for Google to nose dive. I think I'll launch in a few months as I have another project I want to finish first. If they get a foot hold as they did with maps, you're stuffed. I had a group of friends running mapping companies similar to google maps, but years before hand. One company doesn't exist any more, another moved into a support structure and has managed to survive.. but its not really what the people wanted to do... its what they had to become to survive. The thing about Google is you have no chance of competing as they release products below production costs by shifting money around. You can't compete. but like I said Google is full of fail ... launching around 1000 products a year... seems every 2-3 years they have one that actually works...

cfinke 15y ago

A social news app called Propeller? It'll never work. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propeller.com http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Propeller.com)

EwanG 15y ago

AOL used to have a news site called Propeller. AM I the only one who finds it confusing that Google doesn't know/care?

eekfuh 15y ago

Looks like I need to release my flipboard-esque competitor soon. http://yfrog.com/h440970584p http://yfrog.com/h440970584p http://yfrog.com/mg3ahp http://yfrog.com/mg3ahp