It's been going on much longer. Google's revenue was disrupted with Facebook. Then they scrambled to get Google+ out the door, which had absolutely no reason to

It's been going on much longer. Google's revenue was disrupted with Facebook. Then they scrambled to get Google+ out the door, which had absolutely no reason to exist beyond being a Google-branded clone of Facebook. They effectively lucked in to Android paying off. When the iPhone came out Android was not going to support touchscreens. It was designed for physical buttons only. That's the problem with Google. They don't have vision. They need someone else to show them the future which usually leaves them racing around trying to find their place in the new world. And then when they do put out a product it's always some half-assed thing that feels like a beta product of some already existing fully-finished product that is wildly popular. Sometimes it works out. Chrome was a joke when it came out. It took many years before Google Maps became a solid, distinct offering. But they want minimum viable products that ape already existing things and want them to be instant hits or they kill them off. It's the Netflix strategy.