6 ms·

Sorry Google. You've lost my enthusiasm. Why would I invest the time into learning how this works, trying to become part of the community etc when I can be pre

by user24 13y ago

Sorry Google. You've lost my enthusiasm. Why would I invest the time into learning how this works, trying to become part of the community etc when I can be pretty sure that they're just going to shut it down in a few years time?

kolya3 13y ago
You and I are both in the HN bubble. We expect Google to kill products and Google doesn't expect us to "become part of the community." We are not the market. However, the general consumer, the one this is aimed at, loves Google. Their experience is with the search box and maybe Gmail both of which serve consumer needs perfectly. Consumers don't remember or know Reader and every other app Google killed so their reaction to this product will be different.
- mattmanser 13y ago
  New tech like this needs early adopters, which is us.
  - user24 13y ago
    and we are the people that non-techies ask about which services to use.
  - kolya3 13y ago
    I think you are right when it comes to a product like Google docs - it's complicated enough that a consumer would look to the early adopters. However, this Helpouts product is simple enough for a consumer to understand that they dont need to ask their technically minded friends whether they should use it. All Google has to do to bring the users in is include a link to it on the search results page. "Were you looking advice on yoga? Click here to talk to a real person."
  - MarcScott 13y ago
    If Google is sensible then it'll exclude "us" from being early adopters. In the early days of Google+ trying to find anyone on the newly formed social network that wasn't part of the tech community was impossible. If we become the early adopters then all this will be good for is advice for setting up a VPS and debugging javascript. I doubt they're trying to create the world's largest IT support system.
    - DaveWalk 13y ago
      Spot on analogy with Google+. Wasn't it true for Wave as well? The top comment is comparing the service to a friendlier Stack Exchange / IRC...yours is a good counter argument.
  - dannyr 13y ago
    Tell that to Pinterest. Pinterest took off without "us". Not all new tech needs to go through "us" to be successful.
- snom380 13y ago
  Consumers often talk to early adopters, and they are less likely to try out and invest time in new products when those early adopters are lukewarm. Don't forget that a Google has killed off a lot more than Reader. Some have been integrated into Google+, but not always and not always well.
aspensmonster 13y ago
>Why would I invest the time into learning how this works, trying to become part of the community etc when I can... ...just start my own consultancy and cut out the middleman completely?
BitMastro 13y ago
Remembering the analysis on what google shuts down and what it doesn't: if it's social and linked to google+, the chances are very low. IF it starts (and that's a big if), it allows to get revenue (as a percentage of the fee for the helpout) from a platform that will not be shut down (google+) and so it will not likely be shut down as well.
- anon1385 13y ago
  Being 'social' isn't a great indicator: Wave was social, Buzz was social, Jaiku was social, Friend Connect was social, Reader was social till 2011… Also, I assume that just about any new products they create will be tied into G+ if at all possible, so it remains to be seen if that will be a good indicator or not. If being tied to G+ means things don't close then that means they won't be shutting many things at all in the future. I'm sceptical.
  - BitMastro 13y ago
    None of them was using google+, though. Google+ is not going away (it's a big source for ranking and more) and this project leverages (I suppose) most of the existing infrastructure.
    - fhd2 13y ago
      anon1385's point was that it's very likely that all new Google projects will be tied to Google+, so either it's not a good indicator for what's going to be shut down, or they won't shut anything down anymore.
DominikR 13y ago
It's interesting that so many here are furious about Google pivoting or shutting down some parts of its business considering that this forum is about technology and startups/business. When did it become wrong to test a product, and shut it down if it fails? Why is it evil when Google does that, but okay when a startup does the exact same thing?
- galactus 13y ago
  When a startup closes a service, I'm pretty sure most people in HN will be equally cautious about investing their time in any new product the same startup might launch.
  - DominikR 13y ago
    Oh okay, I thought the general spirit here was that people share their experiences (and failures) and thereby provide information on how to improve at the next attempt. What you are basically saying is that if someone fails, we should avoid them in the future. That's not very encouraging for anyone trying to build a business (or anything else).
    - galactus 13y ago
      I'm not saying "we should" punish any company that kills a product, I'm saying that a track of killing products for strategic reasons is one of the factors any rational consumer usually considers before spending time in a new product.
  - VikingCoder 13y ago
    "Investing their time." I'm sorry, but this is an awful excuse. We're the type of people who master new technologies quickly. There's essentially $0 cost, and a ton of benefit, to new products becoming available. That's why they're exciting. If the same startup starts another useful product, I'll check it out. I think people with your attitude are saying they'll cut off their nose to spite their face... but they actually won't. They'll use useful products, no matter the track record of the company, if the tradeoffs are close to right.
NicoJuicy 13y ago
Why would they kill helpouts. Helpouts is build upon hangouts and hangouts is here to stay. Being helped with G+ is a good motivator for keeping the product (if it becomes popular). If no one uses it, they will kill it for sure.
marcioaguiar 13y ago
1. You cannot be sure they're going to shut this down soon. 2. What did you lose when google closed reader? It gave you plenty of time and options to go to another service. 3. Products have a limited lifetime, deal with it. And not only on the internet. 4. If you think it's an interesting concept you should join it
VikingCoder 13y ago
Be the change you want to see in the world. Do you think Helpouts should exist, yes or no? If Helpouts become very popular with for instance the tech crowd, and if Google kills Helpouts, you'll see other companies rush to fill the void.
RougeFemme 13y ago
I don't mean to sound Pollyanna-ish, but even it shuts down in a few years, where's the real downside? You will have (possibly) had an income stream during that time (and for those big names that might give the money to charity,the charity will have benefitted). You may have developed a following/community that might follow you elsewhere. You may have picked up some intangible skill(s) that you might not recognize at the time. And you get none of that, what will you have really lost?
- com2kid 13y ago
  For some? If they invest heavily enough in this, possibly a career.
niuzeta 13y ago
Agreed. I'm still hurt with the killing of Google Reader and the Wave(Pfft).
loceng 13y ago
It took about 5 seconds from clicking the link, to read a sentence on the page, to understand how it works...

by user24 13y ago

kolya3 13y ago

You and I are both in the HN bubble. We expect Google to kill products and Google doesn't expect us to "become part of the community." We are not the market. However, the general consumer, the one this is aimed at, loves Google. Their experience is with the search box and maybe Gmail both of which serve consumer needs perfectly. Consumers don't remember or know Reader and every other app Google killed so their reaction to this product will be different.

mattmanser 13y ago
New tech like this needs early adopters, which is us.
- user24 13y ago
  and we are the people that non-techies ask about which services to use.
- kolya3 13y ago
  I think you are right when it comes to a product like Google docs - it's complicated enough that a consumer would look to the early adopters. However, this Helpouts product is simple enough for a consumer to understand that they dont need to ask their technically minded friends whether they should use it. All Google has to do to bring the users in is include a link to it on the search results page. "Were you looking advice on yoga? Click here to talk to a real person."
- MarcScott 13y ago
  If Google is sensible then it'll exclude "us" from being early adopters. In the early days of Google+ trying to find anyone on the newly formed social network that wasn't part of the tech community was impossible. If we become the early adopters then all this will be good for is advice for setting up a VPS and debugging javascript. I doubt they're trying to create the world's largest IT support system.
  - DaveWalk 13y ago
    Spot on analogy with Google+. Wasn't it true for Wave as well? The top comment is comparing the service to a friendlier Stack Exchange / IRC...yours is a good counter argument.
- dannyr 13y ago
  Tell that to Pinterest. Pinterest took off without "us". Not all new tech needs to go through "us" to be successful.
snom380 13y ago
Consumers often talk to early adopters, and they are less likely to try out and invest time in new products when those early adopters are lukewarm. Don't forget that a Google has killed off a lot more than Reader. Some have been integrated into Google+, but not always and not always well.

aspensmonster 13y ago

>Why would I invest the time into learning how this works, trying to become part of the community etc when I can... ...just start my own consultancy and cut out the middleman completely?

BitMastro 13y ago

Remembering the analysis on what google shuts down and what it doesn't: if it's social and linked to google+, the chances are very low. IF it starts (and that's a big if), it allows to get revenue (as a percentage of the fee for the helpout) from a platform that will not be shut down (google+) and so it will not likely be shut down as well.

anon1385 13y ago
Being 'social' isn't a great indicator: Wave was social, Buzz was social, Jaiku was social, Friend Connect was social, Reader was social till 2011… Also, I assume that just about any new products they create will be tied into G+ if at all possible, so it remains to be seen if that will be a good indicator or not. If being tied to G+ means things don't close then that means they won't be shutting many things at all in the future. I'm sceptical.
- BitMastro 13y ago
  None of them was using google+, though. Google+ is not going away (it's a big source for ranking and more) and this project leverages (I suppose) most of the existing infrastructure.
  - fhd2 13y ago
    anon1385's point was that it's very likely that all new Google projects will be tied to Google+, so either it's not a good indicator for what's going to be shut down, or they won't shut anything down anymore.

DominikR 13y ago

It's interesting that so many here are furious about Google pivoting or shutting down some parts of its business considering that this forum is about technology and startups/business. When did it become wrong to test a product, and shut it down if it fails? Why is it evil when Google does that, but okay when a startup does the exact same thing?

galactus 13y ago
When a startup closes a service, I'm pretty sure most people in HN will be equally cautious about investing their time in any new product the same startup might launch.
- DominikR 13y ago
  Oh okay, I thought the general spirit here was that people share their experiences (and failures) and thereby provide information on how to improve at the next attempt. What you are basically saying is that if someone fails, we should avoid them in the future. That's not very encouraging for anyone trying to build a business (or anything else).
  - galactus 13y ago
    I'm not saying "we should" punish any company that kills a product, I'm saying that a track of killing products for strategic reasons is one of the factors any rational consumer usually considers before spending time in a new product.
- VikingCoder 13y ago
  "Investing their time." I'm sorry, but this is an awful excuse. We're the type of people who master new technologies quickly. There's essentially $0 cost, and a ton of benefit, to new products becoming available. That's why they're exciting. If the same startup starts another useful product, I'll check it out. I think people with your attitude are saying they'll cut off their nose to spite their face... but they actually won't. They'll use useful products, no matter the track record of the company, if the tradeoffs are close to right.

NicoJuicy 13y ago

Why would they kill helpouts. Helpouts is build upon hangouts and hangouts is here to stay. Being helped with G+ is a good motivator for keeping the product (if it becomes popular). If no one uses it, they will kill it for sure.

marcioaguiar 13y ago

1. You cannot be sure they're going to shut this down soon. 2. What did you lose when google closed reader? It gave you plenty of time and options to go to another service. 3. Products have a limited lifetime, deal with it. And not only on the internet. 4. If you think it's an interesting concept you should join it

VikingCoder 13y ago

Be the change you want to see in the world. Do you think Helpouts should exist, yes or no? If Helpouts become very popular with for instance the tech crowd, and if Google kills Helpouts, you'll see other companies rush to fill the void.

RougeFemme 13y ago

I don't mean to sound Pollyanna-ish, but even it shuts down in a few years, where's the real downside? You will have (possibly) had an income stream during that time (and for those big names that might give the money to charity,the charity will have benefitted). You may have developed a following/community that might follow you elsewhere. You may have picked up some intangible skill(s) that you might not recognize at the time. And you get none of that, what will you have really lost?

com2kid 13y ago
For some? If they invest heavily enough in this, possibly a career.

niuzeta 13y ago

Agreed. I'm still hurt with the killing of Google Reader and the Wave(Pfft).

loceng 13y ago

It took about 5 seconds from clicking the link, to read a sentence on the page, to understand how it works...