Why, oh why did Google launch a new Instant Messaging service? That's like someone coming in right now and deciding that the world needs another social networking gig, or maybe a new browser or something. There is already too much of this. My poor Trillian can barely keep up with existing clients as it is, and I certainly don't need a fifth standalone IM client on my desktop.
There are all sorts of theories posited on why Google has perched itself precariously on the bleeding edge of 1997 technology. Are they going to buy or kill Skype? Are they playing catch-up to AOL and Yahoo in a never-ending effort to give customers exactly the same thing? Or do they really think they can googlize the design of an IM client to the point where it really IS better than everything else. That's a tough hill to climb. Ripping out features that customers use to simplify an interface does not always map to success.
It is a little frustrating to know that even in beta, Google probably already has tens of thousands of people trying to use it. Google has made such a game out of having the technorati (not in the blog-searching sense of the word) try to be the first on the block to discover its next moves and end-game, that it has a built-in launch strategy for practically any product it releases. How brilliant was it for Google to limit trials of its mail app to people with invites? People are reading Google patent applications, checking out Google public statements, and looking into Google job postings and new hires just to be the first (or 1001st) person to say they are predicting or (even better) using the latest Google thing. Total Geek Cred is yours for the taking.
I'm so jealous of this I could explode.
So few companies have this- people literally whipping themselves into a frenzy to get the newest stuff a company can produce (and in BETA, no less). Apple is one (despite Steve Jobs' efforts to alienate his evangelists). Skype is probably another. I wonder if Google is squandering its opportunity by releasing products that have all the novelty of Courtney Love being in rehab. Of course, so long as we see thing like Google Maps jump out every now and again, it will probably be enough to keep us all interested. But at some point, perhaps just after the release of Google Word Processor, or Google Desktop Wallpaper, will the earliest of adopters sit back and question why they care any more?
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