Dear Google,
Hope you are innovating well.
A few days ago, I checked your new launch Google Plus. It looks so much like facebook. The profile pic is at the same location, friend suggestions show up at the same location, wall looks similar, '+1' is just another name for 'like', comments work the same way, and most other things are similar. Okay, they say hangout is cool and may be a couple more features.
The reason I thought to write this is because all along I have respected you for how you have changed our lives and I am baffled if you don't understand some basics here. First of all, its okay if you lose the opportunity in one of the many areas. You don't have to win everywhere. Second, they teach in business school that when you can't win the game, change the game. Especially in games with strong network effects! With all your technology horsepower, what we expected from you is not a cheap imitation but a completely innovative alternative to the facebook style. How long do you think it will take facebook to imitate 'hangout' if it clicks with people!
Look at twitter. Is this kind of game changer too innovative for all your thinktank? And I expect 'no' for an answer here from you. That ability to innovate is certainly not a problem with you, it's something else you need to fix. May be direction but don't ask me, I am an outsider.
Some people tell me you gathered x million users the fastest. I wouldn't be surprised. You are so respected that people want to try when you come up with something new, anything new! But this kind of imitation puts you at the risk of losing this respect specially as a few more exciting facebook and twitter like alternatives come up. By the way, the right metric to measure popularity wouldn't be the number of users for you (for the reason I stated above), it would probably be the number of users who log on specifically to Google plus at least once a day for a period of x days, given the nature of social networking - an average user logs on to facebook multiple times a day.
Long story short, may be you should relate the cliche With great power, comes great responsibility to what you are doing here.
Best wishes
Hope you are innovating well.
A few days ago, I checked your new launch Google Plus. It looks so much like facebook. The profile pic is at the same location, friend suggestions show up at the same location, wall looks similar, '+1' is just another name for 'like', comments work the same way, and most other things are similar. Okay, they say hangout is cool and may be a couple more features.
The reason I thought to write this is because all along I have respected you for how you have changed our lives and I am baffled if you don't understand some basics here. First of all, its okay if you lose the opportunity in one of the many areas. You don't have to win everywhere. Second, they teach in business school that when you can't win the game, change the game. Especially in games with strong network effects! With all your technology horsepower, what we expected from you is not a cheap imitation but a completely innovative alternative to the facebook style. How long do you think it will take facebook to imitate 'hangout' if it clicks with people!
Look at twitter. Is this kind of game changer too innovative for all your thinktank? And I expect 'no' for an answer here from you. That ability to innovate is certainly not a problem with you, it's something else you need to fix. May be direction but don't ask me, I am an outsider.
Some people tell me you gathered x million users the fastest. I wouldn't be surprised. You are so respected that people want to try when you come up with something new, anything new! But this kind of imitation puts you at the risk of losing this respect specially as a few more exciting facebook and twitter like alternatives come up. By the way, the right metric to measure popularity wouldn't be the number of users for you (for the reason I stated above), it would probably be the number of users who log on specifically to Google plus at least once a day for a period of x days, given the nature of social networking - an average user logs on to facebook multiple times a day.
Long story short, may be you should relate the cliche With great power, comes great responsibility to what you are doing here.
Best wishes
