Google: Top 5 Product Flops
Google celebrates 25 years since its inception developing products such as Google Search, YouTube, Google Maps, Gmail, and Google Docs that have changed the way we navigate the internet and the world. Over the years, Google has pushed the boundaries developing new products, with some gaining success more than others. Here are the top 5 product flops.
Google Video
As YouTube was gaining traction Google launched its platform called Google Video on 25th January 2005. Google Video was a large archive of freely searchable videos. The platform targeted amateur and commercial professional media such as televised content and movies. Google Video was available for Windows, Mac OS X and Linux.
On 9th October 2006, Google bought its competitor YouTube and announced that videos hosted on Google Video would be unavailable for public viewing on 29 April 2011. Google started migrating videos saved in Google Videos to YouTube and set them as private. Google shut down Google Video on 20th August 2012.
Google Answers
Launched in April 2002, Google Answers acted as an extension rather than a conventional search. Users would pay a non-Google researcher to provide the answer and Google would get a cut of the fee. To become a researcher, they would have to complete an application process testing their research and communication abilities. Researchers with low ratings could be fired to encourage detailed and accurate answers. The existence of services such as Yahoo! Answers and Quora that provide valid and sufficient answers for free makes it difficult for users to pay for an answer. Since December 2006, the service is no longer accepting questions however has archived all the answers.
Google Glass
In 2012 Google announced its augmented reality smart glasses. With a prototype selling for a limited period for $1,500 on 15th April 2015. The glasses became available to the public on 15th May 2014 with many criticising the price making it inaccessible to a larger demographic of people. The glasses integrated a 5-megapixel still and 720p video camera received criticism amid concerns that its use could violate privacy laws. Google Glasses has several applications in fields such as medicine to consult other doctors while performing a surgical procedure. With several privacy and safety concerns highlighted by several groups; Google has stopped production of Google Glass with support until 15th September 2023.
Google Daydream
Virtual reality was kicking off in 2016 with many manufacturers entering the virtual reality market with their headsets. Google looked to enter the virtual reality market with Google Daydream which a smartphone is inserted into the headset. The headset was compatible with smartphones running Android 7.1 or later. The Daydream also supported external controllers. Daydream was not widely adopted by consumers or developers and in October 2019, Google announced the discontinuation of the Daydream heading and would no longer certify new devices for Daydream. Competitors such as Meta Quest and Oculus provide high-quality immersive experiences that contributed to its downfall.
Google+
With the popularity of social networks such as Facebook and Twitter growing, Google looked to join the party with their social network called Google+. Launched on 28th June 2011, Google hoped that linking other Google services such as Google Drive, Blogger and YouTube would garner a complete social experience. During its life, Google+ has seen three Google executives oversee its service changing the direction of its development. Due to low user engagement and difficulties in developing and maintaining the platform. Google also cited that 90% of user sessions on the service lasted less than five seconds.
Google discovered a flaw in an API that exposed private user data but found no evidence the API was misused. Following a Google+API update, it exposed customer data for six days before being discovered and no evidence of any breach was found. It also allowed outside developers access to personal information of users affecting 52.5 million users. Following these incidents, Google shut the service in April 2019 and shut its Google+API immediately.
