10 projects that Google should kill (images)

2 of 12
  • 468997.jpg

    We've decided to revisit Larry Dignan's controversial post on Google projects that ought to be killed. We've learned a lot from the talkbacks - most notably what's considered awful in one country may be very popular in other parts of the world.

    Changed your mind at all? Any new projects to add? Remember this is an opinion and we welcome your feedback.

    Google killed off Wave despite initial buzz that the experiment was going to change communication. The problem: Wave just didn’t garner much of a following.

    Props to Google for ditching efforts that fall flat. But since we’re housecleaning at Google, here are a few more projects that should be put out of their misery.

    Buzz: Annoying and just not quite right. Like Wave, it had some early juice and then just sort of fell flat.

    Screenshots: Google

    Caption by: Larry Dignan

  • 469009.jpg

    Orkut: AOL had Bebo. Google has Orkut. Perhaps, there’s a following here, but at the risk of sounding downright anti-social I’d nuke Orkut too. Orkut apparently does have many fans around the world.

    Caption by: Larry Dignan

  • 468998.jpg

    Friend Connect: Build a real social network or go home. Google is still trying.

    Caption by: Larry Dignan

  • 468999.jpg

    Google Desktop: Can be handy, but mostly it’s a resource hog.

    Caption by: Larry Dignan

  • 469000.jpg

    Google Base: You’d be surprised to hear that’s still around (and in beta of course).

    Caption by: Larry Dignan

  • 469001.jpg

    Google Checkout: Is Checkout a mere distraction? It’s a valid question considering there are other dominant payment forces out there like PayPal. Update: A few folks pointed out that Checkout is important to Google’s mobile ambitions. Knol got a write-in vote to replace Checkout on the kill list.

    Caption by: Larry Dignan

  • 469002.jpg

    Google Toolbar: Why? Toolbars suck—all of them.

    Caption by: Larry Dignan

  • 469003.jpg

    Google Latitude: A few folks seem to like it, but the product inflates the search giant’s creepiness factor.

    Caption by: Larry Dignan

  • 469004.jpg

    Google Pack: If we want a Google app we’ll download them individually.

    Caption by: Larry Dignan

  • 469010.jpg

    Photo Screensaver: This screensaver is part of Google Pack, but can be downright annoying.

    Caption by: Larry Dignan

  • 469005.jpg

    Picasa: One of our writers thought this should be included but got outvoted.

    Caption by: Larry Dignan

  • 469013.png

    Android: One reader had issues with the transparent android family.

    Caption by: Larry Dignan

2 of 12

Orkut: AOL had Bebo. Google has Orkut. Perhaps, there’s a following here, but at the risk of sounding downright anti-social I’d nuke Orkut too. Orkut apparently does have many fans around the world.

Caption by: Larry Dignan

2 of 12

Related Topics:

Cloud Mobility Enterprise Software Artificial Intelligence Hardware

Related Galleries

    • 1 of 3