This is getting weird
Google Reader
Originally uploaded by andy z.
In the past 2 year the internet mob praised every new Google feature no matter how usefull or not has been. But yesterday things have suddenly changed with the release of Google Reader. From what I am seeing in Technorati more than 50% have negative reviews on it.
Possible explanations for this:
- The “ultimate feed” that is Slashdot. With more than 50.000 subscribers (acording to Bloglines), Slashdot has the power to change opinions and trends. Heh I even know someone that believed on April Fools that Google has it’s own satellite because he has read that on Slashdot. What I cannot understand though is the sudden change of opinions
- The share market of Bloglines. Due to the fact that Google Reader introduces quite an innovative navigation system for an rss reader is troubling for most users that are not prone to change and therefore very strong biased
And if you connect those 2 pices of informations through the fact that Bloglines has named Slashdot the ultimate feed things are more obvious.
This post is not an absolute truth or anything similar just a speculation and a try to answer myself some questions
2 Responses to “This is getting weird”
By David Newberger on Oct 10, 2005 | Reply
You are certinly correct that in the past 2 years most applications google has been praised. However I do not think it is becuase the slashdot bloglines effect. In my mind it is because we have come to expect something that is nearly perfect from the get go. I talk a little more about this in my recent blog post Google This Google That Google Google Google
By Razvan Antonescu on Oct 10, 2005 | Reply
If, for the sake of discussion I’ll agree that Google Reader is indeed a failure, I’ll have to point that are also big failures in Google’s backyard. Just think of Orkut and the Personalized Homepage wich is by all standards an ugly and unusefull thing. What I wanted to point in this post is the sudden change of the Slashdot mob who even dared to say that Microsoft did a copy of the Personalized Homepage by Start.com.
What I can’t understand either in the last few days this aggresive defense of Bloglines through the most of the blogosphere. For God’s sake that’s an outdated technology there. Frames? WTF?
Just because a thing, an ideea or a person has an age that made it popular that doesn’t make it the ultimate thing.
Just because Google dared (let’s not forget through a beta product that is prone to changes) to change a lot in the navigational scheme of a RSS reader that doesn’t make it pure crap.