Which tech company is going downhill?
Google is still an amazing company and the are extremely innovative but they've entered a hyper-competitive mindset. They no longer try to innovate; they try to compete with the innovators.
2013 was the year it all started in my opinion.
Google’s most popular products are Google Search (1997), Gmail (2004), Google Translate (2011), Google Maps (2012), and Google Drive Products (2012) . None of these products were the first of their kind.
Google was not the first search engine but it was the fastest and cleanest search engine. Gmail was not the first email provider but it was the most advanced. Google Translate was not the first translation software but it was the most convenient and easy to use. You get the idea.
Google, up until 2013, released great products that were distinctly different than the competition.
Before 2012, Google acquired roughly 8 companies per year.
In 2013, Google acquired 17 companies including Waze (a Google Maps competitor).
In 2014, Google acquired 34 companies including Firebase (known by any developer).
Instead of trying to innovate and create a new and better products, Google simply opted to buy out the existing dominant company. The Google of the past (with a much smaller budget) would build their own competitor which was distinctly different from everyone else.
Now, Google acquires companies and releases products with no distinct advantage.
The Google Pixel became infamous for stealing aspects of the iPhone, down to the design itself[1].
The Google Home offers no distinct advantage over the Amazon Echo despite for a slightly better assistant.
Again, Google enters an industry (cloud computing) with no clear and distinctive advantage over the existing dominator (Amazon).
→ What company is going downhill?
Google, with Google Search (#1 Search), Gmail (#1 email service provider), Translate (#1 translation software), and more, has continually released products that rose to the top of their industry.
Now, Google is content releasing a competitive product that will likely never beat the market-leader. Google’s product will generate a lot of money and will be popular but not as popular as Search, Gmail, Translate, etc. for the simple fact that Google is shooting for “competitive”, not “innovative”.
Google is still a great company. Their research/development teams are amazing and they have the best AI researchers in the world. I use (some of) their products almost exclusively. However, since 2013, they have adopted a competitive mentality where they simply have to compete (or) buy.
courtesy of Griffin WagnerQPCA Lead Back-End Developer
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