Google and Microsoft: Similar Problems, Different Reasons
July 3, 2010
Lots of blogtastic action today. Microsoft is taking a beating over the Kin. Wow. Killing kin. Scary even if you are a hardware device. I liked the write up “Kin: More Proof that Warring Fiefdoms Rule at Microsoft.” I was in a meeting years ago when one wit said, “Microsoft is like 10,000 sail boats going sort of in the same direction.” The ZDNet blog write up puts it this way:
In the early days of its development, Kin (then known as Pink), was going to share the same core as Windows Mobile 7. But Microsoft decided to do a Longhorn-style reset and scrapped the WM 7 project. One result was a delay in the delivery of its next mobile operating system. In fact, neither the Windows Embedded Compact 7 core, nor the Windows Phone 7 operating system has been released to manufacturing yet. That meant the Kin team couldn’t use these components; they had to use an older version of the Windows Embedded Compact operating system.
The planning reminds me of my freshman year in college when a bunch of guys sat around and asked, “So what are we going to do?” The method was hit and miss then, and it sure seems to be hit and miss now.
And the Google?
The fancy dancing with China continues, but the big news is the new Facebook killer. I thought Google tried that with Buzz, the Buzz redo, and the Wave integration thing. Guess not. Navigate to “Google CEO Schmidt Gives Crafty Non-Denial on Forthcoming Social Network.” Here’s the passage I noted:
In the last two years, Google has started to take social networking seriously after considering it an afterthought for much of its early history. The company launched an e-mail based social sharing network called Google Buzz earlier this year, but it hasn’t dented the traction of rival products like Twitter and Facebook.
My interpretation? Google tried with Orkut and did not make much progress in particularly positive ways. Now Google is pre announcing a Facebook type service coming—soon.
Why do I see similarities between these two firms?
First, both companies’ actions make it clear that getting something done is pretty darn difficult. That’s a management problem or what the azure chip crowd calls governance. Whatever.
Second, both companies are getting killed in the time department. Microsoft is sufficiently slow on the trigger to make catch up in phones quite hard and really expensive. Google has gone to the plate and struck out several times as Facebook despite its crazy behaviors swell from 150 million members to 500 million. Google has been sufficiently clumsy to make catch up in social media quite hard and really expensive. Yep, repetitive, isn’t it?
Third, there are some serious changes taking place in the market. These range from open source plays like Hadoop and Lucene/Solr to fast growing services that make zero sense to me like Groupon.com. Yes, I know what it is. No, I don’t care about coupons and discounts.
Bottom-line is that we have one of those moments in time when some exciting change will take place. Today’s winners may be tomorrow’s idle rich, unemployed idle rich perhaps? The off the radar outfits might rework the information landscape. I would send a text message but the iPhone 4 keeps dropping its signal..
Sigh.
Stephen E Arnold, July 3, 2010
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One Response to “Google and Microsoft: Similar Problems, Different Reasons”
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Excellent analysis. There really isn’t any need for google to try to compete with facebook. I think google is really losing sight of its original core services and stop making any effort to improve. Facebook can make changes quicker because its smaller and more nimble. It would be nice though, if google actually finished something and made it work (ie: chrome, docs.).