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Sunday, April 22, 2007
Still, I was kinda looking forward to it 
| | I'm gone too much to be a good candidate for jury duty; but still, I've always wanted to serve at some point. Y'know, be a good citizen and all that. |
| | Well, I got a summons a few weeks ago, with instructions to call the night before the day I might need to show up. That day was tomorrow. I just called, and they put me off. I should call tomorrow after 5pm for further instructions. Unless I need to be excused, in which case I should submit a form by the day before the day I might serve. Since I'm flying to Europe on Tuesday, I'll have to submit the form. |
Creeping Microsoftitis
| | I just heard on TWiT (live, on the "air") that Google has changed Froogle to "Google Product Search". |
| | "Froogle offers a lot of great functionality and has helped many users find things to buy over the years, but the name caused confusion for some because it doesn't clearly describe what the product does," wrote Marissa Mayer, Google's VP of Search & User Experience, on the company's blog. "We hope this update makes it easier to find whatever you're looking to buy." |
| | The renaming of Google's Froogle to the more prosaic - and infinitely smarter - Google Product Search raises a couple of questions: First, what took Google (GOOG) so long? Froogle was clearly a stupid name from the get-go, and yet it took Google five years to change it. |
| | The second, larger question is: Who's running Google's marketing? Ah. Engineers. Well, that explains a lot. |
| | This is a perfect example of Branding As Camouflage. Or worse, as a mask. |
| | Google's product search may have moved past price shopping alone. But Froogle was a great name. First, it was fun. Second, it actually meant something. So what if it meant only part of what product search is about? |
| | What creeps me out is that this move is exactly the kind of thing one would expect Microsoft to do. Given a choice between having a groovy name for something and sticking a Microsoft or a Windows mask in front of it, Microsoft could be counted on to go for the mask every time. |
| | Yes, there are exceptions. Xbox and Live are two. But even in the latter case, think about how much more interesting, attractive and, well live that Live would be if it wasn't "Windows Live". |
| | The 3D mapping on Live is amazing. Compare the Washington Monument on Live to the same thing on Google Maps. Click on the N, S, E and W views. Try it with your own house. Pretty amazing. Yeah, it's slow, but in a number of ways it kicks azz. |
| | But who knows about it? Could it be that Live is relatively dead because it's hidden behind the Windows mask? It sure doesn't help. Nor does "optimizing" Live so it works best with Internet Explorer. |
| | Wait. I take that back. I have a Windows box here (actually, a Linux dual-boot ThinkPad currently booted in Windows XP), and I can't duplicate what I'm able to do in Firefox on Linux or OS X. Weird. |
| | Anyway, there are times when a brand is a mask and not a magnifying glass. What Google did to Froogle was mask it. And that's a shame for me, because I liked Froogle. I already dislike "Google Product Search" because it painted over Froogle. :-( |
| | Of course I don't want to make too much of this. I mean, it isn't like what the Dodgers did to Brooklyn (tear its heart out, basically). But it's not a good sign. |
| | [Later...] I learned from a reader that this link (Washington Monument, above), which works for me in Firefox, doesn't work for him in Safari, taking him instead to the Live Search home page. Will Microsoft have to die outright, so there's nothing left but a pile of cash, before it quits producing hopelessy complicated, partially functional and eventually self-defeating products and services? |
Beyond the buzz
| | Mike Warot says I'm addicted to buzz. Actually I'm not*, but Mike makes some good points about what happens to buzz over time, and about finding better filters than search engines that super-serve those looking to drive and follow the popular stuff. |
| | *Well, maybe to What's Happening Right Now; but buzz is different. I'll unpack that when I have time, which isn't today. |
Now and then
| | I'm live right now on TWiT.tv and Ustream.tv. The podcast will come along ASAP. Watch that first link for it. |
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