Filed under: Google
Why Google Chrome Really Matters
On Sunday we watched a short segment on CBS Sunday Morning about Google. The company, 10 years old this month, represents the best of what came out of the dot-com bubble in the 90's. Today they are madly profitable, focused on their core services and yet, still crazy after all these years. Massages, naps and gourmet food? Why, that's the kind of hubris that brought down dozens of companies in the first boom, so what's Google's secret sauce?
The fact is, Google is known to the mass market as "how to find stuff on the internet." Their success, like most success stories, is wedded to a fortuitous series of events: the price of computers and internet access dropping like a stone and the democratization of page creation and monetization. That's a mouthful, for sure. Cheaper computers and easier, faster access made computing and creating pages within the grasp of more people. As more people came online, they saw ways to make money by generating content and running the drop-dead simple AdSense on their pages. From memes to spy shots, Google helped the new wave make their wee blogs fiscally sensible.
What all this brought was brand recognition. The average person uses Google as a verb now, and that really means something. Another happy coincidence was the emergence of mobile and mobile browsing. Now you've got a vector of adoption that can reach even more folks who merely see the home computer as a porn/game machine but use their mobile devices every day. So the brand is unquestionably huge, which brings us to Chrome...
So... Chrome will land and what then? Like any Google beta, it'll be in an indefinite holding pattern for months, maybe years. The average person won't touch this for a while. Like Android, the other Shiny New Thing, it holds great promise but won't do much until more people adopt it. But when they do adopt it, watch out. Google has an excellent track record for transforming experience.
The reason we're so stoked about Chrome isn't that it's just a browser, or even a better browser. This is the glue. It's the central hub of connectivity we've been waiting for -- the final piece of the Google puzzle that has been building since they started growing beyond the ad market and into products and services that actually do things. It gives Google a new platform to target services upon and coupled with their brand awareness, stands to invade the desktops in a way we haven't seen since Internet Explorer 3 brought "the web" to the masses (and more importantly, gave some honest hooks into a web platform). Only this time the benefit is a modern, stable and powerful browser that also works as a mini-OS. If you like Google docs, Gmail, Gtalk and the myriad other services Google creates, this will be the primary target that'll bring all that under one roof.
As an example of what could have been, let's look at Flock. This is another multi-purpose browsing tool. Problem is, it uses a bunch of services from other people. That's pretty nice, but the average consumer, when confronted with Flock, won't really know what to do with it. Google, they get. Flock sounds a little "web 2.0" for them, honestly. Flock is great, but like Ducky "Pretty in Pink," it just isn't going to win the girl in the end. Trust, my friends, is a powerful motivator. Google has it, others don't. It wasn't just a sense of karma that lead to the "do no evil" line in the mission -- it was a fundamental understanding of the general population's aversion to new technology. Google "gets" the consumer in more ways than one.
Thus, Google, by way of a better experience (provided you have ample horsepower to essentially run several browsers with VM's and sanboxes at once) and brand recognition is one step closer to total domination of the infospace. A little spit and polish on the services they own (not to mention more coordination and glue) with plugs into Chrome and this game gets a lot better for everyone. Just wait until Chrome Mobile comes along. That's why we're engaged, that's why we're going to cover it ad nauseum and that's why this is a Big Deal. Microsoft, Apple, Mozilla, what's your game plan?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Todd said 12:27PM on 9-02-2008
"..A little spit and polish on the services they own (not to mention more coordination and glue) with plugs into Chrome and this game gets a lot better for everyone."
By "glue" do you mean Google Gears? Available here:
http://gears.google.com
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Victor Agreda, Jr. said 1:32PM on 9-02-2008
No, I love gears, but that's not what I mean. Right now Google has a bunch of services, but they don't all integrate as well as they *could*... So gears is likely the method to connect, but as yet they aren't there.
I'm thinking like how iLife apps all talk to each other, share metadata, etc. The Google desktop integration gets pretty darn close, of course, but they've spent a lot of time acquiring and massaging so far, not a lot of time integrating. Look how long it took to turn Jot into Sites!
I'm not complaining, just saying there's a lot of work left to do. Once those connections are properly in place and the entire Google ecosystem "just works" for a consumer, it'll explode in usage.
Marco said 12:59PM on 9-02-2008
Very nice article, Victor.
I think - no matter what Google does do - people will use it. Google can even create a software that deletes every single file on the computer - people will use it - as long as Google makes it look interesting.
Another example: Google Docs...
Why do people use it? Isn’t it more productive to pay 100 bucks for an office suite. What if Google's servers fail? What if the user doesn't have a web connection. As time goes by, line failures will happen more and more often. And people will hopefully realize that it's better to use a local software that is working - even with no internet access - than getting addicted to some Online service.
Anyway, it will be just a matter of time - IF Google Chrome is really that interesting - that it will be number three in the browser market. IE, FX and Chrome. Opera will probably (and unfortunately!) will dead soon.
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supernova_hq said 1:39PM on 9-02-2008
you're forgetting about safari. It is the default browser on all MacOS X computer and since the iTunes issue, I would venture to guess quite a few Windows people ended up with it as well ;)
Marco said 1:01PM on 9-02-2008
Victor,
the official Google Chrome logo is here:
http://123url.de/q8Wk707en
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Halo2Master said 1:26PM on 9-02-2008
First, in reply to Marco: you state that "it's better to use a local software that is working than getting addicted to some Online service." I disagree, at least with your unqualified conviction. Both options have their benefits and drawbacks, and it is ultimately up to each individual to decide which of the myriad options are best. I personally have been happy using Google Docs, although I also use MS Office for work.
Secondly, regarding Chrome. I just don't see how this offers me something more than Firefox can. To me, the whole point of Google's services is that they are platform-independent and "in the cloud". I'm not saying that Chrome will be bad; I'm sure it will do exactly what is promised. I just don't see a huge advantage, as it seems like I can accomplish all of these things with Firefox.
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todd said 1:42PM on 9-02-2008
I could care less about Chrome.. FireFox is great and I don't see any of the "extra" features of Chrome making it worth my while to switch or even bother with an install. There's only so much a browser should do and with FireFox, you can add any extra functionality with add-ons. Works for me.
I think Chrome will be one of Google's biggest flops.
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Josh said 2:37PM on 9-02-2008
The mistake I hear a lot of people making when referring to Chrome is assuming that it's a competitor for either Firefox or IE. Aside from the fact that Google is asking developers to take their ideas and run with them, Chrome is ultimately striving to be more of an OS alternative than a browser alternative. Its current offering allows it to saturate the market and gain a foothold with average users before moving in and attacking the operating systems themselves. I say go Google, and I'll be with them every step of the way.
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Halo2Master said 2:57PM on 9-02-2008
Whatever we call it (browser, OS, brOSer, etc), what real advantages does it offer?
I am a Google fan, but I just don't feel a need for what they appear to be offering with Chrome.
David Gerard said 4:09PM on 9-02-2008
"We are so, so happy with Google Chrome," mumbled Mozilla CEO John Lilly through gritted teeth. "That most of our income is from Google has no bearing on this statement." - http://notnews.today.com/?p=57
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Aditya said 4:26PM on 9-02-2008
The browser is a good concept, but a little shaky. Some of the fonts rendered are not clear, making it unusable.
The rest of the sites which load fine look good. The browser seems fast, and it a sure firefox killer.
http://www.techielife.com/google-chrome-initial-review-and-comments/browsers/aditya/2008-09-02/
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campbellwaterman said 4:40PM on 9-02-2008
I·ll look at it but it would have to be very special to lure me away from Firefox
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Wolf said 1:26PM on 10-31-2008
I don't understand the Chrome hype. Yeah, it's pretty fast, I'll give it that. But that's about all. I can't customize it, it looks ugly, the user interface is TOO minimalistic. I don't get why they're trying to reinvent the wheel. Why do I suddenly need this "incognito" thing?
I'm a big fan of trying out new browsers, but Chrome simply has not impressed me.
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