(Image Source: Newsy Staff)
BY ADAM FALK
ANCHORED BY ANA CAMPAIN-ROMERO
You're watching multi-perspective news analysis from Newsy.
When Google+ first arrived, some were quick to close their Facebook tab and start paying attention to the Google top-bar. But with usage down 60%, circles are starting to clear out, and one Googler says, it’s the company’s fault.
Google Engineer Steve Yegge went on a late night rant on G+ about G+. In it, he criticizes his employer for not understanding why Facebook has been so popular. Yegge says one of the primary faults was Google made a cool toy, but didn’t give you friends to share it with.
“Google+ is a knee-jerk reaction, a study in short-term thinking, predicated on the incorrect notion that Facebook is successful because they built a great product... The problem is that we are trying to predict what people want and deliver it for them.”
The post was meant to be shared internally, but Yegge accidentally mis-posted to the public. Whoops. After talking to Google’s PR team he was given the choice to leave the post up or not. Since, he’s removed the rant saying...
“So I made the call myself and deleted it. Part of the reason is that for internal posts, it's obvious to everyone that you're posting your own opinion and not representing the company in any way, whereas external posts need lots of disclaimers so people don't misunderstand.”
Also, in his most recent post, he says was a tough call to remove the rant. But Wired says Yegge’s initial point about G+ being a product not a platform is spot on.
“This part fascinates me, because it’s not an issue of product strategy or internal organization or building up the right number of APIs. It’s a problem at the root. Google tried to shake up the entire company by tying every division’s success to the success of its social product, when it should have ... tied every division’s success to its ability to build platforms.”
The rant offered compliments to rivals Facebook and Apple. But was it right to throw a punch at plus? Gizmodo says, +1.
“We don't think Google+ will ever beat Facebook. Never, ever, ever. But Google needs to take this advice and learn from it. ... And then maybe they can compete (or do something else). We love Google and it's obvious Yegge does too, he just wants them to get better.”
So, does this mean he’s out of the Google circle? Nope. Google PR told Yegge you’re not going to be censored; they’re an opinionated company. CNET says good for Google for creating this kind of company culture.
“[I]sn't it lovely that he felt the confidence to utter words like these, even internally? Especially internally. How many company employees would write internal memos saying that, say, [Microsoft’s] Steve Ballmer doesn't get something? Or how many would have dared to offer such comments toward Steve Jobs?”
To read his entire post, check the link in our transcript section -- or Google it.
Transcript by Newsy.
