Google’s top 10 failures

Boston Dynamics

Seemingly the most disappointing of the bunch, tech-giant Google recently sold robotics company, Boston Dynamics, which it acquired in 2013. Google bought the company alongside other robotics acquisitions, bringing about 300 robotics engineers on board. By the looks of it, that didn’t pay off.

Google Glass

In 2012 it seemed like the next big thing, but Google Glass, unfortunately, was a flop. And although the company will not be canceling its smart-glasses project altogether, it will stop producing its headset in its current form. Thanks to privacy complaints due to a percentage of users pegged as “glassholes,” this didn’t come as a surprise.

Google+

In 2011, Google officially launched its social site, Google+, rivaling giants such as Facebook and Twitter. Half a decade in and the social network has become somewhat of an industry joke, though Google is still pushing it. Late last year, the company announced a revamp to make the site more user-friendly, which hasn’t made much of a difference yet, considering it has over 2.5 billion users, but over 90% of accounts have never made a single post.

Google Video

Lasting a bumpy two years from 2005 to 2007, the video-only search engine known as Google Video was the company’s rival to YouTube. Long story short, it was replaced by Google Videos in 2012.

Google Reader

The beloved Google reader, the search engine’s RSS aggregator, launched in 2005 and was let down softly in 2013, due to a decline in use.

Google Answers

This strange endeavor allowed users to post questions they wanted others to answer, paying between $2 and $200. Google Answers got its start in 2002, and was shut down in 2006. One of the most popular questions posted was, “What is the meaning of life?”

Google Notebook

Simple to use from 2006 into 2011, Google Notebook was a browser application that allowed users to cut and paste text into a personal Notebook, which proved useful in a research context. However, Google ceased development in 2009 before discontinuing it two years later. It was replaced by Google Keep in 2013.

Google Lively

Lasting not even a year, Google Lively was a virtual chatroom in a digital, cartoon-like environment. It was shut down on New Year’s Eve in 2008. It barely begun to live, but never really got itself off the ground. At least there were virtual high-fives.

Google Health

Though personal health information service, Google Health, seemed like a good idea in 2008, there were concerns over the privacy of the service, which was the reason it tanked in 2011. It allowed users to upload their health records, and in return, Google provided information on conditions and potential allergies.

Google Wave

Google Wave, which lasted from 2009 into 2010, combined email with instant messaging and social media, and really had the potential to change the way we digitally interact. Instead, users were unhappy with its clunky interface and development was ceased shortly after it launched. All Waves were wiped out in 2012.

Image sources: Google