Google just launched an iPhone group-messaging app called Disco. This is a bit odd for a couple of reasons. One, it’s a small app rather than a major initiative and two, it’s on iOS (rather than the whole Android thing which they’re somewhat attached to).Will Disco really make an impact in a fairly crowded market? No idea. In fact, it doesn’t actually matter. The real news here is that a company Google recently acquired (Max Levchin’s Slide) is actively developing and releasing products.
I’ve been on the inside of several big companies (through acquisitions or advisory) and in general I’m pretty appalled about how difficult new product development can be. Up until recently, Google has been on this trajectory, with Groupon’s rejection of their $6Bn offer marking a nadir. I can’t help imagining if it didn’t lead to a conversation like this…
Eric: “What do you mean, they said no? We offered them six billion frakking dollars!”
Sergey: “I know. But they said they could do it faster and better without us”
Larry: “Crap. If people don’t even care about the money thing any more, we’ve got a serious problem. We’re really getting bad at launching new stuff”
Sergey: “We’re not that bad…”
Larry: “Dude. Buzz? I don’t even know what that was meant to be”
Eric: “What the hell happened to all those companies we bought last year? Wasn’t there something cool called Dodgeball?”
Sergey: “Oh yeah. Whatever happened to that?”
[Larry has a facepalm moment]
Larry: “Right. We need to fix this. Call the Slide guys. Tell them we said the next six months are open-season on product launches. And yes, even iPhone…”
(for a far more detailed opinion on what else Google should do, there’s a superb blog post here)
