Google I/O

Google I/O begins today, and the excitement is palpable… in my office at least.  Expect big news on Froyo, Google TV, and perhaps even a little tablet sprinkled in for good luck.

As a technology user who’s always looking for the latest and greatest, I welcome improvements to my devices with open arms, especially when they produce big % improvements.  I also look forward to hearing how Google/Sony and Intel plan to conquer the living room, and take down the iPad.

There’s one thing that strikes me, though, about Google.  There are companies that innovate, and there are companies that copy and improve.  I can think of one particularly glaring example who does not truly innovate (at least anymore) and instead, chooses to hop on the bandwagon of someone elses success and try to duplicate it to the best of their abilities.  I had a perception of Google as a company who innovates, who blazes the trails of technology with new and innovative ideas.  And yet, as time goes on, I feel like Google is simply trying to play catchup.

Buzz is the perfect example of not only trying to jump on a bandwagon, but doing so in an utterly bumbleheaded way.  You’re Google, you have the greatest collective mind trust in the world at your fingertips, and you can’t even properly implement a Twitter clone?  No one realized that people might be upset that anyone can see what they’re writing?  It’s like someone at the Googleplex said “Hey, that Twitter thing looks successful, let’s throw something together” and then spent about a week throwing together a solution.  It was sloppy, it was rushed, it was poorly implemented and executed and Buzz will most likely never catch on because there’s no real viable path of execution.

While not an attempt to hop on to an existing success, Google’s attempt at selling phones online was similarly blundered.  This was a fascinating opportunity to not only explore selling direct to customers, but also in changing the entire cell phone paradigm.  The initial rumblings of Google providing ad subsidized devices was one of the most compelling things I’ve heard in a while, and offered a light at the end of the tunnel for the draconian practices that cell phone companies have engaged in for some time now.  Unfortunately, Google threw something up on the web, offered one (excellent) device with an extremely high barrier to entry, and then kind of let it stagnate.  No new devices were added, no attempt to make the practice simple and streamlined, no unique pricing model, no support, and on and on.  Had they executed properly, it might have distracted people from the fact that they could not actually try the device before purchasing it.  But hey, if I can find a good sale on a pair of pants online, I’ll forgo the fear that they won’t properly fit when they arrive.

A company needs a unique offering to get off the ground, but it’s how it executes and innovates after it achieves success that truly tells the tale.  Google introduced one of the most powerful and innovative tools that humanity has ever seen, and literally changed the landscape of the web for years to come.  But the world is constantly changing, and the web changes even faster, and if Google wishes to remain a force of nature, it will have to find ways to not only blaze new trails, but also execute on everything they want to deliver.

I’m hoping that we see some of that innovation from Google today, and get a proper sense that they are going to execute.  That’s one thing that Apple has utterly nailed at this point.  When they announce a new product, no matter how much it may not interest you from the get-go, you know that they are going to execute in the end.  Google, on the other hand, has me a little bit wary.