Why I left Google - JW on Tech. Ok, I relent.
Everyone wants to know why I left and answering individually isn’t scaling so here it is, laid out in its long form. Read a little (I get to the punch line in the 3rd paragraph) or read it all. But a warning in advance: there is no drama here, no tell-all, no former colleagues bashed and nothing more than you couldn’t already surmise from what’s happening in the press these days surrounding Google and its attitudes toward user privacy and software developers.
This is simply a more personal telling. It wasn’t an easy decision to leave Google. The Google I was passionate about was a technology company that empowered its employees to innovate. Technically I suppose Google has always been an advertising company, but for the better part of the last three years, it didn’t feel like one. Under Eric Schmidt ads were always in the background. In such an environment you don’t have to be part of some executive’s inner circle to succeed. Suddenly, 20% meant half-assed. James-Whittaker, ex-googler, estime que Google a perdu sa capacité d'innovation - Abondance. Google+ had a chance to compete with Facebook. Not anymore. AFP/Getty Images.
Shortly after Google launched its new social network in June, many companies—including several online magazines, Slate among them—attempted to create “brand profiles” on the service. The rush was a testament to Google’s power to drive a flood of users to any new site it launches. Though Google+ was pretty rough around the edges, many observers called it a credible alternative to Facebook, so it made sense for companies to get in on the ground floor. Farhad Manjoo is a technology columnist for the Wall Street Journal and the author of True Enough.
Follow Yet Google seemed completely surprised by this turn of events. Google did finally release brand pages this week—here’s Slate’s page—but at this point the effort might be moot. The real test of Google’s social network is what people do after they join. I was an early Google+ skeptic. And yet, I’ve been surprised by just how dreary the site has become. Why am I so sure that Google+ can’t be saved? Google+ pour tout le monde sauf pour les utilisateurs de Google Apps. Hier Google a annoncé l’ouverture de Google+ à tout le monde.
Mais malheureusement cela n’est pas le cas. En effet si vous avez un compte Google Apps vous êtes malheureusement exclu de ce « tout le monde », la preuve en image avec la fameuse flèche bleue de Google pour recruter des utilisateurs : Connection sur Google.fr avec une session « anonyme » : Connection avec une session connectée à un Gmail : Connection avec une session connectée à un Google Apps, plus de flèche bleue seulement un petit lien sous la boite de recherche : Et puis plus rien… « Google+ is not yet available for Google Apps. » Avec ce message sur le Learn more : « Google+ availability for Google Apps accounts Google+ is not yet available to Google Apps users, but we’re working hard to bring the features of Google+ to Apps users in the future.
Dans le style, c’est pas mal de privilégier tout le monde sauf les utilisateurs de Google qui parfois payent pour les services… Google+ Update: Common Name Grace Period.