I agree... Lively wasn't a bad idea, but it obviously suffered from a poor user experience. But, as others note, this isn't the only service that Google has offered that is a "copy" that had a chance to be improved upon. Orkut is a long-standing example. Google Reader is another. Google Reader has gotten better over time, but it started out as a very poor copy of Bloglines.
The difference is probably that Lively is resource-hungry... and in this economy, Google probably didn't want to indulge in supporting a long term project without a clearly-defined revenue stream.
No Hypocrisy... But Why Do We Have To Kill Off Everything Old To Promote The New?
I'll throw in my own two cents here... Because we seem to have fallen into the classic trap of "the new and improved must kill off the old classics" -- when it is perfectly legitimate for both new and old to co-exist and share the market in ever-changing ratios.
As an unrelated example, electronic books arguably have many advantages over printed books. But that doesn't mean printed books must die in order for electronic books to succeed. Eventually, as the cost of e-books falls and the advantages of e-books become more obvious to more consumers, the industry of e-books may at some point equal, and then exceed, the printed book market. It may take quite some time for this particular example to actually cross that line, but someday we may all be reading books on e-book screens. But that doesn't mean printed books will ever completely go away. Nor does it mean that printed books must somehow fail or cease to be a profitable business/industry before e-books can expand its market share.
By analogy, banner advertising has its usefulness (just like printed books obviously do). And it's not hypocrisy for Techdirt to display banner ads (while Techdirt and the Insight Community builds up its "digital content" business). Techdirt is anticipating a future when banner ads may not be as ubiquitous as they are now. The shift away from banner ads may take some time, but we're looking forward to the change. And it's an easy trap to think that banner ads must *completely* die before the ad=content models can rise up, but banner ads might never go away. Techdirt is simply preparing for the growing adoption of the ad=content business (and letting everyone else in on the plan).
On the post: CwF + RtB = Techdirt
Re: Nice
On the post: Could You Google Bomb Google Flu?
Re: Particle/Wave Duality extends beyond quantum physics?
On the post: Google Kills Lively Quickly
Re: Lively was badly executed, not a bad idea
The difference is probably that Lively is resource-hungry... and in this economy, Google probably didn't want to indulge in supporting a long term project without a clearly-defined revenue stream.
On the post: The Traditional Banner Ad Business May Be In Even More Trouble Than You Think
No Hypocrisy... But Why Do We Have To Kill Off Everything Old To Promote The New?
As an unrelated example, electronic books arguably have many advantages over printed books. But that doesn't mean printed books must die in order for electronic books to succeed. Eventually, as the cost of e-books falls and the advantages of e-books become more obvious to more consumers, the industry of e-books may at some point equal, and then exceed, the printed book market. It may take quite some time for this particular example to actually cross that line, but someday we may all be reading books on e-book screens. But that doesn't mean printed books will ever completely go away. Nor does it mean that printed books must somehow fail or cease to be a profitable business/industry before e-books can expand its market share.
By analogy, banner advertising has its usefulness (just like printed books obviously do). And it's not hypocrisy for Techdirt to display banner ads (while Techdirt and the Insight Community builds up its "digital content" business). Techdirt is anticipating a future when banner ads may not be as ubiquitous as they are now. The shift away from banner ads may take some time, but we're looking forward to the change. And it's an easy trap to think that banner ads must *completely* die before the ad=content models can rise up, but banner ads might never go away. Techdirt is simply preparing for the growing adoption of the ad=content business (and letting everyone else in on the plan).
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