Google Admits Video Launch Was A Mistake

When the new Google Video launched, we thought it was worth noting that the initial response from people was awful. We didn't doubt that Google would improve it, or that it could become a powerful platform eventually -- but were surprised that such a hyped up product was launched in such a way to make so many people go "huh?" In other Google product launches, there's been an immediate "wow" factor that wasn't just missing with Google Video -- it seemed to have been completely stamped out. It appears that even Google is now admitting that they should have thought through the launch a bit more. Google's Marissa Mayer (who we think is starting to get more press coverage than Brin, Page or Schmidt these days) has now admitted that "We made a big mistake" with the launch of Google Video. Of course, it's not clear that the company has figured out what that mistake really was. Mayer says: "You can't come out and launch a product like Google Video and say 'CSI' and 'Survivor' are there if they're not on the home page." However, that's only a tiny part of the mistake. Part of the problem seems to be that Google Video doesn't know what it wants to be. Is it a store for broadcast content? Or is it a platform for anyone to create, share or sell content? Those are two different functions, and probably need two different interfaces. The company has revamped the site, slightly, but it still seems lacking. There's now a big list at the top of videos you can buy, but it still isn't that compelling. For example, the second video listed is the Lakers-Raptors basketball game from last weekend, where Kobe Bryant scored 81 points. There's been a lot of talk about the game, so it's probably a good one to promote. However, if you go to the page of the game, they show you the first 30 seconds of the game, which are incredibly boring. If you're trying to sell the fact that you have a historic basketball game for you to watch, shouldn't the "free" clips be something worth watching? At least show a basket or two or three by Kobe.