> Is that their problem? Has Google become a bunch of technology spammers? Is their strategy to simply flood the world with as many ideas as possible in the hopes that one or two percent of them will become hits without any further work?
>
> At one end of the Innovation Spectrum, there are the companies that make little novelty lights and fans that plug into your USB port. At the other end are the truly important companies that are willing to eat it for years because they’re certain of two things: that the technology they’ve developed will inevitably redefine its product category or even define a brand new one, and that neither of those things can happen unless a large company is persistent, vocal, and consistent.
>
> It’s a sloppily-defined spectrum and there’s no numerical grading. But with Wednesday’s announcement, I think Google nudged itself closer to the novelty-fan group.
via [suntimes.com](http://www.suntimes.com/technology/ihnatko/2570324,google-wave-ends-ihnatko-08-510.article)
As usual, Andy Ihnatko nails it. Google really is throwing everything at the wall and hoping at least a few things stick. Which is a terribly inefficient way to innovate.
The bigger issue I have with this approach is that it’s the really good ideas— the ones that are hard to push forward but that could really change the world if done right—that end up getting lost in this methodology. Wave was a huge gamble; it was trying to replace deeply entrenched technologies with something better, which is brave. When Apple does a product like that (the Mac, the iPhone) it succeeds, because it believes and SUPPORTS the product with everything it has. And the engineers and designers at Apple know that they always have that support once a product is launched.
I have a feeling that pretty soon, the really talented thinkers at Google are going to start resenting the lack of support from the powers that be, and they’ll move on to better things somewhere else. And then Google will be left with copycat technologies like Android. A cheap imitator that makes money through volume and cut-throat prices. In essence, another Microsoft.
