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Watching Google and Yahoo! compete is like watching Sega and Nintendo back in the day when it was SegaCD vs Super Nintendo (wow, now I get to date myself with "obscure" references to old skool technology!). Oh yeah, and meanwhile Microsoft is pricing itself out of the market, just like NeoGeo did. With Google's more staid bundle of desktop-cum-web applications being the talk of the town, Yahoo!, (represented by upstarts Flickr and Upcoming) not wanting to be upstaged, has launched its own cross-application barrage of new features. It's funny, because I use many of Google's services but I actually like Yahoo! better. I mean, maybe it's because they actually come to my events or because I'm friends with many of their WebTwenny staff or because if I were reincarnated as a web app, I'd want to be Flickr... I dunno. It's like I used to have a SegaCD but I still always played my Nintendo because it felt like it had a heart. It was about more than just the game. It was subjective for sure, but you can't really rationally argue against intuition. Maybe that's the key to Robert's question... and my criticism. Google has a ton of blogs and newsgroups, but I just don't connect with them the way I do with the blogs, services or people of Flickr and Upcoming... I mean, I know there is, but it just makes me wonder, "Gee Tinman, is there really a heart in there?"

💬 Comments from the original post

Alex Hillman · 2006-08-28 18:57:53
interesting point, how yahoo seems to be user-driven while google seems to be after nothing more than effectively archiving every bit of information on the planet, regardless of who its connected to. i, too, rely on things like gmail and google calendar...but prefer yahoo's flickr to picasa web...more than anything, for the social aspect of sharing photos with people i know, and also, people i dont.
/pd · 2006-08-29 10:28:19
"Google has a ton of blogs and newsgroups, but I just don’t connect with them the way I do with the blogs,.." Sorry, what am I missing here ? Google has a ton of blogs and you don't connection to them. So, whats different with Google blogs that you don't want to connect to them the way you do with other blogs ? Or, rather can't connect to them like other blogs ?? Whats missing ?? why is there no stickiness for you ? In fact, I am totally opposite in terms of connecting to people in flicker and Upcoming.. I don't post to flicker, and hardly use upcoming.. theses platform just seem over engineered to the degree where it has become messy and the hype being "if you don't use it then your not cool" syndrome. Albiet, I have seen flicker from the early stages and at one time it was a darling.. but not any more. It the old MUD /Tribe (circa 80') remerging once again in social networks ? Afterall , your very own thought process in this post refelcts that syndrome. That is, you can't conenct to those, who dont use the services, that you like using !! Thereby, either concsiously or unconsiosly you are sitting on the cross roads within the social network -which side do you choose ? You use google services, yet like Yahoo better !! so why are certain of your groups in google groups and not in yahoo groups ? Why do use gmail rather then yahoo ? just asking..
Chris Messina · 2006-08-29 11:34:48
@Peter: as I said... it's not rational. It's intuitive. It's why I like WordPress over Moveable Type or Textpattern. I'm not sure what you're referring to about MUD/Tribe (born in '81) but I'm sure that my use of these networks does affect my own thoughts patterns and what I think is possible. Certainly MySpace offends me and many of my peers, but for many many more, it's exactly what they want (or seem willing to accept). And, to your last question -- I'm a user experience guy. I prefer certain experiences over others. It's in the nuances, intentional or not. Gmail does it for me, even though I find it very frustrating some times. Maybe Yahoo! Mail will come around, and I'll switch. I'm just callin' it like I see it now! ;)
/pd · 2006-08-29 12:13:52
Oh sorry, back in the 80's we had MUDs which created a tribe like syndrome. Where, if you were not the zone, you were physical not welcome in a group or hangout crowd !! :)- and yes, I understand that those networks would have not effected your thought process, however the end resultant is very much the same. Can it be described as a - dynamic shift on choice of services, based on your unique user experience ?? this in the same way, the MUD hordes moved from one game (service)and onto the next without even bothering about the game master(service provider).. This leaves me with the unrational thought o fwhat happens if suddendly a new encumbants enters the space and all users move onto that platform. It would be like game master , just running a server with no players in them :)- Now transfer that thought onto Google grid or the yahoo grid and what will happen ? a lot of un-utlized infrastructure which can cost zillions of $$$ :)- Not sure if I made sense there.. over to you !!
Todd Sieling · 2006-08-30 08:03:16
Mario and Sonic - the cross platform love that dares not speak its name.

Reminiscing about Nintendo and Sega