Smartsheet.com Blog

Google search does it right. One page, one search box, one call to action. The result: mass usage and relevance. It’s nearly impossible to get wrong. My father, at 71, can search for the local Thai restaurant as well as I. How many technologies obliterate those pesky learning curves forced upon us by youth or old age? I relate as strongly to Google’s design principle of ‘Keep it Simple’ as I do to their ‘Don’t be Evil’ corporate motto.

Unfortunately, the beloved ‘Keep it Simple’ philosophy is now officially under fire.

It’s no secret that Google has been pilfering Microsoft’s talent for some time now. They’ve even opened a megaplex in Microsoft’s backyard (Kirkland WA) to grease the skids for all the hard chargers yearning for the creativity and growth that eludes the slower moving giant. Did the poaching backfire? Was the Microsoft talent drain a brilliantly placed Trojan Horse? In my cursory review of Google Sites, I couldn’t help but see Microsoft’s fingerprint: Proliferation of acquired and developed apps. Making it hard to sign up for the service. (My God, you can’t even sign up using your Gmail account. WHAT??) And more concepts than fewer. Simple plus simple plus simple, does not equal simple. Taking 48 simple web forms and packaging them together does not a simple app make.

‘Don’t be Evil’ has been the obvious target for critics. How can Google NOT analyze our personal and corporate data to drive corporate profits to their fullest? Everything’s fine and dandy when you’re knocking your quarterlies out of the park. We’ll see how that Fort Knox-like data trove gets searched, indexed, and monetized when (not if) quarterly profits are pressured in the future. I’ve always wondered about the ad strategy behind Google Docs. No ads anywhere. Google Sites answers this call and supports their ultimate customer – the Google shareholder, by serving as an effective host for virally spreading Adwords where they were previously absent.

Google Sites is the antithesis of Google, and the thesis of Microsoft. “Let’s take all the great, popular, simple to use apps we have, and ensure we sweat those assets in our newest service.” It reminds me of a comment by a high school friend as we watched a tricked out Civic drive by. “You take a $5,000 Civic, put $5,000 worth of extras on it, and you have...a Honda worth $4,000.” You can’t blame them for trying.