RIP Google Hangouts, Google’s last, best chance to compete with iMessage

Re:RIP Google Hangouts, Google’s last, best chance to compet... by systemicdanna on Tuesday November 01, 2022 @07:00PM (#33428929)

I never understood this argument.

> Apparently Gchat was not growing while competitors with emojis and other features were.

So... add emojis and other features to Gchat, not create a new messaging app.

Seems like every time there was a hot new messaging app with a new paradigm/ feature-set, Google's reaction was to build another competitor and sunset its previous efforts, disappointing everyone internally and externally.

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Re:RIP Google Hangouts, Google’s last, best chance to compet... by fragmede on Tuesday November 01, 2022 @07:21PM (#33429166)

I'm sure the product manager involved had a long design doc justifying the decision but at the end of the day, the obviously right move was to keep the name, swap out the backend, and not try to create a new brand doing the same thing. whatever has to change behind the scenes to make that happen is what needs to happen. If that person reads this I'm sure you're thinking I don't know all the details but the point is it doesn't matter. the right move is the right move.

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