The One Question Google Asks All of its Products

Take a look at some of the web services Google has grown, bought or cultivated in its web arsenal.  We have their basic search, the AdWords network, YouTube, Maps and Streetview, Gmail, Documents and Calendar, just to name a few.  We also see some of those little products that don’t quite appear on the main page but they still support, like Google Earth, Chrome, Goog 411, Knol, Picassa and trends.

Some products are related directly to search and finding answers to information, but others (especially products like the now defunct Lively) entered into new worlds and industries.

How could Google possibly evaluate every product and whether or not to continue to support each initiative?  After all, many of Google’s products have yet to turn a profit.  Services like YouTube alone are run at a lost, and YouTube is probably a few years away from entering into the black.

In an article for the New York Times, senior vice president of engineering Jeff Huber says, 

“There’s no single equation that describes us, but we try to use data wherever possible [...] What products have found an audience? Which ones are growing?”

Ultimately, Huber says people at Google ask, “is there an interest in our products?”  If there is—like YouTube—it’s likely they’ll continue to support the initiative, even at a financial loss.  If there product hasn’t found a strong audience—like social mobile network Dodgeball—it’s unlikely they’ll continue with the service.

Secondary questions come in to play as well, such as “does this service solve a substantial problem?” or “did this product have trouble attracting Google employees for development?”

How anyone can use this question

Modern executives, bloggers and entrepreneurs can use the question of “is there an interest in my product?” for almost every new venture.  

• For online entrepreneurs:  Let’s say you took the initiative to launch your own social network  in your free time a few months back.  Take a look at the people using the network.  Are people relying on your service and using it regularly? Do you see consistently more account registrations than when you began?
• For modern executives:  Let’s say you developed a new process within your organization to reduce the amount of reports people are creating and, thus, reducing the amount of time people on your team spend crunching numbers.  Are people using your process?  Does your process actually address the problem you created it for, and does it do it well?
• For bloggers:  Let’s say you launched a new type of section on your blog, such as a fresh back of links every Friday.  Do you find your readers, through stat tracking software, reading those links?

Moving forward

Make a list of each initiative/project that you are supporting.  Is there interest?  If not, what steps can you take to get more people involved?  Are you willing to wait a few additional months to see if there will be any interest?