Google Sidewiki closing down

[deepsand]

I just moments ago received the following e-mail form Google.

Google Sidewiki closing down - how to export your entries

Dear Sidewiki contributor,

You are receiving this mail because you have contributed one or more entries to Sidewiki. We have decided to discontinue Sidewiki ( blog post), so we want to make sure you have a chance to export your valuable contributions.

To export your Sidewiki entries, go to http://www.google.com/sidewiki/ and follow the instructions. If you wish to export your Sidewiki entries, you will need to do this before December 5, 2011, after which time we’ll be discontinuing support for Sidewiki and deleting all content.

We’d like to take this opportunity to thank you for using Sidewiki and helping make it a compelling product.

Thanks,
The Sidewiki team

© 2011 Google Inc. 1600 Amphitheatre Parkway, Mountain View, CA 94043

You have received this mandatory email service announcement to update you about important changes to your Sidewiki product or account.

Does anyone care?

Did anyone here ever find it to be of any value?

[joyanu]

hai dear
Google is tough on its services and tough on those who use its services...if the service doesn't carry its own weight and produce revenue for Google.

I used Sidewiki a few times - no loss to me that it's going away although I thought the idea behind it was ok - allowing users to offer comments on any website or web page. Of course that's uncontrolled so buyer beware when reading Sidewiki comments. Like Wikipedia and the internet in general some comments will be well informed and others will be misleading, posted from a particular viewpoint or just plan wrong.

Buzz is another service biting the dust - used it - not much but I do have some stuff there I want to download and preserve - the account of my recuperation after knee surgery. I think Jim was my only subscriber so the world at large won't miss my commentary on that service. But some did use it and for those folks it'll be disruptive to find another service.

I think everything is now dominated by Facebook and Twitter. They've become the unofficial record of one's life - at least for some people. I do FB sort of reluctantly - and Twitter not at all. If and when Google buys them out I think they're safe - like You Tube. The user base is enormous and Google likes enormous.

What's next after Google? The lifetime of an internet service is about 5 to 10 years. It was a Netscape world long, long ago - and AOL and Delphi. Today it's FB, Google, You Tube and Twitter.

Who'll be on top ten years from now? Maybe Showmeblog. Goes around comes around the Jim's got dibs on "first" - maybe he'll also be "last". Last man standing when whatever comes after the internet arrives on the scene.

[Tubby]

Google's enthusiastic approach to any idea or concept that their think tank can come up with is admirable.
Google must be approaching a point where it knows and understand more about what does not work than it knows about what does work.

I expect the boss has a big black book, He probably consults it when he encounters the enthusiastic ramblings of new employees. . HMMM **Flips too page 503** " Nope that don't work".

[LD]

Google's enthusiastic approach to any idea or concept that their think tank can come up with is admirable.
Google must be approaching a point where it knows and understand more about what does not work than it knows about what does work.

I expect the boss has a big black book, He probably consults it when he encounters the enthusiastic ramblings of new employees. . HMMM **Flips too page 503** " Nope that don't work".

Would be nice to have the resources to throw stuff out there in a big way, and then just shrug and say, "Oh well", turn it off, then shout at your open office door, "NEXT IDEA PLEASE!"

[Tubby]

I thought that most webmasters do it.

I have thrown away 4 forums. 3 auctions sites. 6 classified sites. at least 4 photo hosting sites. the list goes on forever.

Most webmaster Blow money out of their windows at rate commensurate with the income derived from the single small piece of their mini web empire that actually works.

(my guess is it is all proportionate).

[LD]

I'm sure many webmasters do this, in a much smaller way, I would assume. My point was more about the big guys, in this case G. I can't even imagine how much just this one project cost to develop, manage then toss out the window with an "oh well". I would assume any revenue derived from this did not meet their necessary requirements for continuance?

[weegillis]

Since the OP is moot, any discussion on this topic at this late date is just conversation. I doubt it ranks as an Insider Report, any longer, so resumes in the Break Room.

[StanDaMan]

Google Knol is also closing down. It's hard to believe there's anything google tries that doesn't turn to gold. Their search engine certainly is a a golden goose pumps out the coin. Google impresses me. They're smart enough to try to diversify, and even smarter to know when to throw in the towel on an idea that doesn't work.
RIP Sidewiki, Knol, and Buzz.

[deepsand]

Since the OP is moot, any discussion on this topic at this late date is just conversation. I doubt it ranks as an Insider Report, any longer, so resumes in the Break Room.

The OP has remained mute owing to lack of response prior to this day.