Google Chrome, What is Google Doing?

As many of you may know, a few weeks ago, Google launched Chrome, their new internet browser.  Since this site is all about “getting lucky”, I decided to wait a little while before posting about this major step for Google so that I can apply a lesson to Chrome instead of just announcing the browser and what it can do for you.  If you’ve been following this blog, you know that I am big fan of Google and what they are doing for the internet and the end user.

Do We Need Another Browser?

Everyone has been wondering and talking about why Google would come out with a browser especially since they aren’t making any money off of it.  Some people say that Google is trying to take over the word, dominate the net and have as much control over what surfers do as possible.  Although there is probably some truth to that, I believe that Google is just trying to give the end users what they want.  They want to simplify everything and give their users as many free (or advertise based) tools as possible.  Current browsers were built based on the internet of the 1990’s where the average website was a document online.  Now with web 2.0, sites are going interactive and cannot be viewed through the same lens as we’ve been using all along.  The entire browser is open source so anyone can use it to build or improve their own browsers and applications. 

What do People Think About Google Chrome?

I happen to love Chrome and have made it my default browser on all of my computers but I have been getting mixed reviews from others in the blogosphere.  There are some plug-ins and features that Chrome is missing right now that Firefox has but I’m pretty sure that Google will catch on quickly and surpass the capabilities of the other browsers.  The majority of the negative opinions on Chrome that I have heard are from the web designer’s side.  Now designers and webmasters have one more browser to optimize their sites for.  From the consumer side, it’s pretty much all positive except for a few sites that have not yet been optimized for Chrome and look a little messed up. 

The Bottom Line

The Bottom line is that Google is making things easier for the end user and in this world that is all that really counts.  The lesson we can take from Google is to do as much as we can make the end user happy even if it inconveniences us a little (or a lot) in the process.  Companies are no longer in the position to tell their consumers to “take it” or “leave it”.  If we don’t give the consumers what they want, they’ll leave and let the whole world know about it.