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Why Using Google Means You’re Just Plain Lazy

posted on February 23, 2010


Do you use any of Google’s products?

Search? Gmail? Reader? Docs?

Then you’re probably one of the laziest people on the internet. Look at you, pathetic!

Now, before you scroll down to the comments section to complain–which I know you will do anyway–let me add this: I’m lazier than all of you!

I started thinking about my cyber-lethargy after reading Tom Krazil’s account of how he gave up Google for a week. I know, that inner mocking voice of yours is thinking: ooh, a whole week? But have you tried it recently?

Krazil admits that it really wasn’t that scary to switch from Google–the world didn’t collapse around him–but it did take a lot of planning and the energy to break from his normal routine.

…it’s not impossible, and it’s not even remotely comparable to giving up one of the most addictive drugs on the planet. During a week in which I pledged to avoid using anything made, owned, or otherwise produced by Google, it was surprisingly easy to cut ties.

Google is a habit; smoking is an addiction. And for the most part, Google lives up to its pledge to avoid locking users into its system. I only missed a few Google products during a week in mid-February and mostly because I was unfamiliar with their substitutes.

While it may be encouraging for Microsoft, Apple, et al to hear that Google is not actually an addiction–despite what you may have read–it’s a habit that we’re just too lazy to break. A habit so strong, so darn convenient, why would any of us want to use another search engine or email solution? Heck, I’ve just switched over to Google’s Chrome browser, because, well, it just makes being lazy even easier! ;-)

So the next time you see Google atop of a list of biggest internet brands–while not able to make a list of brands we actually trust–you can stop scratching your head. It’s not necessarily that we love everything Google builds, we just love that we don’t have to use up any precious energy in deciding which search engine or RSS reader to use.

We simply default to the….well…default, and go on with our lives in blissful apathy! :-)


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  • http://www.jaankanellis.com Jaan Kanellis

    Lazy? Not sure if you use the best search engine means your lazy or smart and want to find what your looking for.
    .-= Jaan Kanellis´s last blog ..Rolling Stone Are You Really That Dumb? =-.

    • http://www.marketingpilgrim.com Andy Beal

      Maybe Google is the best search engine, but when we use Google’s other products are we using the best or simply being lazy and defaulting to Google? I know that I’ve not thoroughly tested alternatives to Google Reader or Docs.

      • http://www.webbannerdesigns.com bdesigner

        Google is one of the best search engine and use of google’s other product is just to save time if you using google most of the time :) Isn’t it?

        So In my personal opinion it’s not laziness it’s just to save time.. if you know from where you can get those product easily, why not to use it?

  • http://www.frankthinking.com Frank Reed

    I’m feeling apathetic so I don’t care either way. What were we talking about?
    .-= Frank Reed´s last blog ..A Classic SMB Internet Marketing Story – Our Friends’ Closet =-.

  • http://thetaptaptap.wordpress.com John Cavanaugh

    Andy,

    I always enjoy your posts, but I don’t get this one. Your assumption seems to be that we accept Google products by default because we’re all lazy. Isn’t it possible that we aren’t lazy? Isn’t it possible that we looked around, tried out some products and decided that some of Google’s are the best fit for us?

    I don’t use all of Google offerings, but I use their Search, Reader and Calendar. I’m not sold on Chrome yet and have a g-mail account that I don’t really use. And I just don’t get Wave or Buzz at all…yet.

    It’s easy to be tough on the giants like Google. But personally, I’m happy they are out there. I believe that their push to introduce new technology lights a fire under their competitors and makes everyone better. Time will tell if I’m wrong, I suppose.

    Thanks for the post!
    .-= John Cavanaugh´s last blog ..Toyota: Finally An American Auto Company =-.

    • http://www.marketingpilgrim.com Andy Beal

      But did we really try them out or give them just a quick test? :-)

  • http://www.vitamincm.com Christopher Masiello

    First off: I’m guilty as charged.
    Their stuff is good, free, and fairly well integrated. Plus, Gmail is still the best that I have seen.
    That being said, it is possible to kick the habit.
    Zoho.com is the best competition for Google that I have found.
    Email, Office Apps, tons of great business apps, a web desktop that allows you to seamlessly pull in third party apps. I use it a lot.
    Besides, I can quit any time I want. I just don’t want to right now.
    .-= Christopher Masiello´s last blog ..Create a Portable Document Scanner for your iPhone =-.

  • http://www.paulcampagna.com paul campagna

    I’ve tried Bing, Yahoo, alta Vista, Hotbot, Hotmail, etc, etc. They all just are not up to google’s caliber. (did i spell that right?)

    Sure you can get-by by using something else, but it reduces productivity. What about google maps, adwords? I used mapquest before, (Which worked well enough) but google maps is better. Plus forget about yahoo advertising (Overature?) . That’s not really even an option when I look at the numbers of where people are coming from.

    Google has cemented itself into my life because it works best. I’m still a firefox user, so Chrome didn’t make me stray. They need more work on that IMO.

  • http://positiverealestateprofessionals.com/feed Rich Dansereau

    Though we have enabled buzz on our member sites so that they can use it easily, I don’t think it is very different from FriendFeed. Many times these companies are racing to catch up with someone else and put out a cloned product. Using these cloned products/services could be construed as lazy or competitive depending on your perspective. Though I signed up for (activated) Buzz, I prefer FriendFeed and have been considering deactivating my Buzz. Original, quality products make me stick with something regardless of who puts it out. Duplication makes me bored and sometimes irritated quite quickly. Google is easy but not always my first choice.
    .-= Rich Dansereau´s last blog ..Mastering Search Engine Optimization =-.

    • http://positiverealestateprofessionals.com/feed Danny Thornton

      I personally use a lot of Google’s products and really do not consider myself lazy. Here is a thought when it comes to GMail: Let’s say you use Outlook and your computer blows up. How will you recover all of your contacts? In GMail, that is not an issue. Lazy would not describe this to me.
      .-= Danny Thornton´s last blog ..Mastering Search Engine Optimization =-.

  • Wious

    I am not sure why it makes me lazy. It allows me to get info quickly and save time while at work.

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