Google Helpouts and Jesse Ventura’s character in Predator have much in common: They both showed early promise, but got killed off way too soon.
Well, on second thought, I guess that’s all they have in common. Unlike the just-retired Google Helpouts, Jesse actually put up a fight.
As you may know, Helpouts was a way to talk with an “expert” over video chat – specifically Google Hangouts. It showed promise as a way for “local” business owners to win leads by talking with customers and helping them with questions or problems. Give before you get.
Didn’t get far.
An early adopter of Helpouts, Michael Lindquist of Wilton Auto and Tire, emailed me today to tell me his experiences with it over the last year-and-a-half:
A while back, Google asked me to participate in this program, which I did sign up, set up etc. I never, ever, received a single inquiry from anyone.
You had asked if you could monitor this with me as it progressed. It really went nowhere for me, and as this email states, for anyone else it appears.
He passed along the news straight from the horse’s mouth:
It’s a shame that Helpouts ended up exactly as I predicted it would back in September of 2013. Maybe it’ll have a longer career as a governor of Minnesota.
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What was your experience with Helpouts?
What offering do you think is next on Google’s chopping block?
Leave a comment!
