Google's secret weapon: simplicity

Google's secret weapon: simplicity

I've recently -- in the last year or so -- become a huge fan of Google and almost all the services they offer over the web. So much, in fact, that I've all but abandoned the "My Yahoo!" custom homepage I set up and am using Google's personalized homepage now. This on top of exclusively using Gmail (several accounts) for all my email needs, from a personal email address to one I use for newsletters and yet another for online shopping.

Why, you may ask? Well, if you know me, I'm a hard person to please, because I pick at everything for the mecca we all look for (but we just don't think about, we accept); that is, ease of use and simplicity. Way, way too much on the web is too complicated -- too many links, too few streamlined sites, too much fluff and not enough "give me what I need, intuitively" stuff.

By the way -- aren't those chairs Larry and Sergey are sitting on something out out of a Stanley Kubrick movie?

One of the reasons I have not had a home telephone in over seven years now is because I wanted simplicity: one number that went with me everywhere. That's also why I've always used just one email address with family and friends: I wanted a web-based email address that went with me anywhere: work, home, travel, even cellphone -- and so on. I stopped using Microsoft Outlook over a year ago precisely because I wanted an email system that was fast and presented a synced appearance anywhere I went -- all I needed was web access (from a computer, a web-enabled cellphone, etc.).

So there, I have one phone number and one email address - how's that for simplicity? Although I am the most detail-oriented person you'll ever meet -- and I go looking for complexity to find problems and solve them (being certified as a Black Belt in Six Sigma helps, heh) -- I am also the largest champion of simplicity and user interface (however you define it). It just needs to work. On that note, two companies who get it are Google and Apple. They are about the only ones I can think of right now. Ok, throw in any automatic toast maker with that group :-) This is the reason I recently bought a Motorola RAZR V3i -- I wanted a stylish cellphone with iTunes -- because I use Apple iTunes to listen to internet radio while I work (writing, editing, graphics, etc.) and I love its simplicity. You put that into a decent cellphone and you've got a customer.

This article over at Fast Company hit the nail on the head on why I've grown to love Google so much recently. I agree with almost everything written in this article, and the reasons brought up in the article comprise a large part why I chose to cover Google for BloggingStocks.com as a blogger/writer on the AOL Money & Finance network. Check Google's services out -- then you'll understand why I'm a Googleperson (yes, that's one word). Maybe you should become one also.