Living Without Google: A Story in Tweets
Could you live without Google for a week?
I survived just that harrowing experience, despite being a very heavy user of the wide breadth of Google services and products. I was happy to be joined in this crazy little experiment by Nitesh Arora, a relatively light Google user; the contrast in our experiences by the end of the week was very surprising indeed.
Here is our story, in tweets:
Incredibly frustrated in the first few minutes of going #GoogleFree by just trying to find the Google logo on Flickr or Bing’s Image Search
Ravi K. Udeshi
rkudeshi
Are there any free RSS readers that /don’t/ sync to Google Reader? #GoogleFreeRavi K. Udeshi
rkudeshi
@rkudeshi you use a LOT of google products…seriously :P
Nitesh Arora
Nitesh_Arora
Just realized I “can’t” use Google Maps app on my phone…finding address for businesses is going to be a pain the arse now. #GoogleFreeRavi K. Udeshi
rkudeshi
It’s only been 2 hours, but going #GoogleFree is almost as bad as #summerclasses. Almost.Ravi K. Udeshi
rkudeshi
Ooh, good call. I did like it when I tested it a few weeks ago. #GoogleFree RT @probablydan: @rkudeshi Bing iPhone app!Ravi K. Udeshi
rkudeshi
#GoogleFree is a movement, @Nitesh_Arora is doing it too! Hey @probablydan @mostaghimi @peteabbate @alexromano up for the challenge?Ravi K. Udeshi
rkudeshi
@rkudeshi you kidding? I for one welcome our new @google overlords. also I’m on a blackberry- life sans google is worse w/o a usable browser
Raamin Mostaghimi
mostaghimi
@rkudeshi I’m def not. Having an Android automatically DQs me several times simultaneously. Plus wouldn’t want to. But admire those who can
Gregg
TheyCallMeGTab
@rkudeshi I’d totally try social media free week but then I’d have no one to tweet/post to tell them about it. Plus my ego wouldn’t allow itGregg
TheyCallMeGTab
@alexromano @rkudeshi I don’t understand why I’d want to be #GoogleFree. They’re pretty good at what they do.
Pete Abbate
peteabbate
@peteabbate 1) privacy 2) see how pervasive one company is on the web 3) determine if it’s possible (and how difficult) 4) crazy ol’ Ravi!Ravi K. Udeshi
rkudeshi
My thoughts and reaction to going #GoogleFree, in video: http://youtu.be/H44guybgsLM [yes, I note the irony]Ravi K. Udeshi
rkudeshi
wondering how @rkudeshi is going #googlefree while documenting his experience on google-owned YouTube??? :)
Joshua Owens
JoshuaBamboo
@JoshuaBamboo I had my sister upload it ;-). Slightly cheating, but people wouldn’t watch it otherwise (and not terribly timely next week).Ravi K. Udeshi
rkudeshi
D’oh, my voicemails are stored (and transcribed!) in Google Voice. Don’t call, just text me? #GoogleFreeRavi K. Udeshi
rkudeshi
@rkudeshi Best of luck with this week! I bet it’s tough!
Hayley Roder
dcmetrogirl
Started making a list of YouTube videos I want to watch next week…it’s already double-digits :-/. #GoogleFreeRavi K. Udeshi
rkudeshi
Thank god for Vimeo. #GoogleFreeRavi K. Udeshi
rkudeshi
Just realized I hadn’t checked my email at all today…I haven’t missed anything important & I’ve been way more productive. Yay? #GoogleFreeRavi K. Udeshi
rkudeshi
Are music videos on Vevo.com hosted by Google? I know they’re crossposted to YouTube, but not sure on the main Vevo.com site. #GoogleFreeRavi K. Udeshi
rkudeshi
@rkudeshi All I know is the music videos hosted on Vevo have a butt load more advertisements then the same exact ones on YouTube.Gregg
TheyCallMeGTab
Vevo.com def using YouTube tech (http://bit.ly/ctdgq8), now UMG trying to force MTV to use it too (http://bit.ly/cUjx7C). Wow. #GoogleFreeRavi K. Udeshi
rkudeshi
Thinking about adding links to my social media profiles to the ol’ resume…yay/nay/whoa?Ravi K. Udeshi
rkudeshi
#GoogleFree Day 2: not nearly as bad as yesterday. Bing search/maps are good enough. No Gmail/GReader/YouTube makes for one productive dude.Ravi K. Udeshi
rkudeshi
@rkudeshi If you have Silverlight installed use the awesome @silverlight version. http://bing.com/maps/explore #GoogleFree
Mackenzie Price
mackenziepricee
@nitesh_arora how’s #GoogleFree going for you? Had to make any changes whatsoever? ;-)Ravi K. Udeshi
rkudeshi
@rkudeshi very slight ones…no youtube is fine but my default search on everything is google. oh well, bing works :) #googlefree is easy!Nitesh Arora
Nitesh_Arora
Learning just how many unique Google services are nice, but hardly necessary: Voice, Alerts, DNS, Buzz, Picasa, arguably Reader. #GoogleFreeRavi K. Udeshi
rkudeshi
@rkudeshi google voice is absolutely essential for me- when I changed phone numbers, its the only one I gave outRaamin Mostaghimi
mostaghimi
@rkudeshi i used to use flock for rss/browser since it was basically just firefox with an rss. but then i found greader and never went back
Mehal
mehal88
@DominicPody Gah, YouTube link…can’t watch :-/. http://bit.ly/8X2XPjRavi K. Udeshi
rkudeshi
@rkudeshi how much time are you spending finding articles without the amazingness of reader?Mehal
mehal88
@mehal88 Very little. Downloaded a desktop RSS app, need to install it. Using Twitter, Flipboard (iPad app), and Techmeme more for now.Ravi K. Udeshi
rkudeshi
Interesting #GoogleFree moment during road trip: Navigon’s GPS app couldn’t find Pat’s or Geno’s, so we had to use Bing to find the address.Ravi K. Udeshi
rkudeshi
Very cool Bing feature: search for any song and it lets you listen to the entire thing thanks to Zune.net. #GoogleFreeRavi K. Udeshi
rkudeshi
Oh, interesting…Bing/Zune only lets you play the full song the first time, then 30-second snippets every time after. #GoogleFreeRavi K. Udeshi
rkudeshi
Seeing no real changes in my daily life by going #googlefree …using bing on my mac & changed the default search on my BlackBerry=mostly itNitesh Arora
Nitesh_Arora
Can’t decide if #GoogleFree is making me more or less productive…email/RSS/YouTube time is now apparently being used for bubble baths.Ravi K. Udeshi
rkudeshi
@rkudeshi Do you have a rubber ducky to keep you company? lol PS Props for proving that #Google doesn’t, in fact, run the world! #GoogleFree
Ashley O’Donnell
AshODonnell
@AshODonnell No ducky :-(. Based on the last few days, they’re getting pretty close (almost feels like I’m going through drug withdrawal).Ravi K. Udeshi
rkudeshi
Interesting #GoogleFree revelation: with an RSS reader, I start working after reading. Without it, I just explore the Internet endlessly.Ravi K. Udeshi
rkudeshi
Whoa…Bing’s image search has a very cool feature to find more sizes of the same picture. Immensely helpful. #GoogleFreeRavi K. Udeshi
rkudeshi
Pretty sure I’m going to stick with Bing image search & Bing maps after this week. #GoogleFreeRavi K. Udeshi
rkudeshi
The best thing I’ve learned this week: you really don’t need to leave your email open 24/7 (or even as much as 2/7). #GoogleFreeRavi K. Udeshi
rkudeshi
@rkudeshi I never left my email open 24/7. In fact I was awfully surprised the large number of people who actually do.Gregg
TheyCallMeGTab
@rkudeshi I guess a lot of people do it for Gmail’s chat options, but I’ve always been a fan of the standalone Google Talk application.Gregg
TheyCallMeGTab
@TheyCallMeGTab That’s why I did. I usually closed it when I was writing/studying, but now having it closed by default is a lot better.Ravi K. Udeshi
rkudeshi
Hard to believe it’s the last day of going #GoogleFree. Last few days, I’ve barely noticed being without Google (other than YouTube).Ravi K. Udeshi
rkudeshi
@rkudeshi Same here! Bing gives me pretty good search results…youtube was missed though :/Nitesh Arora
Nitesh_Arora
Today @rkudeshi & I are free of #GoogleFree … Only major changes during the week? Google Search & Youtube.Nitesh Arora
Nitesh_Arora
Woo, #GoogleFree finally over! Both harder & easier than it seemed.Ravi K. Udeshi
rkudeshi
So, was that better or worse than you would’ve thought? Up for trying the #GoogleFree experiment yourself, for a week or maybe even longer?