• GigaOm, Wednesday, December 22, 2010 1:58 PM

Om Malik thinks Google has a "user experience" issue, which gets to the core of the problems presently facing the search giant. "No one can argue with Google's ability to engineer great software -- they've done so in the past -- but that simply isn't good enough in the new worlds they are trying to conquer," according to Malik.

In particular, "Televisions, phones, productivity applications and even Google's own local pages are less about search and more about engagement: something not core to the company's corporate DNA." To succeed going forward, Google needs to make software usable by consumers worldwide using a diverse array of products; "overcome its history of only using data to define its future;" and figure out how to keep consumers engaged rather than sending them off to others' digital properties. To illustrate the issues facing Google, Malik points to Google plans this week to postpone the release of new Google TV software.

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