Here is a list of Google mistakes:

- renamed Google maps, Google locals ... thankfully it was actually renamed Google maps again.

- renamed Froogle, Google products.

- bingified the basic layout of Google search when search option was a much clever way of added advanced search options.

- integrated Google Buzz into Gmail when it should have been a separate product and a much refined one too.

- focused on Gmail web chat and added video when the Google chat client should have been competing with Skype. Let Skype dominate the space of video chat.

- not enough promotion of Google profiles which opens the way even more to Facebook. That with the Google Buzz mistake, shows that Google has a hard time understanding social. Hint Google, when will you understand to simply integrate profile in Gmail instead?

- lack of understanding of the potential power of similar products to Google Answers e.g Stackoverflow.com

The items on any "list of mistakes" that we write are necessarily subjective, but I'd add to the list Google's behavior when they closed their Google Video Store.

When Google revoked the keys to the "download-to-own" and "download-to-rent" videos, so that the purchased videos were no longer viewable, Google didn't give a refund but instead gave a credit to Google Checkout that expired in 60 days.

After public complaints, Google decided to give a refund too.

http://blogoscoped.com/archive/2007-08-11-n74.html

The discontinued development of Google Notebook. They should have added it to Docs.

Agreed that Froogle was a great name! It's now a combination of Product Search and Shopping depending on which link you click. Maybe call it Froogle Shopping.

I like the new Search layout, but they should have an option to revert to or show the classic mode too – why not?

I think Buzz inside Gmail is fine, but the rollout was handled poorly and it should also have its own independent site.

Gmail Talk/chat/video never had good promotion or direction. Like you said, it should be an actual Skype competitor by now.

Rename Google Profile to Google ID or make it part of an Open ID initiative. FB is running away fast with the online digital ID throne.

Orkut – terrible, terrible, awful name. I think it translates to: WTF does that mean? Sure it's popular in Brazil, but that's likely to fall to FB soon too. Rename it, develop it and turn it into a real social network. It could be the 'glue' that combines together Gmail, Profiles, iGoogle, Buzz, Picasa and Sites.

Picasa Web Albums. The name is too long and specific. Just call it Picasa web or Google Photos. It still doesn't have a community feel to it – just a collection of images/albums.

Knol – Not the go-to site for area knowledge experts that it was billed as. Still lacks an authoritative angle.

Patent Search: Never really evolved. Not sure if its even still up to date or

Some of the name and feature changes, I guess, are normal evolution. One bigger error might have been their 3D chat world Google Lively, because either it was a bad product line for Google (then it shouldn't have been made) or it was a good one (then it should have gotten more time out there in the wild, for evolution to get a chance). On the other hand, considering we don't really know why it was cancelled, this is speculative. Perhaps they had to release it to realize error X or Y. If only Niniane would start speaking out on this issue :)

As for the left hand "bingified" search option, I don't like it yet (because I rarely use it, so it's mostly clutter right now), but I will give it some more time. I used it once already during the past days, clicking on "Images" there. Haven't yet used it for anything else. (Did Google scale down on oneboxes at the same time? That might change some results behavior which might be too subtle to consciously notice.) I'm sure Google conducted a couple of ~million tests and it was *something* in their click data that convinced them this was the right thing to roll out? Maybe new unique users for some of their more casual apps like Maps etc.? (I suppose they could keep track of which Google apps have already been visited by a given logged in Google user?)