Google Simplicity

Did Google do a boo-boo? No Google Toolbar in Chrome? I can't even do a simple search within a site.

Harry McCracken's analysis concluded that the most widely used Google application is its Toolbar (you don't use it? where have you been?).

The thing about Google is: They tend to include whatever's really necessary. Which is why their famous 'start-page' is so (famously) bare. It just gives you what you need. If you want more, you ask/click for it.

In a world of infinite choices, its refreshing to see power-houses like Google stand out by accentuating simplicity and leveraging public opinion and word-of-mouth (remember how gmail spread? only if existing users chose to share their free accounts).

Still, they gotta clear of unforced errors like the lack of a toolbar!