I Hate Google

2025-09-02 · Source: ThePrimeagen · Field: Technology & Digital — Software Development & Engineering · Depth: Novice, quick

Summary

Google's internal product strategy demonstrates significant inconsistency regarding its own WEBP image format. Despite acquiring the company behind WEBP in 2010 and the format achieving widespread support across all major web browsers, key Google products fail to adopt it. Specifically, YouTube does not utilize WEBP for its video thumbnails, and Google Docs lacks support for the format. This situation highlights a notable internal fragmentation within Google, where a lossy compression standard developed and owned by the company is not uniformly integrated across its own ecosystem, leading to user frustration over missed optimization opportunities.

Key takeaway

For product managers evaluating new web standards or internal technology rollouts, recognize that even widely supported formats, especially those from large organizations, can face significant internal adoption hurdles. Do not assume that a technology's ownership guarantees its consistent integration across all related products. You should factor in potential delays or outright non-adoption by internal teams, and actively advocate for cross-product consistency to maximize the benefits of new standards.

Key insights

Google exhibits internal product fragmentation despite owning and developing a widely supported web standard.

Principles

• Internal product silos impede technology adoption.

Topics

• WEBP
• Image Compression
• Google Product Strategy
• Web Standards
• Internal Adoption

Best for: Software Engineer, Product Manager

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Editorial summary, takeaway, and curation by AIssential. Original article published by ThePrimeagen.