Google Maps UX: The India Conundrum

I worked on Google Maps monetization, and then on Maps itself.

Monetization was a dismal failure. I don't know how well they're doing now, but Maps was a gigantic money-loser, forever. I'd be a little surprised if it didn't still lose money, but maybe less. I don't what those "pin ads" cost, but I'd bet it's way less than a search ad.

If you don't be... See more

Only free products work in India; subscription products fail miserably. They refuse to pay extra for convenience or entertainment. Anecdote: Kunal says that even wealthy people spend hours shifting around their phone storage as opposed to purchasing a couple of dollars worth of cloud storage. Business example: Netflix initially failed in India by a... See more