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Google, late late Friday, announced they are doing more "spring cleaning" of limited used products and services or products and services they rather not continue with.
Here are the products and services closing:
- AdSense for Feeds is closing on October 2, 2012 and by December 3, 2012, it will completely stop working.
- Custom Home page backgrounds are going away next month and on October 16th you won't be able to upload new images.
- Google News Badges is going away completely on October 15th.
- Google News "Recommended Sections" is also going away on October 15th.
- +1 Reports in Webmaster Tools is also going away on November 14th.
- and much more, see this post.
I am a most upset about the AdSense for feeds but most surprised about the custom background image for Google home pages. The news badge, I was just waiting for but the recommended section is a bit surprising.
Forum discussion at Google News Help, WebmasterWorld and Google Web Search Help.
Comments:
Lyndon NA
10/03/2012 11:31 am
"... +1 Reports in Webmaster Tools is also going away on November 14th ...." Hmmm - that's a little worrying. I wonder if they have something else planned? A social media/G+ metrics board or similar? Not everyone has a website - so it doesn't make sense for the metrics to appear just there - when they could have Google Plus Metrics, and show your G+ data as well as any "on site" data that pertains to your Publisher and/or Author profiles.
John
10/03/2012 01:38 pm
"+1 Reports in Webmaster Tools is also going away on November 14th" haha yes... that's right Google, keep trying to hide this blatant flop while you plan on a to fail road to recover.
Joe Youngblood
10/04/2012 03:24 pm
Google's first admission that Google+ isn't working how they thought it would.
Eldi Beshiri
10/05/2012 04:52 pm
"+1 Reports in Webmaster Tools is also going away on November 14th." Finally ...Useless
forest peterson
10/06/2012 05:54 pm
news badges - I like to see that what I actually read a lot about is different than what I think I read a lot about. But, I could care less about 'earning' badges or specifically sharing these. It seems like a good idea to represent as part of my public profile my actual interests.
KKAA
10/30/2012 12:56 pm
ITS 30TH OCTOBER AND I STILL CAN CHANGE MY GOOGLE.COM BACKGRONG IMAGE
Carol Cannon
11/02/2012 01:59 am
Well.... I was thinking there was something wrong with my computer..... All the while it was Google being stupid.. So now instead of seeing a beautiful page when I open up my google internet browser, I get this stark white, cheap ass looking blank page... Thank you google for screwing up my online experience.
Zach Corbit
11/02/2012 10:57 pm
Google is Retarded, I was unsure earliar but now i know.
cbale2000
11/02/2012 11:06 pm
The removal of background images from google is very disappointing. It was the only thing that allowed me to avoid the retina-burning default white skin they used.
Sean Boske
11/02/2012 11:07 pm
I think removing Background Images is not such a good idea. :(
Tu Tran
11/02/2012 11:11 pm
I'll greatly miss my background image; it really personalized my experience. Is it really so stressful on Google's budget and staff that they had to remove it....? Hopefully someone can make a script to restore this feature.
James Young
11/02/2012 11:16 pm
WTF I liked backgrounds, fucking assholes!!11
thruniverse
11/02/2012 11:29 pm
Hey I like my home page - customisation is here andorid beats iphone - I want to keep my home page with MY picture - when google changes this will I still want it to be my home page? Not very likely.
Frank Parker
11/03/2012 12:28 am
I have been a fan of many of the Google apps and services for a long long time. I heard iGoogle was going away, I was upset. Not today, I see the Google Background is going away in a few days. Google is becoming like the other asshat company's who think they are gods gift to the world like Microsoft and Yahoo. If these Google services both go away, I go away. I left yahoo for Google, I do not use Microsoft products anymore, so... to hell with Google.
GhostRyderr
11/03/2012 12:31 am
Was bad enough Google Forcing us out of Internet Explorer...Chrome stinks......Now Forcing us to abandon our much loved background images too???...Outrageous~~ Prolly want to run some more stupid Ads...grrrrr...
Chade Fallstar
11/03/2012 12:35 am
I cannot bear the retina burning white background of the Google default search page, when my dark background image goes, so does Google as my homepage.
Aristorrat
11/03/2012 12:51 am
Wow, vary stupid move on there part to get rid of background images.
Elijah Lee
11/03/2012 12:54 am
Being so pissed. Thanks google, now using yahoo!
Shane Du Bois
11/03/2012 01:19 am
GOOGLE I FUCKING SWAER IM ONE STEP CLOSER TO BING....FUCKING ASSHOLES I LIKE MEH BACKGROUND IMAGE I DONT WANT TO TURN ON MY COMPUTER AT NIGHT AND HAVE MY EYES GET BURNED OUT MOTHER FUCKERS
Angelos Ballao
11/03/2012 01:58 am
I love my background. It has a beautiful photo that's not extremely bright when it comes to the original Google design. However, for customized backgrounds to be removed, I believe it'll be disappointing for me unless someone tells me why good reasons on why they're removing this feature. I love customized backgrounds because of the fact that when my friends search on my laptop, they will always see my best photos in the background and say, "Is this your photo?" and I'll reply, "Of course."
Jaylin
11/03/2012 02:20 am
I adore my custom home page background for google, when i open my browser i like something nice to look at, it is either that or me making a switch to bing, just for a nice look smh
Nira Yateru
11/03/2012 02:35 am
Haha, lame getting rid of background images. was the second best part about google other than the search engine itself.
Normandy Madden
11/03/2012 02:40 am
Very upset about losing background images, I don't understand why they can't continue this. Google has been my home page and I liked seeing my own photos when I was using the page so much. This is enough to make me switch to another browser.
Anon
11/03/2012 03:17 am
I will figure out a way to keep your background images. Who's the dumb *** that wanted it removed? Please resign due to poor decisions and lack of community interests.
Yippee238
11/03/2012 03:45 am
I guess I have to find a new start page where I can keep my background image. I'm very disappointed with Google
Ty Crisp
11/03/2012 03:48 am
I agree completely. Background images add a much appreciated 'zest' to my online experience.
Erik Wright
11/03/2012 06:02 am
I am going to be pissed if they get rid of the custom google background. I like having that. Burn in hell google if you do this.
Mark
11/03/2012 06:10 am
The background was useful; it was solid feedback about my login status and which of my two Google accounts and a third Google Apps account I was working on at that time -- in addition to the added benefit of occasionally doing the zen-like zone out on one of three awesome images I chose. Now, I've resigned myself to the extra step needed verifying personal activity on logins and locations while working with a barren expanse "treasure-hunting" for the faint mini icon two shades away from white. After that, what their marketing department's next move will be with the empty page is anybody's guess -- but it will be something and it won't pretty (the emotional hassle kind of way when dealing with commercials).
Ed B
11/03/2012 07:42 am
Seriously Google - do you have any idea how annoying your colored logo is? And now you will be removing background images? Here's a hint for you: it ain't broke so don't fix it. I want you to leave my background images alone, dammit!
Mike in RI
11/03/2012 10:39 am
I'll echo what Mark said 4 hours before me: I loved having my own background image in Google both for esthetic reasons and as an instant visual check of which Google account I'm signed into. Like at least one other power here, I've had the experience of other people see my background image and ask me if I took it and my proudly being able to tell them I did — a little thing, admittedly, but definitely an enhancement to an otherwise utterly impersonal experience.
JShep2179
11/03/2012 11:07 am
The day I can no longer customize my Google page is the last day I'll be using it. Douche........Bags.
dmm1210
11/03/2012 03:55 pm
What a disappointment to no longer have a background image. Bad move, Google. I'll be looking elsewhere for a new home page.
Bob
11/03/2012 06:00 pm
Nov 16 . . . Bing, here I come.
Yippee238
11/03/2012 11:57 pm
Nov 16th is the day Google jumps the shark.
davcolman
11/04/2012 01:15 am
background images on google home page going away -- me too!!!
Pop Rogers
11/04/2012 09:35 am
Now we can't go on holiday due to ill health, we had our last holiday photos on our homepages as a nice reminder. The sad folk at Google have no artistic feelings it seems and they must be just part of the oppressive machine they work for. So, maybe we will find a new home page that's got some artistic merit.
Pop Rogers
11/04/2012 09:37 am
I do agree. Sad these google folk can't see the merits of beauty.
Pop Rogers
11/04/2012 09:39 am
Do agree. But where do we all find another browser? Pop.
Caroline
11/04/2012 05:55 pm
My phone is due to get changed soon, will be going with iPhone and will also stop using Google as my Homepage. The customization of background images was one of the main reasons I used Google in the first place.
Pookey
11/06/2012 04:31 am
Why... I love my home page, all Google ever did was post custom your own home page all the time and we all did and loved it and with out any say about it they take it away... That's not right don't push something on everyone and get them started and custom to,that you don't intend to keep :( That's not very trust worthy and makes for very bad practice... Shame on Google. I will miss my Home page :(
Szuber72
12/16/2012 03:51 am
wtg google! Way to piss everyone off and lose a lot of business. Put the dam backgrounds back or people are leaving Google!! Is your company brain dead or what!!!!!