Google Drives Never Ending Branding Struggle
So what are you calling yourself today Google Drive?
Like many longtime users of Google Drive, I’m sure you are asking why another name change? I asked myself that too when I saw yet another complicated twist in Google’s neverending “my way or the highway” approach to how they handle their users.
I completely understand that software changes over time and at some point the achecture that a program was developed on can only go so far and a complete reinstall is needed. But what I don’t understand is why Google decided to rebrand an application 3 times in the past 9 years.
When Google Drive First came out in 2012, it was perfect timing. Frustrated by bugs and lack of storage space users of dropbox (like myself) wanted something better and Google finally developed, basically the same thing as Dropbox into their suite of free applications. As a designer it’s a game changers having the ability to sync large files across work computers and even have the ability to download or view them on my phone, and yes, I’m still using an iPhone 4 with 4 gigs of storage on it back in 2012.
Now fast forward to 2017. Google ends their support for Google Drive for Desktop and replaces it with Backup and Sync. It’s pretty much the same thing rebanded. However it wasn’t a seamless transition. But whatever, it’s cheap and I need lots of storage, so I’ll make it work. Now the weird part during the Backup and Sync years is that they never ended Google Drive for mobile apps. Still called Drive but worked with Backup and Sync. So yet again, branding has never been Googles strong suite.
How here we are again, 2021 and what pops up on my computer, but a notification that Backup and Sync is no longer supported and you need to install “Drive”. Ok no problem. It’s Google, I’m sure they developed a seamless transition, and have tested it to work out all the bugs. Nope.
