Google Shuts Down Helpouts: A Sign of Waning Patience?
Google has urgently shut down its Helpouts online Q&A platform. Google’s service partners sent an email to inform users of this decision and explained the reasons, stating that Helpouts will be closed on April 20 this year because, although the Helpouts online community had some loyal fans, it did not achieve the expected growth.
Helpouts, launched in 2013, offers online consultation services across multiple fields, with service fees set independently by the registered experts. Healthcare and medical consultations are also included.
What Are the Drawbacks of Helpouts?
What exactly went wrong with Helpouts, which had been in operation for just over a year? Experts offering services on the platform shared their perspectives, which can be summarized into several key aspects:
1. It is difficult to persuade users to pay for online Q&A services. Accustomed to free internet search services, users are more inclined to seek free assistance on Helpout and are rarely willing to pay for such services. For instance, a psychological counselor stated that he initially planned to offer free services to gradually convert patients into paying clients; however, this freemium strategy ultimately failed to materialize. This outcome was also attributable to the fact that Helpout’s services were not covered by medical insurance.
2. Many consulting services only truly demonstrate their value when delivered as long-term, regular engagements; however, most users on the platform tend to pose numerous questions at once, making it difficult to resolve issues effectively through this mode of communication within a short timeframe.
3. The categories on Helpout are not sufficiently professional or granular, making it difficult for users with specific questions to find truly relevant experts. For instance, while fitness nutrition and health are listed as two of the eight major themes, they lack further sub-categorization.
Helpouts Medical Units Were Once Bullish on Video Integration
While these drawbacks seem quite reasonable in hindsight, they were not perceived as such when Helpouts was first launched. In the healthcare sector, the Helpouts Healthcare vertical was initially praised by the industry for integrating the Hangouts video chat tool, which facilitated convenient remote video consultations.
Services in the Helpouts Healthcare section are limited to the United States, and onboarding experts are required to provide relevant credentials. To ensure HIPAA compliance, Google Helpouts implemented additional security measures for its healthcare sector. Helpouts automatically records chat sessions and sends the transcripts to both patients and providers.
Google Has Had Similar Failures
Helpouts was not the first healthcare-related project that Google shut down. In 2011, Google discontinued its online health platform, Google Health. Launched in 2008, the Google Health project ran for three years before being terminated in 2011. It was an online platform designed to help users manage their personal medical records, allowing them to input their personal health information into Google Health, thereby entrusting this valuable data to Google’s hosting services. At the time of its discontinuation, Google cited failure to achieve expected growth as the reason. However, in reality, many industry professionals who held high hopes for healthcare reform highly affirmed the value of Google Health. After Google announced the shutdown, commentators attempted to summarize various reasons: the platform lacked social features; privacy restrictions limited the utilization of personal data; there was a lack of collaboration with insurance companies and healthcare institutions; and Google exhibited impatience with the project, among other factors.
The current suspension of Helpouts bears a striking resemblance to the past, yet Google’s patience this time appears significantly shorter, leaving us with the impression that the company lacks diligence. The willingness to experiment and learn from mistakes, coupled with the ability to adjust course at any moment—so-called adaptive innovation, or perhaps opportunism—may hold some merit, but it is hardly a universally applicable principle.(To stay updated on the latest news about internet healthcare startups, please follow VCBeat’s WeChat official account: vcbeat. You are also welcome to engage with us on topics of interest, contact us via WeChat, and share your startup projects or relevant research insights.)