--- title: "Going Google-Free: A Video Postmortem" date: 2010-08-27 redirect_from: - /google-free-postmortem/ - /2010/08/google-free-postmortem/ - /2010/08/27/google-free-postmortem/ --- Before I started this little experiment, I was wary of just how big of a monopoly Google seemingly had on useful web services. So, I decided to [live without Google for a week](http://www.raviudeshi.com/2010/08/could-you-live-without-google). How difficult was it? Well, at first I was incredibly frustrated. I recorded a short video (but to abide by my own rules, I sent it to someone else to upload to YouTube for me):

As you can see in that video, recorded on only my first day of the experiment, I was already second-guessing myself. However, as I progressed through the week, I found it became easier and easier to use some of the alternatives. I chronicled [my story in tweets](http://www.raviudeshi.com/2010/08/going-google-free-twitter-history), where you can see an evident progression from being obsessed with Google products to finding equal, if not superior, alternatives from other companies. In the end, I found myself rather happy with the results of the experiment. I recorded another video, where I further expounded on the reasons I believe myself and others feel so connected to Google, but also why we have reason to be legitimately excited for the future:

All in all, I must say that I found this little experiment to be a bit of an eye-opener on the power a single company has over the Internet. However, after trying so many new products this week from startups and competing online behemoths, I believe that singular stranglehold on trailblazing products may now be waning. More than anything, I am ridiculously excited about the future of the Internet and what the days and years ahead will hold. **What about you? Could you ever go a week (or longer!) without using Google products, now or in the future?**