Google's Pac-Man Homage Shows the Power of Old Tech
What's the easiest way to say happy 30th birthday to Pac-Man? Go to Google's (GOOG) home page and play the logo. Yes, play. For the occasion, the company has turned its logo into an homage to the seminal video game. It will even play on an iPhone. Because Google used a set of technologies that Apple (APPL) would approve, Jared Newman at PCWorld took the Pac-Man logo-game to be a jab at Steve Jobs. I think that's over-reaching, but there is a lesson for in all Pac-Man as logo. There is power in old-tech.
Most high tech companies eschew anything dated. After all, if businesses aren't always pushing the newest offerings, what would they sell? But most industries understand the potential of retro design and nostalgia. Furthermore, the smart tech companies marry utility with timeless style. Although Apple always pushes on to the next product, older items don't seem dated, at least in industrial design.
Google's search page is a marvelous example. Although the company has made some changes on its results pages that have brought criticism from some, the front page remains an emblem of simplicity in an industry taken with ornate filigree. Compare Google to Yahoo (YHOO), or even Microsoft's (MSFT) Bing. One reason so many consumers gravitate to Google is because the look is low-tech. There's no crowding, nothing to communicate a sense of confusion and complexity.
People also get attached to old habits and ways of doing business. When Google decided to refresh the look of the YouTube video pages, the company got no end of grief from users. The company forgot the lesson that its front page should have taught.
Revamping the page to "freshen" its image not only be a waste of time, but injurious to the business. The occasional foray into logo graphical whimsy is fine, but the company realizes that when something works, keep it. The high tech goes into the back office process of queries. That's where it should be. Executives shouldn't rule out the tried and true -- like a 30-year-old game â€" simply because it's been around.
Image: courtesy Google