Google Apologizes For the Abrupt Shutdown of Video Download Service

This past week Google made a very abrupt move and shut down its download / rent service over at Google Video. They sent emails to their users and simply offered them a refund of $2 at Google checkout. Not only they had disabled the purchase and rent service, they also prevented the playback of previously purchased / downloaded videos.

DRM related issues and post YouTube acquisition strategy were being blamed for this move. Since this was very abrupt and non Google like, it received a lot of negative feedback from the blogosphere. Om Malik even openly referred to this as “bunch of bologna” on his weekly Web TV show.

Reacting to these negative sentiments Google officially apologized on its blog today. Bindu Reddy, Product Manager for Google Video posted an entry on Google blog about this and positioned it as an oversight on their part. They acknowledged the mistake and accepted that their initial approach was far away from common sense. Google is not reinstating the service in any case, however its planning to make the shutdown somewhat smoother. Here are some of the steps they are planning to take (via Google Blog):

• We’re giving a full refund — as a credit card refund — to everyone who ever bought a video. We’ll need you to make sure we have your most recent credit card information, but once we know where to send the money, you’ll get it.

• You can still keep the Google Checkout credit that you’ve received already. Think of it as an additional ‘we’re sorry we goofed’ credit.

• We’re going to continue to support playing your videos for another six months. We won’t be offering the ability to buy additional videos, but what you’ve already downloaded will remain playable on your computer.

Its good to see Google trying to quickly mend things and stick to their “Dont be Evil” policy. I am sure Bindu and the video team have been at the receiving end for past week or so.

However I whole heartedly agree with Om Malik on the issue. Google is not a small start-up anymore and lot of people have started depending and trusting them with information. They do have a social responsibility towards their users and must consider them before making knee jerk decisions. Its a serious credibility issue as well. How can one trust them with any new service if they cannot continue to manage and stick with what they launch?