Google Helpouts will be shut down due to “slower than expected growth” on April 20th. Users can download their Helpouts history until November 1st using Google Takeout.
Launched in November 2013, Google Helpouts was an expert directory built upon the Google Hangouts infrastructure. At launch, the platform was used by several education companies including Coursera, Rosetta Stone and Alliance Française.
On the one hand, it is not unusual for Google to shut down products that do not gain enough traction, even though those products might have a dedicated group of users. On the other hand, there is a growing number of startups that offer the same service focused on a specific vertical.
Berlin-based Flexperto offers its platform to banks and insurance companies, Miami-based LiveNinja offers its Katana platform to a broader range of businesses that want to offer video chat based advice to their customers.
And then there is of course Chegg which uses InstaEDU’s on-demand technology to offer a low-cost college guidance counseling service. After being acquired by Chegg in June 2014, InstaEDU (now Chegg Tutors) offers on-demand tutoring sessions for students who are stuck during their studies or prepare for an exam at $0.40 per minute.
via The Verge
Further Reading
- Helpouts is shutting down | Google
- Coursera, Rosetta Stone, Alliance Française among the first to offer Google Helpouts | EDUKWEST
- Chegg Launches Affordable Online College Guidance Counseling Service | PR Newswire
- HEDLINE: Chegg acquires InstaEDU for $30 million | EDUKWEST