I just read a news item that surprised me - there will be no further development of Google Notebook - and services are being taken away from it right now. Google have promised they will maintain existing notebook accounts for the moment…
Starting next week, we plan to stop active development on Google Notebook. This means we’ll no longer be adding features or offer Notebook for new users. But don’t fret, we’ll continue to maintain service for those of you who’ve already signed up. As part of this plan, however, we will no longer support the Notebook Extension, but as always users who have already signed up will continue to have access to their data via the web interface at http://www.google.com/notebook.
If you haven’t used Notebook in the past, we invite you to explore the other Google products that offer Notebook-like functionality.
In a way, I’m almost happy Google are pulling the plug on Notebook - it wasn’t the easiest thing in the world to use, and it forces me to do something about the stack of websites that I use and/or contribute to.
So far the dead-pool of “things I will stop using” contains the following;
Google Notebook - Google have made my mind up for me on this one. It will soon be a “non notebook”.
MobileMe - I paid for it during my first year of iPhone ownership, but the lack of features to sync with other calendar solutions makes it more or less useless. When the account comes up for renewal, I won’t be renewing it.
Tumblr - I have had a Tumblr account for a long time, but have not used it for any sensible reason.
Posterous - I have had a Posterous account since they launched, and have used it occasionally - but never for it’s intended purpose.
Identi.ca - back in the days when Twitter failed all day long, Identica was the most sensible alternative. I haven’t touched it in months.
Plurk - another service that was fun for a couple of days, but I have not visited in ages.
Vox - another social network that I joined to find out what it was like - and never really used.
There will no doubt be more over the coming days and weeks - but the above list signals the beginning of the massacre.