Google Enjoys Some Milk

The incubator, Milk, has closed it’s doors as the 4 key employees, Chris Hutchins, Joshua Lane, Daniel Burka, and, Milk CEO & Founder, Kevin Rose, were acquhired by Google. Milk had shut down it’s first and only app, Oink, a few days ago stating that the company wanted to better focus on the next product it would be working on, but it appears it was just to prepare for the move to Google.

I’ve been very skeptical of Google’s move towards social and at times even very critical, but bringing on a team of the caliber as Milk gives me hope. Kevin Rose knows social, having successfully manipulated it to internet stardom, and is keen on finding new and niche markets first starting with Digg following with Revision3, Pownce, and finally Oink. Not every project he lead was a success (Pownce and Digg v4), but he has always been open and clear with his intentions and proves that he can learn from his mistakes. Combine that with the spectacular design sense of Daniel Burka(Digg, Pownce, Glitch, Milk, Oink) and we could be on our way to an innovatively social, beautiful, and user-friendly experience from Google.

It is heavily expected that they will be working primarily Google+ and that very well maybe the case, but I doubt that the Milk team will stay there. I think we can expect to see Milks hands in all things Google all the way down to Search and up to Android. For those who follow Kevin Rose on Twitter or Google+ know that he has been playing with a Galaxy Nexus for a while and has even asked the community their top 5 apps. It could be chocked up to simply wanting to try a new OS out after years with iOS, but I feel it is much more likely that he was doing research too see what others are doing right and wrong on, I assume, an unfamiliar platform.

I’m excited to see what develops from this, but the feeling is bittersweet as I would have loved to see what Milk would have done without the contraints of Google, but perhaps the reason Google hired them is because of what they had planned down the road.