Some of it is probably a bit of me-too-ism, but keep in mind that both Microsoft and Google are huge companies with a large number of people working semi-autonomously. Sometimes a team of a half dozen or so has been working on something just like it for three years on-and-off and, having been beaten to the punch, they go ahead and launch whatever they have rather than let it go cold.

It's not terribly surprising that some of these ventures are short-lived and half-baked; there's a reason they hadn't launched earlier. But once you've spent three goddamn years of your life on something, you might as well try a Hail Mary before the project is shut down.

It's usually a knee-jerk reaction to not being able to buy the original. Big and hairy company threats small company that they'll "crush them" if they refuse an acquisition offer, small company actually refuses, big and hairy company rushes to launch competitor just to follow through, even if it makes little business sense, big and hairy company knock off fails to get traction, small company thrives, and everyone forgets.

Unlike Microsoft, who had the will and executive ability to expand to new territories and destroy competitors, Google has a remarkable record of half-baked works and giving up. it's a joke.