SS-001 · 2013
RSS reader · Google
Google Reader — The Beloved RSS Reader Google Switched Off in 2013
Google · Shut Down
SS-002 · 2020
Web runtime · Adobe
Adobe Flash Player — The Web’s Animation Engine, Patched to Death
iOS / HTML5 / security debt · Discontinued
SS-003 · 2009
Web host · Yahoo
GeoCities — Yahoo Deleted the Handmade Web in 2009
Yahoo · Shut Down
SS-004 · 2017
Instant messenger · AOL
AIM — The Buddy List That Phones and Facebook Outgrew
phones / Facebook · Shut Down
SS-005 · 2024
Instant messenger · Mirabilis
ICQ — The Uh-Oh Heard Round the World, Switched Off at 28
VK / decades of newer apps · Shut Down
SS-006 · 2021
Q&A community · Yahoo
Yahoo Answers — The Internet’s Question Box, Closed for Good in 2021
Yahoo/Verizon (declining use) · Shut Down
SS-007 · 2012
Collaboration tool · Google
Google Wave — The Revolution No One Could Explain, Donated to Apache in 2012
Google (no one understood it) · Open-Sourced
SS-008 · 2016
Photo organizer · Google
Picasa — The Photo Organizer Google Killed for the Cloud
Google (→ Google Photos) · Discontinued
SS-009 · 2022
Web browser · Microsoft
Internet Explorer — It Won the Web, Then Became the Browser You Used to Download Another One
Chrome / its own stagnation · Discontinued
SS-010 · 2017
Mobile OS · Microsoft
Windows Phone — The Well-Reviewed OS the Apps Never Came For
iOS / Android (app gap) · Discontinued
SS-011 · 2017
Backend-as-a-service · Facebook
Parse — The Backend Facebook Bought, Then Switched Off Under Half a Million Apps
Facebook (strategic exit) · Shut Down
SS-012 · 2015
Music streaming · Escape Media
Grooveshark — The Free Jukebox That Was Built on Songs It Never Licensed
the major labels / copyright law · Shut Down
SS-013 · 2015
Music streaming · Rdio
Rdio — The Streaming Service Critics Adored and Spotify Buried
Spotify (outspent) · Bankrupt
SS-014 · 2016
Email app · Orchestra/Dropbox
Mailbox — The Email App Dropbox Bought, Stalled, and Switched Off
Dropbox (refocus) · Shut Down
SS-015 · 2025
VoIP service · Microsoft
Skype — The App That Made Calling a Verb, Folded Into Teams
Zoom / Teams (and Microsoft itself) · Merged