Many people were of the belief that Google was primarily motivated to be good[1] and bring benefits to the internet and if they made some money for shareholders that would be nice too[2]. They were (and still are) massively trusted.
Closing down services and increasing the ad prominence in search, turning into the big bureaucratic bully rather than the small snappy startup has come as a nasty shock to a number of people and they then feel betrayed and angry at Google. It is precisely those who trusted them most who are most angry.
The irrational love has now flipped (for many not all) into irrational hate (to use your word).
Those on the sidelines who never trusted Google enough to look after their mail might find both the love and the hatred overblown but many people feel heavily dependent on Google with Android phones, Gmail accounts and using Google Docs heavily. They worry not just about the current situation but what might come next.
[1] "don't be evil"
[2] I seem to recall the IPO prospectus didn't make shareholder returns seem a very high priority.
Closing down services and increasing the ad prominence in search, turning into the big bureaucratic bully rather than the small snappy startup has come as a nasty shock to a number of people and they then feel betrayed and angry at Google. It is precisely those who trusted them most who are most angry.
The irrational love has now flipped (for many not all) into irrational hate (to use your word).
Those on the sidelines who never trusted Google enough to look after their mail might find both the love and the hatred overblown but many people feel heavily dependent on Google with Android phones, Gmail accounts and using Google Docs heavily. They worry not just about the current situation but what might come next.
[1] "don't be evil"
[2] I seem to recall the IPO prospectus didn't make shareholder returns seem a very high priority.