Google shutters Cameos because people care more about personalized opinions in Search

While not widely discoverable, you could previously Google search your favorite celebrities and be informed on a few topics by them via something called Cameos. Google’s ill-fated app allowed anyone with enough star power to record themselves answering mundane questions so that you could get your healthy dose of appeal to popularity.

Apparently, this approach wasn’t appealing enough though, as the service is now shutting down four years after it launched. According to a new email sent out by the company to anyone participating, February 17, 2022 will be the last date that anyone can record videos through Cameos on Google, and also the last date that these can be posted to Google Search and Discover.

Starting February 18, 2022, you’ll no longer see these in either location while searching, and anyone who is signed up as a content creator can use Google Takeout to get a copy of their cameos for… self-admiration, I guess.

Aside from their lack of views as Google doesn’t seem to have pushed them hard enough in the public eye (I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Cameo), I would wager Cameos is shuttering because most users care about the personal opinions of their friends, family, and colleagues, as well as their favorite Youtube and social media influencers more than whatever Kim Kardashian has to say. I mean, if you care what she has to say, I guess that’s a valid use for the service, but you do you.

Celebrities like The Rock, on the other hand, have amassed such an adoring social presence and have cultivated their public image so well that anyone you ask on the street is likely subscribed to Dwayne’s page and checks in every now and again. I think there’s a very distinct difference between influencer and celebrity in 2022, and while some celebs like The Rock become popular online influencers, that isn’t really the case for all celebs.

I’m still trying to understand the connection between why I should care what a famous person thinks about my choice of morning cereal though – you know unless they’re a cereal enthusiast who’s built their platform on taste testing or something. To be fair, I assume the questions answered in video format had something to do with the celeb who recorded them, so there’s that.

If you’re a celebrity who happens to have been using Cameos, or if you’re someone who enjoyed the content that could be found as a result of their existence, let us know in the comments. Despite how I joke about the idea, I still think it was interesting and creative, even if it turned out to be less useful than pretty much anything else.