January 4th, 2007
Tip: Listen to users
Google is largely built on the suggestions of users — almost every one of their products has an associated "discussion" group, and you will find many of the features added (or removed) to products come from there. Blogs are one of the ways they get feedback on new features too — and it wasn't more apparent than when Google started promoting their own services within search results.
Blake Ross, the creator of Firefox, even wrote an article that many bloggers snapped up and very quickly discussed. Everyone thought the new feature was a sign that Google was starting to go too far by promoting services that weren't necessarily the best. Matt Cutts, one of the best known Google bloggers, even wrote about his dissatisfaction shortly after Blake's article was published.
It appears that Google listened to the people who raised their voice — for example, searching for "blog" once gave you a "Tip" about Google's Blogger service, but not anymore. This is another good example of how fluid and user oriented Google really is.
Garett Rogers is employed as a programmer for iQmetrix, which specializes in retail management software for the wireless industry.
See his full profile and disclosure of his industry affiliations.
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