The Buzz on Buzz

Fugitivus has been sharing her story about Google Buzz. It seems that the product manager for Gmail and Buzz has apologised to her, but some people are still not satisfied by Google's response.

Google seems to be missing several key points, as far as I can see:

1. Not everybody wants their different electronic circles integrated. Perhaps not for the dramatic reasons Fugitivus has, but for equally good ones (as indicated by the frequent anecdotes about "friending" one's boss on Facebook);

2. Issues with serious consequences deserve clear and unambiguous user-interface support, a point well made by Michael Crichton in Jurassic Park (the electric fences protecting you from the giant killer dinosaurs are currently off: would you like to turn them on? YES -- I'd rather not be messily devoured, NO -- I'm feeling lucky);

3. Information flow is one of the key issues. Facebook learned early on that people wanted fine control over, and clear visibility of, the flows of personal information that were occurring (not just individual items of information);

4. It's not enough to have bright people building cool services. You also need some people who can understand and comment on the human implications of technical decisions before they are implemented; and

5. Customer good will can take years to build up, but just days to lose.