when Google knows
May 19, 2007 – 8:14 pmGoogle usability is world-renowned. A balance of form, function and simplicity.
But innovation and, usability design in particular, is much easier when you have the world’s behavioral data at your fingertips. Google has the luxury to start simple and use what it knows about you to design how to make what you do easier or completely change the way you do what you do altogether. It’s really effective. Think of it as a constantly evolving system that is (hopefully) also always improving your productivity.
Ever wonder why Gmail is always in Beta? – does anyone know the real answer to this? 
Google’s data-driven methodology supported Gmail’s latest “View sent message” notification for example.
After you send an email using Gmail’s web interface you are notified that the message was sent and, now, presented with a “View sent message” link. Most people I know, including myself, check their “Sent Mail” folder to read through or verify that their message was in fact sent. Where this habit came from in the first place is a bit of a mystery to me but as far as Google is concerned the behavior speaks for itself and this tiny Google update makes my life that much easier. Taking it one step further using A/B testing techniques, Google can actually release these changes to a subset of its user base to determine how real users will behave with these new changes before releasing them worldwide.
This data-driven methodology isn’t perfect and I would argue it works best for these small, convenient updates. Take for example Google Analytics’ latest report views overhaul:
Form definitely outdid function in my opinion. Of course, the data-driven methodologies are only one dimension taken into consideration when new changes, products and services are released. Fortunately, Google has kindly provided me with the option to use the older interface too.
Must be nice to be in the know…
One Response to “when Google knows”
Google’s VP of Technology came to my company earlier this year and gave a talk about innovation. I was amazed to see a VP that was very focused on user-centered design. I remember someone asking the question, “How do you feel when other companies copy your ideas?” His answer was, that Google does it for the end user, and they are not concerned with others copying Google. Even if a bigger competitor becomes more successful at gaining market share with Google’s ideas, the end user would still have benefited.
Conversely, it seems most companies are very protective about their IP, and will sue to maintain a competitive advantage.
By Ankur on Oct 26, 2007