They quickly changed the product to a 'project' and that gave them
room to manuever. Whatever fault you find now can't stick on them,
it's an ongoing work.
This puts the reveiwers in a not so comfortable place of relative
influence(they usually want to be lords over all they behold).
Select Entry
Just like Gmail, Google Plus is currently an invite-only event. So
those that come in are psychologically prepped up to sit in awe raw
than in judgement. So if they have a fustrating experience, the
fustration won't be directed at Google in terms of a backlash but at
why they have to be the one to experience it and they diffuse that
fustrattion by connecting with others.
Face book Eat Your Heart Out
It was well timed. First a salvo from some high ranking Google people
at facebook pointedly picking a hole that they were about filling up
and then the release. And Facebook can't do anything about it. They
would not dare, should not. They shouldn't because what Facebook has,
that is now being ridiculed is their asset. Facebook is like a rowdy
party that has its edge and fun in its rowdiness. Everybody is in
everybody's face and its a typical college get together all over again
where the main aim is to relieve tension and be as crazy as you can
for the limited time available before the next morning. So they are in
a fix, if we move, they will say we moved and if we stay......we'll
stay(hopefully).
But this gives Google Plus all the aces as it were because they can
tout why they are different and sell their difference without fear of
Facebook risking a response, strategically or otherwise.
A Good Lesson In Product Release When There Are So Much Haters
Around(RIM take note) ie when you are percieved to too big to be
liked.
Rewind into last year. And the RIM guy comes up and says....here's our
tab project. We are releasing only two million units within the month
of April alone as our 'beta' stage and buyers will be in a position to
help perfect the 'project'. Meanwhile they are still sticking to their
time table of early release against the backdrop of a not so ready
product.
They could have even released it in January then given developers a
set time line of two months to come up with apps that will be added in
April etc. At the 'beta' stage 1.5 million units would only be
released to blackberry users while the remaining could be given to the
public who reading between the lines would add a blackberry device to
their list of gadgets.
There are so many ways this could have been handled....in restrospect
and there are still so many ways it can still be properly handled even
now. But Google learnt there lesson well from other people's mistake.
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