Here’s another idea that should never have made it out the petri dish at Google (GOOG) Labs. Gmail, which I like, has added a new feature to prevent you from sending email that you might later regret. You can enable a new feature in Gmail called Mail Goggles which will prompt you to solve some math problems after you click ‘Send’ to verify you’re in the right state of mind and that you are sure you really want to send the email. Luckily, the pesky thing is only active by default late at night on the weekend; as Google claims, that is the time you’re most likely to need it. And once it’s enabled, you can adjust when it’s active.
Did market research tell them this is something users really want? Is this something that really enhances the user experience and adds value? I highly doubt that. This is more of a nuisance. If you are sending late night emails, the last thing you want is to be annoyed by having to solve geeky math problems just to get your email out. This is more of a user experience hindrance than help. For a company that prides itself so much on usability, this is highly surprising. The 10% time some Googlers have to work on special projects must be getting slashed in half because this is half-baked. Hatching up new ideas to keep the PR machine rolling is tough. This is what happens when you start drinking your own kool aid and keep trying to be cute and smart. Whomever came up with this or better yet, approved this out the door, should be fired!
This article has 14 comments:
Do you suggest that Google should stop innovating? Stop pushing the boundaries of the Internet?
I would recommend getting your facts straight before embarrassing yourself and your publication with unfounded conclusions.
I, for one, appreciate the opportunity to think about what I have written when there is an excellent chance the half-bottle of single malt may have caused me to send a message that I could regret.
And I dare say it's psychologically flawed; the people most likely to send self-destructive email are also the least likely to turn on this filter in the first place.
However, if they could put a feature like this on Joe Biden's mouth, they might be on to something.
If a Gmal user wants this feature, he has to *proactively* go to settings and enable it. It is not activated by default. And if he is unhappy with it, he can later deactivate it.
You got to learn to be more transparent and unbiased in your articles Reshma. Don't hide facts.
As many commenters have already noted, you have to enable this option. After looking at the Google Labs options, why didn't you write an article about the "snake" game?
By the way, it's 20% time...
"Start drinking your own kool aid"!?!?!??! WHAT?!?!?!?!?!!? That was something fun/funny someone made. How can you bash over creativity? I can't believe they let you post this...
But, I haven't seen the math questions. If they want you to calculate the square root of a polynomial or something crazy, then the feature probably isn't a good solution. If the question is 2+3 or 5+5 or even 6/1, I might accept it.
Being a man, I think we often act before thinking and this may just help us out a bit. Obviously all women are perfect and this feature may not make sense :).
Alas, what do I know, I only averaged 43% return on gold ETF and bullion last 3 years : )
mining101.blogspot.com
The honeymoon is over. Google stock is way down for the first time and the company is going to get a big injection of shareholder scrutiny until they are back over 500. Look for some of those over the top benefits to go away soon as the "shareholder value" engine starts up!
GMS, the former Postini, is a formitable, reliable, safe, and secure email security service that boasts business users such as Starbucks, UBS, Merrill Lynch and tens of thousands of small and large businesses.
GA wants to compete with MSFT in word processing, spreadsheet, and collaboration. Here, GA has zero value as well over 90% of organizations who actually use GA use the FREE version.
GA is a nice thought, but is marketed by a Google division that is run by a bunch of preppy looking and slick talking dudes who have no idea what customers want as they never talk with their business or channel partners.