Comments on: Dear Eric: The Proper Response Is "I'm Sorry"

By: Dear Google: Harm or Not, You Fouled Up on Privacy | Inside Google

Fri, 21 May 2010 21:47:16 +0000

[...] it clear they would be public—Google CEO Eric Schmidt told attendees of one conference that the issue was blown out of proportion, that no harm was caused, and that the situation was primarily a result of users misunderstanding [...]

By: Google Slammed by Privacy Authorities Over Buzz « AccessTech News

Google Slammed by Privacy Authorities Over Buzz « AccessTech News — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 16:43:48 +0000

[...] a bipartisan group of lawmakers from the House of Representatives. Although Google CEO Eric Schmidt has said that “no one was harmed” by Buzz, project manager Todd Jackson later apologized for the way the [...]

By: Google Slammed by Privacy Authorities Over Buzz

Google Slammed by Privacy Authorities Over Buzz — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 13:54:15 +0000

By: Google’s ‘irresponsible conduct’ with Buzz – FTC member: « Rightways's Blog

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 03:45:39 +0000

[...] quite au fait with the outcry that accompanied Buzz. At the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona, he referred to “confusion” and suggested that there weren’t any occurrences of “really bad [...]

By: Buzz + Latitude = A Minefield for Google – GigaOM

Buzz + Latitude = A Minefield for Google – GigaOM — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 22:57:19 +0000

[...] Unless Google first makes Buzz much simpler, CEO Eric Schmidt will have a lot more opportunities to blame users for misunderstanding the [...]

By: rms

rms — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 13:46:21 +0000

Pure arrogance from Dr. Strnglelove and crew. Now wonder Buzz is a disaster. These are three of the most asocial, ham-handed cocoon dwellers in all of technology.

By: Gromosso

Gromosso — Sat, 20 Feb 2010 12:20:06 +0000

This is just a flub. It will pass.

By: Stilgherrian

Stilgherrian — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 19:25:28 +0000

Personally, I've always thought that blaming the users is a cheap way out. Stepping back from this specific Google case, the IT and internet industries have created incredibly complex systems and yet is often very bad at explaining the implications of using them.

The activation of Google Wave was presented as a big friendly button. Press it and something cool will happen. Any explanations or cautions are hidden behind a smaller link or buried in a lengthy terms and conditions document -- which no-one reads because at that moment their goal is to check their email in Gmail, not explore some new facility they've never heard of.

Saying "I've used it and I've had no problems", implying that others are stupid for not being as capable, is precisely the same kind of arrogance as Schmidt is showing.

By: Phil

Phil — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 13:10:33 +0000

Schmidt is utterly dismissive of what he see's as the great unwashed masses. He is bringing a sense of entitlement and unrestrained arrogance to Google's view of the world.

By: Dear Eric, the proper response is I’m sorry

Dear Eric, the proper response is I’m sorry — Fri, 19 Feb 2010 12:57:02 +0000

[...] full post on Hacker News If you enjoyed this article, please consider sharing it! Tagged with: Dear • [...]