Danny Sullivan over at Search Engine Watch shared his list of 25 things which he hates about Google and makes an interesting point.
Obviously the news about Google buying Writely earlier this week, sparked the interest and while you could mistake it for a rant at first site, he is able to bring up many examples where Google and most of all the Google applications need improvement, to make a stand.
And after reading through all 25 points, I found myself agreeing with him on many of them.
The thing where I disagree with Danny heavily are his comments regarding the UI. Even though I understand that he points out that many Google applications have different interfaces, or different ways to interact with the user, I do not necessarily see this as a drawback and believe that there is not always just one way to communicate with people on a website.
I find a “single-sign-on” (as Google provides) to be the core of integration and everything beyond that be as it fits. I find it more than necessary to communicate in adequat ways, ways acceptable and usable, decided on a per application or per use basis.
The way Google Mail works, does not have to be the way people want Adsense to respond to them. Sometimes it makes sense to use all the Ajax-hype to spice up an interface, and sometimes it just does not.
In the end, I do not remember one Google application which I did not find intuitive in one way or the other. Many of them stand out as excellent examples – by themselves and of course among each other. Anyway, I don’t want to get into it too much and bore you, so please make up your own mind!
In response to Danny’s blog entry, Matt Cutts argues what he likes about Google.
And if you have anything to add, feel free to leave a comment! :-)