Comments on: The Official Google Blog is NOT a Blog http://www.zoliblog.com/2006/12/31/the-official-google-blog-is-not-a-blog/ Connecting the dots ... Tue, 03 Nov 2009 11:19:13 -0500 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.8.5 hourly 1 By: Robert http://www.zoliblog.com/2006/12/31/the-official-google-blog-is-not-a-blog/#comment-12757 Robert Wed, 09 Jul 2008 17:15:52 +0000 http://www.zoliblog.com/2006/12/31/the-official-google-blog-is-not-a-blog/#comment-12757 Let me tell you my experience with Google: I was banned from Google Checkout and then when I complained at adwords they suspended my account there. So far no reasons offered. They said they couldn't give any reason for "security reasons". I run an honest business with products with warranties at lower markups than my competitors. With a near global monopoly one would think that Google would have some kind of policies designed to prevent abuse. I can say that a Google Blog without comments is the least of what this company is doing wrong. Let me tell you my experience with Google: I was banned from Google Checkout and then when I complained at adwords they suspended my account there. So far no reasons offered. They said they couldn’t give any reason for “security reasons”. I run an honest business with products with warranties at lower markups than my competitors. With a near global monopoly one would think that Google would have some kind of policies designed to prevent abuse. I can say that a Google Blog without comments is the least of what this company is doing wrong.

]]> By: Search Engine Land: News About Search Engines & Search Marketing http://www.zoliblog.com/2006/12/31/the-official-google-blog-is-not-a-blog/#comment-1597 Search Engine Land: News About Search Engines & Search Marketing Wed, 14 Feb 2007 19:56:20 +0000 http://www.zoliblog.com/2006/12/31/the-official-google-blog-is-not-a-blog/#comment-1597 <strong>Google Webmaster Central Leaves Beta; Its Blog Gains Comments</strong> Google Webmaster Central has officially come out of beta, about a year-and-a-half after Google Sitemaps -- core of the service later renamed Google Webmaster Central -- launched. To celebrate, a new era for Google. The Official Google Webmaster Central... Google Webmaster Central Leaves Beta; Its Blog Gains Comments

Google Webmaster Central has officially come out of beta, about a year-and-a-half after Google Sitemaps — core of the service later renamed Google Webmaster Central — launched. To celebrate, a new era for Google. The Official Google Webmaster Central…

]]> By: Anonymous http://www.zoliblog.com/2006/12/31/the-official-google-blog-is-not-a-blog/#comment-1589 Anonymous Tue, 02 Jan 2007 15:07:33 +0000 http://www.zoliblog.com/2006/12/31/the-official-google-blog-is-not-a-blog/#comment-1589 Adam, I'm not saying Google does not participate in any sort of dialogue... those other channels are all good, perhaps listing them on the blog like you propose is helpful, too. That said, whether a conversation belongs to "The Blog" or those other groups is basically determined when the author of a blog posts clicks "post". If it happens to be in the blog, than that's where it is, and that's where responses belong to - too late to send them elsewhere. Thanks for commenting (btw, I do remember your Plaxo days, you always cared about customer communication), and Happy New Year. :-) Adam, I’m not saying Google does not participate in any sort of dialogue… those other channels are all good, perhaps listing them on the blog like you propose is helpful, too.

That said, whether a conversation belongs to “The Blog” or those other groups is basically determined when the author of a blog posts clicks “post”. If it happens to be in the blog, than that’s where it is, and that’s where responses belong to – too late to send them elsewhere.

Thanks for commenting (btw, I do remember your Plaxo days, you always cared about customer communication), and Happy New Year. :-)

]]> By: Anonymous http://www.zoliblog.com/2006/12/31/the-official-google-blog-is-not-a-blog/#comment-1594 Anonymous Tue, 02 Jan 2007 14:45:32 +0000 http://www.zoliblog.com/2006/12/31/the-official-google-blog-is-not-a-blog/#comment-1594 nice post :) nice post :)

]]> By: Anonymous http://www.zoliblog.com/2006/12/31/the-official-google-blog-is-not-a-blog/#comment-1588 Anonymous Tue, 02 Jan 2007 14:14:17 +0000 http://www.zoliblog.com/2006/12/31/the-official-google-blog-is-not-a-blog/#comment-1588 Hey Adam, I gotta say these members helping members online discussion groups are not the answer. That's *not* customer service. The webmaster central group where you and Vanessa answer questions here and there are a complete mess. It reminds me of Mos Eisley, a "wretched hive of scum and villainy." The signal-to-noise ratio is awful. The custom search engine group is much better. Far fewer posters and much better response from the Google staff. The AdWords Help group is also low volume and reasonably productive, but not because of Google staff. I answer quite a few questions in that group. Where's Google? Why doesn't Google answer questions for the people who pay Google's bills? IMHO, you should scrap the webmaster central help groups and focus customer support for AdWords users. They're your customers. Why support the parasites in webmaster central and not the businesses that keep the Googleplex running? No, as Zoli posits, the official Google blog is *not* a blog and the online discussion groups created by Google are not a sufficient replacement for real customer service. Hey Adam, I gotta say these members helping members online discussion groups are not the answer. That’s *not* customer service. The webmaster central group where you and Vanessa answer questions here and there are a complete mess. It reminds me of Mos Eisley, a “wretched hive of scum and villainy.” The signal-to-noise ratio is awful. The custom search engine group is much better. Far fewer posters and much better response from the Google staff. The AdWords Help group is also low volume and reasonably productive, but not because of Google staff. I answer quite a few questions in that group. Where’s Google? Why doesn’t Google answer questions for the people who pay Google’s bills? IMHO, you should scrap the webmaster central help groups and focus customer support for AdWords users. They’re your customers. Why support the parasites in webmaster central and not the businesses that keep the Googleplex running? No, as Zoli posits, the official Google blog is *not* a blog and the online discussion groups created by Google are not a sufficient replacement for real customer service.

]]> By: Search Engine Land: News About Search Engines & Search Marketing http://www.zoliblog.com/2006/12/31/the-official-google-blog-is-not-a-blog/#comment-1596 Search Engine Land: News About Search Engines & Search Marketing Tue, 02 Jan 2007 13:25:32 +0000 http://www.zoliblog.com/2006/12/31/the-official-google-blog-is-not-a-blog/#comment-1596 <strong>Google To Make Stronger Effort With Blogging & Communication In 2007?</strong> Over the new years weekend, there have been a lot of posts about Google and their blogs and bloggers. I think Matt Cutts sums it up pretty well with his the real lesson from this week post. In short, Google Pushing New Blogger In Search Results sprung ... Google To Make Stronger Effort With Blogging & Communication In 2007?

Over the new years weekend, there have been a lot of posts about Google and their blogs and bloggers. I think Matt Cutts sums it up pretty well with his the real lesson from this week post. In short, Google Pushing New Blogger In Search Results sprung …

]]> By: Anonymous http://www.zoliblog.com/2006/12/31/the-official-google-blog-is-not-a-blog/#comment-1587 Anonymous Mon, 01 Jan 2007 22:06:19 +0000 http://www.zoliblog.com/2006/12/31/the-official-google-blog-is-not-a-blog/#comment-1587 <blockquote>They claim they love feedback: but the only way to leave feedback is by emailing them. </blockquote> Hey Zoli, I gotta say you're mistaken on this. We have created lots of online discussion groups specifically to provide a place for Googlers and our users to exchange feedback and questions about our products and services... including Gmail, Calendar, Search, Webmaster issues, and much more. Many of us Googlers also regularly participate in other communities online (Webmastery and otherwise) and also offline (at conferences around the world, for instance). I haven't learned of our official reason for not having comments be a part of our corporate blogs, but... I'm guessing we'd get a flood of questions and feedback quite often unrelated to the entry topics, and we've figured that it's more productive for our Gmail experts to be able to find focused Gmail conversations in the *Gmail group*, and so on. In other words, Zoli, we're definitely starting conversations and taking part in conversations all over the Web (and offline, too). Maybe we need to do a better job of making these channels known? One idea that popped into my head is that we could direct readers of relevant entries on our blog to the related Google discussion group ("Got questions about Google Calendar? Chat with the folks that work on it and the non-Googler Calendar experts in _our Calendar Google Group_.") Whether in that way or other ways, I know we can and should always be improving the ways we communicate. I'm just not (personally) convinced that turning on comments would be a step in the right direction.

They claim they love feedback: but the only way to leave feedback is by emailing them.

Hey Zoli, I gotta say you’re mistaken on this. We have created lots of online discussion groups specifically to provide a place for Googlers and our users to exchange feedback and questions about our products and services… including Gmail, Calendar, Search, Webmaster issues, and much more.

Many of us Googlers also regularly participate in other communities online (Webmastery and otherwise) and also offline (at conferences around the world, for instance).

I haven’t learned of our official reason for not having comments be a part of our corporate blogs, but… I’m guessing we’d get a flood of questions and feedback quite often unrelated to the entry topics, and we’ve figured that it’s more productive for our Gmail experts to be able to find focused Gmail conversations in the *Gmail group*, and so on.

In other words, Zoli, we’re definitely starting conversations and taking part in conversations all over the Web (and offline, too). Maybe we need to do a better job of making these channels known? One idea that popped into my head is that we could direct readers of relevant entries on our blog to the related Google discussion group (”Got questions about Google Calendar? Chat with the folks that work on it and the non-Googler Calendar experts in _our Calendar Google Group_.”)

Whether in that way or other ways, I know we can and should always be improving the ways we communicate. I’m just not (personally) convinced that turning on comments would be a step in the right direction.

]]> By: Anonymous http://www.zoliblog.com/2006/12/31/the-official-google-blog-is-not-a-blog/#comment-1593 Anonymous Mon, 01 Jan 2007 16:51:49 +0000 http://www.zoliblog.com/2006/12/31/the-official-google-blog-is-not-a-blog/#comment-1593 I'm totally with you here, having been saying this for a long time, most recently as written to Seth Godin when he stopped having a blog by removing comments. http://www.revenews.com/jimkukral/archives/001916.html <blockquote>People of the world (and you Seth) here me, and here me loud. I want to make this clear. A BLOG WITHOUT COMMENTS IS A WEBSITE USING A CMS SYSTEM... NOT A BLOG! Get it, got it? Good. Now Seth, you have some changes to make, let's get moving. Don't want to use the word website? Here are some alternatives. webpage brochure information site marketing material handout poster sign See how these are all relevant? Right, all of them, just like the word "website" are built to talk "to" a reader, not "with" them.</blockquote> I’m totally with you here, having been saying this for a long time, most recently as written to Seth Godin when he stopped having a blog by removing comments.

http://www.revenews.com/jimkukral/archives/001916.html

People of the world (and you Seth) here me, and here me loud. I want to make this clear.

A BLOG WITHOUT COMMENTS IS A WEBSITE USING A CMS SYSTEM… NOT A BLOG!

Get it, got it?

Good.

Now Seth, you have some changes to make, let’s get moving.

Don’t want to use the word website? Here are some alternatives.

webpage

brochure

information site

marketing material

handout

poster

sign

See how these are all relevant? Right, all of them, just like the word “website” are built to talk “to” a reader, not “with” them.

]]> By: Anonymous http://www.zoliblog.com/2006/12/31/the-official-google-blog-is-not-a-blog/#comment-1592 Anonymous Mon, 01 Jan 2007 16:10:06 +0000 http://www.zoliblog.com/2006/12/31/the-official-google-blog-is-not-a-blog/#comment-1592 Wow, thanks, I must have been blind not to notice it. It's sad though ... that means the promise this year-end as pure BS, just as it was last year:-( Wow, thanks, I must have been blind not to notice it. It’s sad though … that means the promise this year-end as pure BS, just as it was last year:-(

]]> By: Anonymous http://www.zoliblog.com/2006/12/31/the-official-google-blog-is-not-a-blog/#comment-1591 Anonymous Mon, 01 Jan 2007 15:53:02 +0000 http://www.zoliblog.com/2006/12/31/the-official-google-blog-is-not-a-blog/#comment-1591 This text is from 2005: "We know some of you would like to offer comments directly, and we would like that too, when we can add resources to the blog crew." http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2005/12/year-of-google-blogging.html This text is from 2005:

“We know some of you would like to offer comments directly, and we would like that too, when we can add resources to the blog crew.”

http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2005/12/year-of-google-blogging.html

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