i think it's unequivocally a good thing. Google has a product that works, they aren't trying to change the functionality. People's habits online and the type and volume of data that google indexes has changed, and google needs to update their algorithms so that the product functions the same despite the new inputs the algorithm is receiving.
“Whosoever desires constant success must change constantly” and it is becoming more and more evident that Google subscribes to this school of thought. The Online Marketing Blog is reporting an All New Google Design.
Honestly my only complaint would be that Google as a company needs a human face. And when I say that, it's important to note that it took me a couple minutes to think of it.
People frequently dislike change, and so I'm pleased that a major company such as Google has the will to change and improve it's services. But they not only improve their services, which is good for their bottom line, but also releases a lot of their work and research which helps others.
I'm glad they continued the "An Update on X" = "X is getting axed" tradition at google. It's one of the few constants. Maybe they even have a UX guideline about it by now :D
PS: I'm not writing this out of spite, btw. It just came to my mind when I saw the title and I was surprised I was right
It's encouraging to me that Google takes users' concerns into consideration. I prefer this dialogue to Google just 'getting things right in the first place' in fact. This is one example. Gmail's redesign is another. And I'm sure more changes are coming to both. I hope Google never stops making aggressive changes and listening to feedback aggressively.
Where you see a personality crisis, I see an impressive commitment to growth on Google's part.
While their social efforts have been largely failures in past years, it's been clear for a long time that Google is now committed to a unified social experience with their products. And while they're still making a lot of mistakes – the recent Reader controversy, some of the recent Blogger weirdness – I think that with Google+ they've found an impressive hub that might serve as a central destination more appealing than Facebook's for a number of users. And for the first time in what seems like a while, they're iterating at a shocking speed that used to be synonymous with new Google products.
Changing once every 6 months isn't a bad thing if the changes are all in one direction. What impresses me with this redesign is it shows how committed Google is to change – the social reworkings in June weren't a one-time thrust, they were merely an opening to these coming extensive changes.
Definitely. Google wants to ensure that people understand it's not a Steve Jobs type situation at Google. Innovation comes from everywhere. I think it's impressive that they could successfully implement a site-wide redesign despite the fragmented nature of the company. Ordered chaos.
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