Google's product design can be scary good

Google does a lot of things differently from other software or Internet companies.  I just noticed this with the new payment scheme implemented by Google for Picasa - check out this screenshot and you'll notice one thing missing from ordinary purchase screens, which was actually quite disconcerting to me.  There is no cancel button.   It's similar to Google's approach to Adwords where I realized after the fact the first time I used it that "saving" a campaign was the equivalent of telling Google "Ok, now go ahead and start billing the heck out of me."   I got used to it quickly, and both examples show that one of Google's main design principles is to break down barriers to adoption.

They take the same approach to software.  For me (I am a PC user), Apple may be one of the most frustrating companies because of how much I rely on iTunes.  It seems that I am asked to download a new version of iTunes once a month, it takes about ten minutes and they try to sneak in other software too.  Adobe and Skype are similar.  Typically they have to remind me 6-8 times before I eventually do it but my level of annoyance with them goes up every time.   The alternative of course would be to give up privacy to these companies and let them manage my software for me.

And that's what Google does.  It's rare that I have to download anything ever again and a reading of the EULA would show that I do in fact give Google the right to manage my software for me.  Do a search for the phrases - "'automatic updates' and 'terms and conditions'" and the first two results you'll find are, first, a warning from the Electronic Frontier Foundation that end users should never agree to automatic updates and, second, a link to download Google Desktop software.

I do see why automatic updates make sense for me and most users.  The truth is that I'd rather have automatic updates for software I want to have, but of course the question is who gets to choose which software I want and which I don't.  If automatic updates become the standard, the definition of a software upgrade will almost certainly change over time.  Just like the definition of a friend may be changing too.  Google's new embedded chat in Gmail does something eerily similar to its software, by automatically updating your friend's list with people you've emailed.   There are at least 2 people in my list a day who I barely know, and now Google lets me find out when they're checking their email.  When I pointed it out to an office colleague, his response was "Yeah, I've actually found that useful a couple of times for quick questions on some of the conference stuff I'm working on."

In my opinion, none of the above shows that Google does evil.  Google illustrates best why our largest threat to privacy is convenience.