This document is open for public suggestions. Its purpose is to outline concepts that we feel should be voluntarily adopted by Google to protect and better serve their users. While such concepts potentially could become models for regulatory or legislative efforts, I would MUCH prefer that politicians and governments NOT be involved:
A “Bill of Rights” for Google Users
–Lauren–
Google’s seeming inability to provide meaningful customer service to the vast majority of its users, leaving aside large enterprises, is a ‘Achilles heel’ for the future growth of the firm. The value equation which both Google and users seem to ignore is that in return for free, or dirt cheap, computer services (Gmail, photos, maps etc.) users agree to give up substantial privacy rights and to be target audiences for paid advertising.
There is a value proposition here for users to leverage. Their “value” to Google is unsurpassed since without users, Google does not have a business. Users should be demanding that in return for the “value” they provide to Google, that basic customer service, and options for paid subscriptions for support, come with the deal.
Google has been glossing over this “deal” since its inception since customer service is mostly a non-revenue cost sink and the ROI on customer retention isn’t meaningful except in terms of measurement of eyeballs available to advertisers. The firm gives the appearance of believing that since its staff are technically adept, so are the hundreds of millions of users who access its products.
What if the relationship was redesigned in more stark terms? A bill of rights for Google users needs to acknowledge that the firm is joined at the hip with its users and that the relationship includes being responsive to customer needs for support, user interfaces designed for ordinary humans, not geeks, and so forth. The list of “features” is important, but the underlying principle that the value of users cannot be replaced is the driver of the bills of rights.