See the following bit, Google spurns RSS for rising blog format, where there’s a quote from Dave:
“A good way to provide feedback to the Google people is to switch away from them,” Winer wrote on his site, citing a blogger who had suggested RSS supporters bolt from Blogger. “Let them make the connection that the day they started playing unfair, is the day the users started moving away.”
Meanwhile, Dave had this bit about one of my comments:
In a comment on the Cadenhead site, a guy named Pete says: “Just a reminder, you don’t have to use Google.” Perfect. A good way to provide feedback to the Google people is to switch away from them. Let them make the connection that the day they started playing unfair is the day the users started moving away. Companies always respond to this kind of input. It’s where users have the most power.
Just to put things in context (since I am that guy named Pete) I wasn’t specifically recommending that people move away from using Google because of this RSS/Atom controversy. I was recommending that people move away from Google when they become uncomfortable with any of their practices. Don’t sit on your backside and complain about Google, do something about it. There are alternatives, use another search engine. Do the others not have the features you like? Suggest them! Though you might be surprised by what some of the others can do. When’s the last time you used a search engine that wasn’t Google? If you have to really thing about that question, it might be time to switch. Remember, users are customers, and the customers are a big part of what made Google so successful. The whole “don’t be evil” thing is a good guideline, but I often think once a company becomes popular and grows to a certain size, evilness will creep in, it’s just inevitable, you just can’t please everyone, and the more customers you have, the larger the percent that might think you are evil.
Is Google the next Microsoft? Let’s hope not, but once again, if you want to look at a company that people continually complain about, Microsoft is it. I can’t tell you how many co-workers complain about some Windows problem they’ve had at home, and whine about Microsoft. How many times have I heard of people who use Windows all day at work, but when they get home use a Mac, or Linux because they actually want to enjoy using a computer… Sure, they’ll argue that Macs cost more, or they don’t really know how to use Linux, but again, the reality is, you have the choice of what kind of computer you use in your own home, don’t you?
Just remember this: You’ve always got a choice… You can choose what products to buy, what companies to support, what operating systems to run, and what search engines to use…