

How Google takes feedback - theone
http://www.google.com/tools/feedback/intl/en/learnmore.html

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jonknee
Here's a discussion about how the screenshot functionality works (which is the
part that I think everyone here is impressed with).

[http://stackoverflow.com/questions/4912092/using-
html5-canva...](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/4912092/using-html5-canvas-
javascript-to-take-screenshots)

tl;dr JavaScript can read the DOM and render a fairly accurate representation
of that using canvas

~~~
SunboX
Every one who is interested in that should take a look at the great
html2canvas library:

<https://github.com/niklasvh/html2canvas>

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pveugen
Indeed very cool. Usabilla offers a same form of feedback:
<http://usabilla.com/products#usabilla_live> (see also button on the right
side of the page).

How it works:

1\. You create a widget and add two lines of code to your site. 2\. Visitors
click the feedback button and can select highlight any part of the page to
comment on. 3\. Usabilla creates a screenshot (server-side) and shows feedback
in a simple dashboard.

 _Disclaimer: I'm founder of Usabilla._

~~~
jonnymkramer
I find it annoying how you have to restart the tool for each individual
element. Especially as you have to go through the How Does It Work screen
every time. I think skipping the How Does It Work screen on subsequent pieces
of feedback would be better.

~~~
pveugen
Thanks. Would indeed be a small change that helps to improve the flow a lot.

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premist
Open source solution : <http://experiments.hertzen.com/jsfeedback/>

It uses html2canvas to generate site screenshot on client side.

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dawernik
I wish Google would share the process post submission and how they analyze and
respond to feedback. I find a process like this to capture feedback over <or
disproportionately> solving the easy part of a feedback loop.

I have to imagine that Google has a pretty automated process to understand the
feedback - i'd rather see that. That's the problem I've always had with
applications with millions of users.

~~~
huge_asshole
Every piece of feedback is analyzed (if it passes a spam test) by a team
dedicated to that product's feedback

~~~
dawernik
By hand? Seems a bit un google doesn't it.

Everyone looks at it. That doesn't solve any problem.

~~~
joestringer
The first step to making software do what humans do, is to analyse what humans
do.

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naww
Still no way to contact human for a problem. No feedback or any kind of
acknowledgement about anything.

And my only problem with Google only appears when I'm not logged in. The
irony.

~~~
eavc
Depending on the product and the nature of the feedback, you can often go
directly to a team lead on Google+ and get some kind of reply.

~~~
naww
Meh. Not getting any kind of account just to give feedback.

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mikecane
What good is Feedback when Google is determined to take away features from
something like Google Books? You can complain all you want but they won't
revert. Just making it easier to complain does nothing to fix anything.

~~~
j_baker
Feedback != Complaining

The difference is subtle, but important.

Feedback: "I would use your product more if it did _x_."

Complaining: "Your product sucks because it doesn't do _x_."

In short: you're absolutely correct. Making it easier to complain doesn't
help. Making it easier to give feedback _does_ help.

~~~
MaysonL
No: what's necessary is _listening_ , both to complaints and feedback. Having
a massive data sink doesn't help.

~~~
espyb
Agreed. In my experience Google is notoriously bad at customer service of all
types, and attempts to share constructive feedback are ignored. So making it
easier to provide feedback is worthless if you don't have a system to actually
interpret and implement that feedback. I think it's simply a move to make the
user feel like their suggestions are valued.

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ditzy
This feedback webapp had been available to Google+ users since Google+
initially launched as invite only to the public. It used to be at the bottom
right of the page.

~~~
jcollins1991
Was it for all pages or just G+ pages? The only time I saw it before was after
a Youtube UI update (long before G+), and I was sad I couldn't use it
elsewhere on their site... Definitely glad that it's been rolled out to more
parts of their site now.

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theone
you can get idea about how its done from,
[http://www.html5rocks.com/en/tutorials/streaming/screenshare...](http://www.html5rocks.com/en/tutorials/streaming/screenshare/)

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ams6110
It's a neat bit of coding, but is it _really_ easier than just snapping a
screenshot and attaching it to an email? I know what _I_ think.....

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jonknee
An astoundingly high percentage of people would be unable to snap a screenshot
and attach it. Let alone highlight the issue and black out anything sensitive.

Doing it within the app also gives you a lot more detail (who the user is,
where they were accessing, what browser they were using, their OS, any client
side exceptions, their exact actions, etc etc) without needing to rely on the
user to provide it.

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joshka
Doesn't seem to work for google reader or google code. :(

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meeech
can't find it for gmail either.

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beering
In Gmail, it's in the gear menu on the upper-right, labeled as "Report a bug".

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zhuzhuor
does Google have customer service?

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MaysonL
If you're a big adveriser, yes. Otherwise, well maybe if you generate a lot of
unpleasant buzz...

