A Genuine Influence

Naturally, Google management can't afford to ignore what online communities say, and it doesn't. Each day, managers and engineers receive detailed summaries of comments about the company and its products. The smallest defect is immediately spotted, noted, and broadcast—not only to the company's own employees but also to the general public via the media. Many influential publications like The Economist feature blog comments and analyses drawn from online discussions about Google.

Because of the strength and influence of these online communities, Google's only choice once a problem is identified is to fix it fast, which became clear when Google had to revamp the first version of its video search engine, Google Video, because of ...

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