Tone and Time Diffuse All
By now, everyone knows about Google’s impending privacy policy changes. Regardless of what you think of them (and you’re still going to use their products as you always did), Google did an incredible job of making these changes known. Yes, they took a PR hit when the announcement became public - that always happens. But what was smart on Google’s behalf is that they made the announcement incredibly early. Policy changes that are to go in to effect on March 1 were announced in mid-January, right? End result: most consumers will have long forgotten. They’ll get tired of seeing the notification on every Google product, finally click “Dismiss” (or not do anything at all) and their use will not change. I caveat that with “most consumers.” Webworkers already operate with terms of service and privacy policies in mind, for the most part. The general public, not so much.
And that brings up another “smart move by Google.” In communicating this entire change, they’ve done so in a tone that is casual, yet mildly stern. It’s not your dad yelling at you. “This stuff matters,” says, “We care about you. We’re doing this for you!” It’s a, “Hey bud - just take a few seconds to check out what we’re changing… we want to be as up front as possible with you.”
But you have to wonder if that lulls the general consumer in to thinking, “If Google’s casual about it, I probably don’t need to think or care about it.” It’d be fascinating to see the analytics comparing “Learn More” and “Dismiss” once this announcement period is over. Better yet, inaction would be great to see too.
So Google took the initial hit (see: “What Happened to ‘Don’t Be Evil?’” headlines back in January). Then things quieted down a bit. They’ve been totally up front and transparent about the changes since then, providing users with access to all the relevant information. And the tone embraced says, “Yeah, this stuff absolutely is important - but don’t worry… we’re doing this for you. It’ll all be cool.”
The last part’s a slippery slope. Interpret as you wish. But taking a human tone approach - and doing it early - is a great way to push out news like this.
