Om Malik – one of tech’s “OG” journalist voices – shared a beautiful post on his blog today. He reflected on a brutal review he shared about an app called “Path” that, in his words, was critical, harsh, and unkind.
He shared – “I don’t have regrets because I failed to do my job or wasn’t honest. I have regrets because I forgot that the English language allows us to make points with elegance and eloquence. How could I, as a practitioner of the bard’s language, forget its original tenet? I regret using the words I did because they minimized the efforts of individuals who dreamed up something new.
I look back and often think perhaps I should have approached my work with empathy, carefully chosen words and a measured tone. While our culture often encourages harsh takedowns, we should consider the impact of our words.“
He reflected on this as he commented on the brouhaha surrounding Marques Brownlee’s new app. Marques Brownlee – a.k.a. MKBHD – is one of the most influential tech review YouTubers on the planet. His reviews have had the ability to destroy new products and companies. Marques shipped a product of his own recently – likely in a move to leverage his brand and diversify revenue streams.
However, the product – a wallpaper app that charged $50 per year – released to harsh criticism about both the product and its pricing. It just didn’t work.
Om shared – “However, the fracas around Panels should serve as a learning opportunity, not only for Brownlee but also for those who review products and offer opinions. It reminds us that creating something new requires effort, courage and dedication.
Putting oneself out there inevitably invites criticism and feedback. This situation serves as a reminder for both creators and critics to approach their work thoughtfully, balancing honesty with kindness and keeping the audience’s needs at the forefront.“
It is a powerful reflection and one that resonated a lot.
Here’s why – I’ve been building technology products as a Product Manager for a few years now. Before I started working in product management, I spent a lot of time reviewing products and simulating prioritization decisions. It was my way of learning what I hoped would be my craft.
But the more time I spent attempting to build products, the more I came to appreciate the nuance and challenges involved. Things that felt like obvious fixes to a user turned out to involve challenging technical and organizational trade-offs. There were frustrating user experiences that seemed trivial to fix from the outside. But, having spent time with the constraints, I knew just how challenging this was.
This is not an excuse for the mistakes I’ve made and continue to make as I build products. It is recognition of a simple truth – building good things is hard. Tearing down them and criticizing them with smart comments and wit is easy.
I don’t expect every user to understand this. I’ve been on the receiving end of many harshly worded complaints and frustrations. I get it – job seeker is a painful experience. It is annoying and the user believes we should be doing better. And we have a lot of space to do better – without question.
However, thanks to this experience, I have built more empathy for anyone attempting to build something. I am learning that I need to do my best to summon that empathy and choose my words more carefully.
Especially when I don’t know or understand what constraints they’re working with.
