Be Transparent, Save Trust
June 30th, 2008
I am an avid user of Twitter. For some reason, this service has done more to connect me with friends and family than any other Web 2.0 creation. It just “gets me.” The technology does not overly intimidate me because it does what they say it does. The concept is simple and clear to me. And, I get it.
But, recently the service has had issues of performance and reliability. Twitter is obviously starting to reach critical mass, and it shows. Slowly, others in the web-critique business have taken notice — and, it has become somewhat popular to slam this scrappy web app. You can’t blame the critics. Once you get hooked on a service, it must always, always work. That is the expectation on the web.
So, with outages and the resulting damage to Twitter’s reputation, how has this company kept my faith? Simple. They are transparent about their issues. They blog about the problems, are open in public forums about the growing pains, and spread promising information about securing more funding and hiring employees. There is very minimal spin. It feels honest, transparent, and sincere. Twitter is, by design, often a brief glimpse into someone else’s thoughts. And, to know that the people behind Twitter itself are honest, makes me willing to give them the benefit of the doubt during the build-up.
And, after all, I can (perhaps) go a few hours without knowing what my friends are eating and drinking. Nevertheless, I am impressed with Twitter’s candor, and it is an important lesson in the culture of web services. Once you have earned trust, you must work hard to hold on to it.
