a note (or is it a comment?) on feature blur

Brad just pointed out that Google Reader added new features familiar to Twitter and Facebook users: marking a post as something you “like” and setting a status message. They didn’t remove similar features, though, so the result is a blur of options:

Google Reader feature blur example

So when I want to remember something, do I “star” it or “like” it? If I want to let people know about it, should I “like” it or “share” it? Is my “note” shown as a “comment” or somewhere else?

I recognize the thinking here; if users are looking for a feature by a familiar name (“like”), they might not find it by your own convention (“star”). This half-baked mix of features isn’t the answer, though. Each addition should have been weighed against the existing choices, and if the benefit justified the new feature it should have replaced the old.

2 thoughts on “a note (or is it a comment?) on feature blur

  1. Yeah, I think starring is like bookmarking for my own later reference.

    Liking something is a social interaction, as it’s visible to other people.

    Intuitive to a nerd like me, but definitely not the best implementation.

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