[nostrademons]

For most "panda" tasks, isn't that the case? When people use a product to do something, they evaluate it based on how well it helps them accomplish that. Speed and reliability are important features there.

This model completely falls down for "lobster" tasks, which may be why Google sucks at social. But a URL-shortener, along with most of Google's products, is a panda task. I don't think that the emphasis on speed & reliability is misplaced there.

[dschobel]

Sorry, can you explain what constitutes a "panda" or a "lobster" task?

[nostrademons]

http://ifindkarma.posterous.com/pandas-and-lobsters-why-goog...

Was all over Hacker News for a while, with several discussion threads referring to it afterwards.