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How Google makes Google(+) fast

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Re: How Google makes Google(+) fast

#2

Post by georgemcbay »

Google+ is certainly fast, I just wish it were quicker about showing me valid/updated state.

I've never used any website where the data I was seeing was so obviously out of date across the board as it is on Google+. Yes, eventually it coalesces towards correctness, but I don't think this model works well for things like notifications and such.

"Oh look I have a new notification... oh wait, no I don't, that's from like an hour ago and I already looked at it."

Speed is a feature, but so is not making your users think your software is just plain buggy and too much local state caching is basically indistinguishable from a bug for many users.. and in many contexts it can also be annoying even for those who know roughly why it is happening.

Re: How Google makes Google(+) fast

#4

Post by shantanubala »

georgemcbay wrote: post #2

Google+ is certainly fast, I just wish it were quicker about showing me valid/updated state. I've never used any website where the data I was seeing was so obviously out of date across the board as it is on Google+. Yes, eventually it coalesces towards correctness, but I don't think this model works well for things like notifications and such. "Oh look I have a new notification... oh wait, no I don't, that's from lik…

Facebook is pretty amazing in that respect. They managed to engineer a scaleable infrastructure without making it too obvious that everything is being cached. There are times when it takes a minute or two for my profile picture to change everywhere after I change it in my profile, but aside from minute-or-two scenarios, Facebook's interface (and the real-time notification system) is just amazing in comparison.

Re: How Google makes Google(+) fast

#5

Post by MrEnigma »

The little red box that shows how many notifications, is anything but fast...

Edit: It reminds me of the eBay motors data we got a few weeks ago. A lot of it is making the page appear to be loading (i.e. flush the buffer for 'above the fold' and then ajax everything else in)

Re: How Google makes Google(+) fast

#7

Post by agumonkey »

MrEnigma wrote: post #5

The little red box that shows how many notifications, is anything but fast... Edit: It reminds me of the eBay motors data we got a few weeks ago. A lot of it is making the page appear to be loading (i.e. flush the buffer for 'above the fold' and then ajax everything else in)

That little box was one of the delights of previous social websites i've toyed with, G+ flipped it into an anguish box.. amazing.

Re: How Google makes Google(+) fast

#8

Post by dylangs1030 »

georgemcbay wrote: post #2

Google+ is certainly fast, I just wish it were quicker about showing me valid/updated state. I've never used any website where the data I was seeing was so obviously out of date across the board as it is on Google+. Yes, eventually it coalesces towards correctness, but I don't think this model works well for things like notifications and such. "Oh look I have a new notification... oh wait, no I don't, that's from lik…

Actually, I see the same notification issue in Facebook. I don't think I ever login to Facebook without my immediate number of notifications being exactly 1 more than they should. The last "new" notification is always what I have already most recently checked. So in this sense, Facebook is also very fast, and also does not have an entirely flawless system.

Re: How Google makes Google(+) fast

#9

Post by buu700 »

shantanubala wrote: post #4
georgemcbay wrote: post #2

Google+ is certainly fast, I just wish it were quicker about showing me valid/updated state. I've never used any website where the data I was seeing was so obviously out of date across the board as it is on Google+. Yes, eventually it coalesces towards correctness, but I don't think this model works well for things like notifications and such. "Oh look I have a new notification... oh wait, no I don't, that's from lik…

Facebook is pretty amazing in that respect. They managed to engineer a scaleable infrastructure without making it too obvious that everything is being cached. There are times when it takes a minute or two for my profile picture to change everywhere after I change it in my profile, but aside from minute-or-two scenarios, Facebook's interface (and the real-time notification system) is just amazing in comparison.

In my experience (and many friends' experiences), Facebook is and always has been unbelievably buggy on that front. I don't know why, and I personally think Facebook is better than G+ for general social networking (I see G+ as more of a fusion of LinkedIn and Tumblr with some FB-like features), but it's still a pain to use.
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