Technorati's Challenge

Technorati's technical failures often have two components: the failure itself and management’s subsequent handling of the incident. Although uncontrolled technical failures can occur under the best of circumstances, end-user satisfaction is usually a function of management rather than technology.

In this case, Technorati handled the incident well. The company:

* Acknowledged the full scope of the problem
* Took immediate corrective action once they realized the problem existed
* Provided context regarding why the problem was hard to solve
* Protected the company’s credibility (I call this “intelligent CYA”)
* Described symptoms the customer might experience, in jargon-free terms
* Presented their problem resolution strategy
* Demonstrated responsible and professional analysis

Technorati’s short blog post explained an arcane problem, helped calm jumpy users, covered the company’s collective butt, and showed the place is run by pros. I’m impressed.