Just had my session on Users at Bloggercon. I wasn’t sure how it went, but several people came up to me afterwards and told me that they really appreciated that – it was a psychotherapeutic session, enabling users to complain about software (why it doesn’t work, why it’s messed up, how they wish it could be better).

So, in my effort to make this world a little better – fostering open feedback between users and developers, I’m creating a new tag that doesn’t exist in Google (which means it doesn’t yet exist): Freedbacking. Tag it, use it, share it. I’ll post a unified feed for the keyword as soon as our OPML-to-RSS script is ready, but don’t let that stop anybody from posting to their own space (read: blog) using the word “Freedbacking” somewhere within a post. You’re giving free feedback to the developers of your favorite programs, or the creators of your favorite Web service, or anybody who’s making something that you use (or want to use, or need to use). Become a freedbacker – say something! Tell them they’re not doing something right – tell them how they could make their product even better – tell them what you want! Users own the word: Freedbacking, labeling the art of offering free (constructive) feedback.

And in case you missed it, this is a call-to-action for ALL users. I’ll be “freedbacking” when I get back to my hotel room after the conference.

Freedbacking