An April Fool's Day "joke" was killed off faster than it was introduced after Google found out that it caused outrage online, with multiple people claiming that it lost them their jobs.
Google's premise for the online joke was simple. In Gmail, next to the standard "Reply" button, the tech giant added a "Mic drop" button. Using it would reply to the email, archive it — and also add a GIF of a "Despicable Me" minion dropping a mic.
"Email's great, but sometimes you just wanna hit the eject button," Google wrote in a tongue-and-cheek blog post explaining its purpose. "Like those heated threads at work, when everyone's wrong except you (obviously). Or those times when someone's seeking group approval, but your opinion is the only one that matters (amirite?). Or maybe you just nailed it, and there's nothing more to say (bam)."
But the joke backfired — fast.
Its placement directly next to the default Reply button — replacing the "Send and archive" button — meant it was easy to click by accident, especially if a user didn't understand what it was. Google's product forums are full of furious users claiming they pressed the button by accident, often on important professional emails.
One user, Abdus Salam, wrote that he had lost out on a potential job because of the GIF. "This mic drop is perhaps the most stupid thing you could possibly come up with. I have been interviewing with this company for 3 months now and mistakenly sent the email directly to guess who? The HR! Why would you do that? I so want this job; was due to start on Monday!"
Meanwhile, Allan Pashby wrote: "Thanks to Mic Drop I just lost my job. I am a writer and had a deadline to meet. I sent my articles to my boss and never heard back from her. I inadvertently sent the email using the "Mic Drop" send button. There were corrections that needed to be made on my articles and I never received her replies. My boss took offense to the Mic Drop animation and assumed that I didn't reply to her because I thought her input was petty (hence the Mic Drop). I just woke up to a very angry voicemail from her which is how I found out about this 'hilarious' prank."
Google has pulled the plug, removing the feature from Gmail. In a statement, a company representative said: "Well, it looks like we pranked ourselves this year. Due to a bug, the MicDrop feature inadvertently caused more headaches than laughs. We're truly sorry. The feature has been turned off. If you are still seeing it, please reload your Gmail page."
Google's premise for the online joke was simple. In Gmail, next to the standard "Reply" button, the tech giant added a "Mic drop" button. Using it would reply to the email, archive it — and also add a GIF of a "Despicable Me" minion dropping a mic.
"Email's great, but sometimes you just wanna hit the eject button," Google wrote in a tongue-and-cheek blog post explaining its purpose. "Like those heated threads at work, when everyone's wrong except you (obviously). Or those times when someone's seeking group approval, but your opinion is the only one that matters (amirite?). Or maybe you just nailed it, and there's nothing more to say (bam)."
But the joke backfired — fast.
Its placement directly next to the default Reply button — replacing the "Send and archive" button — meant it was easy to click by accident, especially if a user didn't understand what it was. Google's product forums are full of furious users claiming they pressed the button by accident, often on important professional emails.
One user, Abdus Salam, wrote that he had lost out on a potential job because of the GIF. "This mic drop is perhaps the most stupid thing you could possibly come up with. I have been interviewing with this company for 3 months now and mistakenly sent the email directly to guess who? The HR! Why would you do that? I so want this job; was due to start on Monday!"
Meanwhile, Allan Pashby wrote: "Thanks to Mic Drop I just lost my job. I am a writer and had a deadline to meet. I sent my articles to my boss and never heard back from her. I inadvertently sent the email using the "Mic Drop" send button. There were corrections that needed to be made on my articles and I never received her replies. My boss took offense to the Mic Drop animation and assumed that I didn't reply to her because I thought her input was petty (hence the Mic Drop). I just woke up to a very angry voicemail from her which is how I found out about this 'hilarious' prank."
Google has pulled the plug, removing the feature from Gmail. In a statement, a company representative said: "Well, it looks like we pranked ourselves this year. Due to a bug, the MicDrop feature inadvertently caused more headaches than laughs. We're truly sorry. The feature has been turned off. If you are still seeing it, please reload your Gmail page."
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