Web 2.1 beta Sean Madden 
A Little Google Humor?
One of the elements lauded in flickr's interface is it's general goofiness with the written word. Each time you log in, it greets you in a different language then the last time.
"Hala smadden!"
When you click a button, it doesn't say "submit" it says "get in there!" These interface tweaks personalize the system, make it seem more friendly to the user. Such decisions are absurdly easy on the technical end but can be difficult to make from a business standpoint. Does it make our brand too lackadaisical, not serious enough? Personally, I really appreciate the small touches, which is why I really enjoyed finding this gem from Google on Digg today.
If you look at step 20 in the driving directions, you will find "Swim across the Atlantic Ocean." Now that's funny.
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You know, what often happens
ANP - March 29, 2007
You know, what often happens is that biz people don't spec out the little details of their requests, because they don't think about the entire experience and aren't familiar with technology. So you get klugey interfaces because system messages are defaulted by tech types that lack creativity. (I'm not saying all tech types lack creativity, just that the default SYNTAX ERROR stuff is copywritten by the tech types who happen to lack creativity.) Which is why I really enjoyed tweaking the defaults in my blog, for example, because it allowed me to make the experience more "me".
Great find.