Quick Summary
A month after Stripe’s John Collison tweeted a request for a Google Calendar shortcut to duplicate events, Sundar Pichai confirmed it was live. The update simplifies scheduling and highlights how public feedback can directly influence big-tech product features. It’s a reminder that sometimes, all it takes is asking — in the right place, at the right time.
When Stripe co-founder John Collison posted a casual suggestion on X (formerly Twitter) about duplicating events in Google Calendar, he probably didn’t expect Google CEO Sundar Pichai himself to act on it. A month later, the feature went live, proving that sometimes, you really do “just have to ask.”
What exactly happened?
In July 2025, Collison tweeted, “Could we get Ctrl-click on Google Calendar to duplicate events, like many native calendar applications have?”
It was a straightforward feature request aimed at making event management faster for users. Duplicating events, instead of manually creating them from scratch, can save significant time for people who schedule recurring but slightly varied meetings or tasks.
On August 14, Sundar Pichai responded publicly:
“This feature is now live for everyone on Google Calendar on the web, thanks for the suggestion!”
The quick turnaround surprised many, not only because tech feature rollouts usually take longer, but also because the CEO of one of the world’s biggest companies responded personally.
Why does this matter for Google Calendar users?
For millions of professionals, Google Calendar is the hub for daily scheduling. Until now, duplicating an event involved either:
- Copy-pasting event details into a new entry, or
- Using the “More actions → Duplicate” menu option.
The new Ctrl-click (or Cmd-click on Mac) shortcut significantly streamlines this process.
Benefits include:
- Speed: Creating similar events in seconds instead of minutes.
- Fewer clicks: Reducing the need to dig through menus.
- Consistency: Preserving all event details, including links, descriptions, and attendees.
The power of public feedback in tech development
Pichai’s quick action highlights how public platforms like X have become modern-day customer support channels. A single tweet, if it gains visibility, can influence product decisions at the highest level.
This is not an isolated case for Sundar Pichai:
- Earlier in 2025, Quora CEO Adam D’Angelo tweeted about poor audio quality on Google Meet compared to Zoom. Pichai personally replied, promising to investigate and fix the issue.
- In previous years, Sundar Pichai has responded to individual complaints about YouTube features, Android bugs, and Gmail functionality.
These responses serve a dual purpose: solving real problems and reinforcing Google’s image as a responsive, user-focused brand.
How social media reacted
The announcement drew a mix of admiration and humor from X users:
- “Sundar Pichai is out here doing customer service. I love it.”
- “John, ask Google to make a wearable using their Gemini Live tech that integrates with everything on Android.”
- “Are you taking requests from non-unicorn founders, too?”
- “Hi Sundar, can we log out of one Gmail account at a time instead of all accounts at once?”
While some comments were tongue-in-cheek, they reflect a genuine sentiment: people see value in direct CEO engagement.
Why this feature request resonated
Unlike some niche improvements, the Ctrl-click duplication shortcut addresses a universal pain point. Many productivity apps, from Microsoft Outlook to Apple Calendar, already have quick duplication methods. Bringing Google Calendar in line with those tools:
- Improves competitiveness in the productivity app space.
- Aligns with user expectations from desktop software conventions.
- Shows agility in adopting simple, user-friendly upgrades.
For tech companies, listening to feedback, especially when it involves feature parity, is not just good PR; it’s essential to retaining users.
Lessons for users and companies
For users
- Don’t underestimate the power of a well-worded, public suggestion.
- Tagging relevant people and being specific increases the chances of your idea being noticed.
For companies
- Direct user engagement can humanize a brand.
- Quick wins — small, implementable features that deliver big user value, can earn disproportionate goodwill.
- Publicly crediting the person who suggested the change builds community trust.
Could this become a trend?
The speed of this update suggests that Google might be more open than ever to community-driven changes, especially those that:
- Require minimal engineering overhead.
- Improve usability without disrupting existing workflows.
- Are already common in competitor tools.
If more CEOs follow Pichai’s lead, we could see faster iteration cycles across major tech products, fueled by real-time public feedback.
