Facebook Messaging can revolutionize communication, period.

There have been various mentions in the blogosphere regarding the question “Is Facebook killing email?”  Based on the stats we know that it isn’t… yet.  However, after breaking down the problem email sets out to solve, we can see the potential of Facebook as a communication medium.

In the web’s early years many of the constructs were web based interpretations of real world components, mail->email, commerce->ecommerce.  Each migrant construct ferried over a set of problems similar to those that exist in the “real world.” In the case of email, junk mail persists both mediums  To solve this problem we’ve enlisted junk mail algorithms, government regulation, and various other hacks to compensate with this failed model.  At the end of the day, these approaches are just hacks; duct tape to keep this mode of communication together.  Despite the increasing sophistication of these hacks, they are inevitably flawed.

Facebook presents us with an alternative mode of communication that at first glance may seem underwhelming, but the power and ubiquity of Facebook’s OpenGraph and user base quickly dismisses this understatement.  Facebook provides us with a network of nodes that ties our online identity to various third parties.  These third parties can be friends, family members, restaurants, other applications, games, music, videos, and the list goes on.  Each node is confirmed by us and cannot be effectively infiltrated. If a node gets corrupted by illegitimacy it can be removed manually by the user, but is often removed automagically by Facebook’s watchdog algorithms/moderators.  The only sources of information that can reach out to us on Facebook are those that we have authenticated (unless you have enabled your @facebook.com email address which can be removed or changed at any time).  Each and every message/notification can quickly be tracked to it’s source.  If the source becomes unpleasant or spammy, we can sever the tie with a simple click.  Update: According to Microsoft 97% of email is spam. Symantec suggests this number is closer to 70%.  How much of your Facebook inbox is spam?

Facebook has been built with authenticity in mind since it’s inception in 2004.  The problem with email is that it lacks the ability for users to police the nodes.  The best we can do is unsubscribe from email lists, but this is not a catch all method of protection.  In fact, many spammers use this as a way to find active email addresses.  Clever eh?

Facebook may or may not kill email, but for the sake of my inbox I sure hope it does.  The potential is there, it’s all about execution.


“We Have The Technology … ” or How We Rebuilt ZURBlog by ZURBzurb.com Our old and bust­ed blog that we decid­ed to rebuildThings have been insane­ly busy around here at ZURB this past year. As you recent­ly read, we did more open source projects than ever before. Yet we still man­aged to squeeze in time to make s… Zurb discusses the process behind their blog redesign and the tools used to accomplish their goals. The part about not relying directly on third party APIs is definitely a smart design pattern. High-res

“We Have The Technology … ” or How We Rebuilt ZURBlog by ZURB
zurb.com

Our old and bust­ed blog that we decid­ed to rebuild

Things have been insane­ly busy around here at ZURB this past year. As you recent­ly read, we did more open source projects than ever before. Yet we still man­aged to squeeze in time to make s…

Zurb discusses the process behind their blog redesign and the tools used to accomplish their goals. The part about not relying directly on third party APIs is definitely a smart design pattern.

It Sure Looks Like Apple’s iOS Blew Away Google’s Android Over Christmas Weekend Jay Yarow, businessinsider.com Did Apple total­ly smoke Google over Christ­mas week­end?Accord­ing to data from mobile ana­lyt­ics firm Flur­ry and data from Android boss Andy Rubin, it sure looks like iOS had the bet­ter hol­i­day.Rubin said there were 3.7 mil­lion Andro… Christmas is a time of wishes and dreams. Apple is in the business of making “magical” products that people around the world wish for. Android is not. It’s more of a utilitarian brand. It more or less does everything Apple products can do, but with less finesse and ease at a lower price point. When my mother unwrapped her new iPad that I picked up from Santa’s workshop she was virtually in tears. Would she have appreciated the Kindle Fire? Sure, but would it have etlicited the same emotional response? Absolutely not. Does this mean that Apple is turning the tides on the iOS vs Android war? No, and I suspect that is just fine from Apple’s perspective. Apple is absolutely killing it in their target market which does not consist of consumers looking for the cheapest acceptable alternative. They build products for those who are willing to pay for a certain experience and quality of use. In reality the current war between the Kindle Fire and the iPad is about as relevant as a head to head between a Toyota Camry and a BMW 5 series. Ever tried arguing with a Camry owner about cornering or the amazingly flat torque curve enjoyed by cars wielding forced induction for power delivery such as the BMW 535? Be prepared for the most underwheleming response of your life.

It Sure Looks Like Apple’s iOS Blew Away Google’s Android Over Christmas Weekend
Jay Yarow, businessinsider.com

Did Apple total­ly smoke Google over Christ­mas week­end?

Accord­ing to data from mobile ana­lyt­ics firm Flur­ry and data from Android boss Andy Rubin, it sure looks like iOS had the bet­ter hol­i­day.

Rubin said there were 3.7 mil­lion Andro…

Christmas is a time of wishes and dreams. Apple is in the business of making “magical” products that people around the world wish for. Android is not. It’s more of a utilitarian brand. It more or less does everything Apple products can do, but with less finesse and ease at a lower price point. When my mother unwrapped her new iPad that I picked up from Santa’s workshop she was virtually in tears. Would she have appreciated the Kindle Fire? Sure, but would it have etlicited the same emotional response? Absolutely not. Does this mean that Apple is turning the tides on the iOS vs Android war? No, and I suspect that is just fine from Apple’s perspective. Apple is absolutely killing it in their target market which does not consist of consumers looking for the cheapest acceptable alternative. They build products for those who are willing to pay for a certain experience and quality of use. In reality the current war between the Kindle Fire and the iPad is about as relevant as a head to head between a Toyota Camry and a BMW 5 series. Ever tried arguing with a Camry owner about cornering or the amazingly flat torque curve enjoyed by cars wielding forced induction for power delivery such as the BMW 535? Be prepared for the most underwheleming response of your life.

A good smartphone comes but once a year Chris Ziegler, theverge.com The seed for this edi­to­r­i­al was plant­ed in my brain the day that the HTC Amaze 4G was released on T-Mobile 120 days after its pre­de­ces­sor, the Sen­sa­tion 4G. It bears repeat­ing: one hun­dred and twen­ty days. Even now, it makes my… A good smartphone comes but once a year. This is not the typical iPhone vs Android article. It actually includes a thesis with some analysis. Crazy huh? When iterating on a product there are many considerations that should be present while crafting the roadmap. While different product verticals have various nuances, there are themes that are universal. A few of those are present in this entry from The Verge. High-res

A good smartphone comes but once a year
Chris Ziegler, theverge.com

The seed for this edi­to­r­i­al was plant­ed in my brain the day that the HTC Amaze 4G was released on T-Mobile 120 days after its pre­de­ces­sor, the Sen­sa­tion 4G. It bears repeat­ing: one hun­dred and twen­ty days. Even now, it makes my…

A good smartphone comes but once a year. This is not the typical iPhone vs Android article. It actually includes a thesis with some analysis. Crazy huh? When iterating on a product there are many considerations that should be present while crafting the roadmap. While different product verticals have various nuances, there are themes that are universal. A few of those are present in this entry from The Verge.

Facebook Prioritizes Being ‘Blue Chip’ Before IPO

Mashable Video, mashable.com

Face­book is head­ing towards its much antic­i­pat­ed IPO, but before the com­pa­ny goes pub­lic, Zucker­berg is con­cerned with putting forth the best prod­uct pos­si­ble.

The Face­book CEO told The Wall Street Jour­nal he’s focused on…

Whether you agree or disagree with Facebook’s product direction, if more companies had CEOs obsessed with product quality, the market would be much more competitive.

A Product Searching For A Customer by ZURB

zurb.com

Don’t spend years developing a product that doesn’t have a market. “I wish someone had given us that advice earlier,” says Cohen. “But maybe it’s one of those things you have to learn yourself. You have to feel the pain before you appreciate…

This applies far too often.

If You Had Invented Siri, You Would've Invented Siri

parislemon:

Well, we all knew this was coming. 

In a sit down with Forbes’ Eric Savitz, Microsoft Chief Research and Strategy Officer Craig Mundie talks about how Microsoft has actually been doing what Siri offers for the past year with Tellme technology on Windows Phone. He dismisses Siri’s buzz as basically just good marketing and people being “infatuated” with Apple. 

Sadly, the majority of the time a company comes out with something that excites people, a competitor will come out and yell “FIRST!”. When Apple makes the product, it tends to happen every single time. And Microsoft is the worst at this type of “us first” nonsense. They don’t seem to realize that it just makes them look pathetic — or worse, highlights their own irrelevance in the space. 

I’m reminded of a line from the Mark Zuckerberg character in The Social Network:

“If you had invented Facebook, you would’ve invented Facebook.”

Love it.

Livestand Flipboard

In product design, the small things matter.

The first photo is from Yahoo’s new Livestand iPad application.  The second is from Flipboard, which essentially invented what we now know as the internet magazine space.  I’ve spent less than 5 minutes with Livestand, but even that is long enough to notice a rather subtle but important nuance in the design of their news source selection that left me a bit cold.

In news apps, it’s common to have a screen that allows the user to select which sources they will include in their internet magazine.  Below are some brief observations after experiencing both applications’ content source selection processes.

Livestand’s Interface - You’ll notice that the Livestand team decided to get every news category on the screen.  This design choice led to a screen with relatively small category headings on the left.  This is fine for a typical desktop application where the user is navigating the interface with a small cursor.  But for the iPad, we use our fingers to make selections.

Flipboard’s Interface - Flipboard’s team decided to accept the small amount of screen real estate available and not skimp on the size of the category buttons.  Buttons are wide and fat finger friendly.  The color contrast invites clicks and the shading of the borders provides depth to the buttons.  The bigger buttons forces Flipboard to add scrolling functionality, which is not a problem at all.  Inertial scrolling makes scrolling fun, not tedious.

In the end, both are functional but only one interface makes the most basic tasks fun and enjoyable.  Needless to say, Flipboard gets the nod. However, Livestand is still extremely young, so they’ve got plenty of time to close some gaps.