The post-Google+ world: A Facebook Developer’s Perspective
momentusmedia.com
momentusmedia.com
If G+ never supports a single app, and everyone who thinks Facebook is the Internet stays there, I'll be very happy on Google Plus.
This is definitely one of those times where the needs of Developers and the needs of Users are at odds.
Do you think Google's entry into social networking helps or hurts the case for and adoption of decentralized systems? What's your take on all of this, and where do you go from here?
I'm very optimistic for three reasons:
1. Google has a much better track record in the open web than Facebook. I don't think Google, due to it's market position, is nearly as threatened by the idea of being the one of the biggest fishes in a distributed pond than Facebook, whose bread and butter is social networking dominance. I don't see Google fighting an established social networking protocol, whereas I think Facebook would til the bitter end.
2. The world still needs a solid open source social networking package, and decentralization is icing on the cake. The current options are pretty awful, and software that can be used to start a niche social networking site is going to be a big deal, no matter how popular Google+ gets.
3. If Google+ pulls a plurality of users away from Facebook, it proves an important point that I've been fighting against for years: That nobody is ever #1 forever. Ever since Facebook got big, nobody could fathom that anyone could knock them down, even Google. And that's something that, as a free software developer, I have to push against. No hegemony is eternal, every empire falls.
Personally, I think this also releases some pressure on open source projects. Now, instead of an adversary in the form of Facebook, we have a potential ally. We may need to clang some pots and pans in the street for a while to get their attention, but that's a much better situation to be in than dealing with an entity like Facebook, whose relationship with the open web has been cynical and superficial at best.
In that regard, I'm more optimistic now than I was 6 months ago.
But so far I actually do like Google+, it makes it easy to organize my different circles of friends and very easy to tell who can see what. I even went so far as to fill out the profile, something I have left blank on Facebook.
But apps will kill it for me if they are able to spam me (or my circles) with posts.
What makes you an expert, and can you share this insight with us? I, one for, would benefit greatly as I would no longer have to spend hours dissecting UI's, measuring user behavior, satisfaction, engagement level and repetition fatigue; not to mention actually doing the work of designing, building, deploying and maintaining applications that enable people to share and communicate without, you know, being dragged into it by their friends.
With your methodology I could perhaps save myself a lot of trouble and just focus on my hobbies. Like drinking.
I think it's very legitimate to say "I don't normally like social media; so far I like Google Plus; if Google Plus becomes more like Facebook I will like it less".
That's a very narrow view of the world and it's my opinion as both a vim user and a software developer that one actually needs to use and tinker with applications before developing an informed opinion with research data that validates. Otherwise you're just bloviating.
They exist so that you and your friends can interact (and view ads, of course). So if your social circle refuses to use Social Platform X you have very few reasons to use it yourself. Regardless of how silly you may think the reason you friends have for avoiding it, the fact of their avoidance is enough to make it not particularly useful to you.
Sure, you should still understand the reason that other people want to use these platforms. But, having understood that, there's no reason to use them if they aren't actually of use to you.
Regarding the post, I expect Google to be even more restrictive than FB with 3rd parties. They'll refuse to have their name tarnished by crappy apps. iTunes app store style review wouldn't be surprising to me. Spam free feeds are a selling point for G+, after all.
http://techcrunch.com/2010/07/10/google-secretly-invested-10...
I think the HN set is unfairly hard on companies like Zynga. The entrepreneurial of mind should know that a start-up can't always afford to act nobly or to invest in quality. Sometimes the right strategic decision is to make cheap crap and spam now, and reform later once you're out of mortal danger.
As a user, of course you don't have to take it. Just don't buy what they're selling. There's no reason for outrage. Let them scam people dumber than you, and with that money maybe they'll develop something you like.
No, they cannot in all cases. But they can afford to not steal from their customers or direct them into a trap where they'll be stolen from on a recurring basis. It's not about the quality of the apps as the majority will be shite anyways, it's about the ethics of the people involved.
[1] - Hacker News Circle: http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2717503