Show HN: Accounts, a simple address book for iOS
accounts.ms
accounts.ms
Calling it futuristic isn't very descriptive of what it does.
In short (but not the tl;dr) this application attempts to act as a "contacts backbone"* for all possible "social applications". Basically it's a contacts list that shows you what services your contacts are subscribed to and what services you are subscribed to. The value proposition towards the individual is that you don't have to figure out what apps they are using, instead "it's just there"™. OP also claims that this will improve efficiency and reduce social network lock in (SNLI).
However, the problem of SNLI is not a search problem. Figuring out which apps your contacts use, especially the ones…ya know…you care about (like 10% of your contacts list) is not that difficult. The problem is getting enough people from your social network to switch to the new platform and abandon an old and familiar platform. The only time this works is if the new platform is somehow better than the old one. That is to say, the problem is with the social network application itself. And that problem is not addressed by this application.
Instead this application attempts to solve a problem that has largely been solved through concepts such as "notification center" which efficiently display notifications from your friends from whatever app it is you have installed.
Apps need to be experienced for people to start using them, a simple list of all the applications that your contacts have is not enough.
* quoted from the blog post
That sort of notification AFAIK is not offered by anything else at this time. Accounts actively markets new services you may have heard of by notifying you when your friends actually start using them
With that said, it also notifies you when your contacts' email and telephone numbers change... which is great.
Maybe it's apple that is lacking in this notion, but it's something android has been doing for years?
Does that seem valuable to you? The big push for consumers is relationship portability between services
... then ...
-Don't feel obliged to post updates, or worry about privacy.
Does not compute? Maybe there is just too much missing info - definitely isn't clear what this is, how it works, and what information is "out there".
I think I'll download the beta and play around with it for a while. I do like the Android way of handling contacts.
I'd be more reassured by seeing a fuller privacy policy rather than a vague promise not to violate privacy, but perhaps that'll come in time.
Sidenote: Why did you pick the .ms sub-domain? It made me think of Microsoft, which obviously doesn't go with an iOS app.
Regardless of the utility or lack thereof (perceived or otherwise), someone or some group of people spent a good deal of time building this product. Dismissing their efforts doesn't offer them anything, and makes them less likely to share their future creations.
a couple notes:
* I have no connection to the authors.
* The app looks really complicated (i.e. overwhelming).
* The value prop isn't clear to me.
* What's a suggested service addition? The language I see in the screenshots uses a lot of jargon.
* It concerns me, likely to the point that I'll never download it, that the app is free. Clearly, selling it will prevent it from ever getting traction. However, giving it away suggests that I (and my friends) are the product.
I am not dismissing anyone's efforts. I simply stated how I feel(about)/perceive the app.