Socially Mobile Future May End Social Networks
Just a few days ago, Kate Theater spoke at the MBLT 2013 conference with a report comparing classic social networks with mobile. I think that the following article was written as a result of this speech, the translation of which I offer to your attention.
Editor's Note: Keith Theater is the founder of the social network just.me and a member of Archimedes Labs . Also co-founder of TechCrunch . Follow Twitter - @kteare .
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This week, Google I / O took place, which made it meaningful to everyone who is following the fast transition from home computers to mobile devices, and partly to those who are focused on social mobility, just like me, because of this work in just.me. Below is my vision of what we found this week.
Self Hangouts. On Google I / O, it was announced that Hangout will be launched as a separate application from Google Plus, providing the ability to conduct personal correspondence.
Problems with Facebook Home . AT & T reported that it was decided to discontinue the release of HTC First - a phone from Facebook - due to lack of sales. This process goes against the background of a large number of one-star reviews on Google Play on the application from Facebook.
There are a lot of topics and issues that arise during the launch and development of Hangout, as a separate application and the decision to launch a product such as Facebook Home. Both products are two very similar answers to one common question. What will users watch when meeting their social needs with smartphones?
In order to understand the context of the problem when analyzing a problem, let us recognize that the “elephant in the china shop” partially influenced these decisions.
Mobile instant messengers are quickly becoming the primary use of social apps on a mobile device. Data published this week shows that more than 41 million messages per day were delivered through the “Over The Top” (OTT) app.
Telephones were created as a social tool. Smartphones are especially good at being social. Combining text, voice, video and image in an infinite number of applications that can serve the needs of users and for all this do not need social networks.
The user can communicate with anyone, anywhere, on absolutely any questions and at any time. This statement is absolutely true and it has provided the explosive growth of applications such as iMessage, WhatsApp, LINE, WeChat, KakaoTalk and other smaller projects. Nearly 750 million smartphone users out of 1.2 billion already use these products.
If you are Google, Facebook or any other major social platform provider originally developed for the web, then the transition to the mobile world is a serious task for you.
Similar problems arise for applications that distribute media content. Since users flock to Vine, Snapchat, and earlier on Instagram, the problem for social platforms is to remain the primary providers of media services for a growing army of smartphone owners.
Another key feature of Facebook and Google+ is that when posting posts that can be viewed by everyone or many, this is a frequent operation, although not many users are involved in this process on mobile devices, much less than in a web-based application.
If we go back a few years ago, we will understand that there is a unique reasonable way of development.
It consists in making a single application that will cover and expand the existing capabilities of the leaders of the instant messenger market in the hope of getting users from WhatsApp, LINE, KakaoTalk and WeChat, while at the same time introducing the ability to exchange media data, save personal notes and publish them in a single space.
Google and Facebook go this way together.
Releasing the Hangouts and collecting an audience of instant messengers in an application with advanced functionality is quite appropriate. But Google also announced Google Now and Voice Search as an integration point for all mobile social features. Of course, these are only the first steps, but Android is committed to finding integration points for all user needs.
Facebook, along with Home, showed an integrated approach to integration, having Messenger, Camera, Pages and a full-fledged Facebook application under the hood. But Home was poorly received by users, but, of course, Facebook will go deeper and improve its integration-oriented products. The first attempts, for the most part, will be aimed at improving the user interface.
WhatsApp and its clones can be considered as initially mobile companies. Their services are at the very top of the applications used by users on a smartphone, for example, the capabilities of an address book or simply help a person to communicate with his friends, family and colleagues. The secret of their success is simplicity and a single highlighted functionality.
On the other hand, it is their weakness. Applications have a narrow specialization and are needed only in a brief moment of conversation, for chatting or as an interface for instant messaging. Of course, the ability to include media content in their messages or, for example, voice calls was added. But the ultimate functionality of such applications covers only a small amount of time for individual or group communication. Requirements for the presence of applications from both sides are also a lack of such systems.
The user usually has a wider range of needs, which is now satisfied with single-function applications. Evernote for personal notes, email for lengthy conversations, social networks like Facebook, Google+ and Twitter for public activities, and finally Path or Instagram for posting photos. This period is somewhat reminiscent of the era of Windows before Outlook, when applications performed only one function and the user had to use a large number of applications.
The recent actions of Facebook and Google are only the first steps taken by Internet companies in response to the success of the initially mobile projects. Of course, these are not the final decisions, but now they are making a positive impression. Of course, there is still some time during which the instant messengers are mobile, can prepare a worthy response to the expansion into their sphere.
Already there are keys to the future of the mobile world, kindly provided by users. People still use email on their mobile devices (trillions of messages in 2013), which shows a partial dissatisfaction with chat-oriented applications. The growth of Vine and Snapchat (only one key functionality) shows that not all media sharing capabilities are satisfied. There are many more things to play with.
If we look five years into the future, then it is quite possible that the core of iOS and Android will support significantly more integrated communication tools used by individual applications today.
The ability to save personal and voice messages, conversations or conversations, sharing media content, video (in two modes - synchronous and asynchronous), time lines to look back and understand your activity a couple of days ago. All this will become new features of the operating system.
Due to the fact that mobile applications are passing their era of Windows 3.1, single-function applications, the era of an integrated future is coming, when the capabilities of one-time applications will be built into the operating system. Google and Apple, of course, have an advantage here with their operating system.
At the moment, the existing focus is the solution to the question of what functionality should be allocated in a separate application and how to push them into a single interface, there is a beak step in determining the winner.
Facebook has Messenger, Camera, Pages and these primary applications along with Facebook Home are an integration point.
Google has Talk, Contacts, Mail, Plus, Hangouts, possibly with Now as an integration point.
Apple is a bit behind, but with iMessage, FaceTime, Photostream, Mail and Contacts, iOS itself can be an integration point.
WhatsApp, LINE, KakaoTalk, WeChat and others should go beyond the chat-oriented interface to a wider exchange of asynchronous messages, expand the set of social gadgets, possibly provide support for temporary flight, in order to be at the technological peak.
The ground for the next few fascinating years has already been laid when web-based social platforms will find their way into the mobile-social applications environment, and mobile messengers will search for their way to expand and incorporate new social opportunities.
At the moment, initially-mobile applications are leading in the number of users and the level of involvement. To preserve this advantage, they must continue to invent innovations.
People are inherently social and the smartphone has all the necessary range of opportunities to meet social needs. It can be seen that the growth of Over The Top instant messengers, applications representing the ability to share media data, meets the social needs of users from without social networks.
Now the mobile social world is an open question about whose software do we use to meet our social needs? Actually, that's what this week was about.
Editor's Note: Keith Theater is the founder of the social network just.me and a member of Archimedes Labs . Also co-founder of TechCrunch . Follow Twitter - @kteare .
')
This week, Google I / O took place, which made it meaningful to everyone who is following the fast transition from home computers to mobile devices, and partly to those who are focused on social mobility, just like me, because of this work in just.me. Below is my vision of what we found this week.
Self Hangouts. On Google I / O, it was announced that Hangout will be launched as a separate application from Google Plus, providing the ability to conduct personal correspondence.
Problems with Facebook Home . AT & T reported that it was decided to discontinue the release of HTC First - a phone from Facebook - due to lack of sales. This process goes against the background of a large number of one-star reviews on Google Play on the application from Facebook.
What is the share?
There are a lot of topics and issues that arise during the launch and development of Hangout, as a separate application and the decision to launch a product such as Facebook Home. Both products are two very similar answers to one common question. What will users watch when meeting their social needs with smartphones?
In order to understand the context of the problem when analyzing a problem, let us recognize that the “elephant in the china shop” partially influenced these decisions.
Mobile instant messengers are quickly becoming the primary use of social apps on a mobile device. Data published this week shows that more than 41 million messages per day were delivered through the “Over The Top” (OTT) app.
Telephones were created as a social tool. Smartphones are especially good at being social. Combining text, voice, video and image in an infinite number of applications that can serve the needs of users and for all this do not need social networks.
The user can communicate with anyone, anywhere, on absolutely any questions and at any time. This statement is absolutely true and it has provided the explosive growth of applications such as iMessage, WhatsApp, LINE, WeChat, KakaoTalk and other smaller projects. Nearly 750 million smartphone users out of 1.2 billion already use these products.
If you are Google, Facebook or any other major social platform provider originally developed for the web, then the transition to the mobile world is a serious task for you.
Similar problems arise for applications that distribute media content. Since users flock to Vine, Snapchat, and earlier on Instagram, the problem for social platforms is to remain the primary providers of media services for a growing army of smartphone owners.
Another key feature of Facebook and Google+ is that when posting posts that can be viewed by everyone or many, this is a frequent operation, although not many users are involved in this process on mobile devices, much less than in a web-based application.
What are platform providers doing?
If we go back a few years ago, we will understand that there is a unique reasonable way of development.
It consists in making a single application that will cover and expand the existing capabilities of the leaders of the instant messenger market in the hope of getting users from WhatsApp, LINE, KakaoTalk and WeChat, while at the same time introducing the ability to exchange media data, save personal notes and publish them in a single space.
Google and Facebook go this way together.
Releasing the Hangouts and collecting an audience of instant messengers in an application with advanced functionality is quite appropriate. But Google also announced Google Now and Voice Search as an integration point for all mobile social features. Of course, these are only the first steps, but Android is committed to finding integration points for all user needs.
Facebook, along with Home, showed an integrated approach to integration, having Messenger, Camera, Pages and a full-fledged Facebook application under the hood. But Home was poorly received by users, but, of course, Facebook will go deeper and improve its integration-oriented products. The first attempts, for the most part, will be aimed at improving the user interface.
Weakness and strength of initially mobile companies
WhatsApp and its clones can be considered as initially mobile companies. Their services are at the very top of the applications used by users on a smartphone, for example, the capabilities of an address book or simply help a person to communicate with his friends, family and colleagues. The secret of their success is simplicity and a single highlighted functionality.
On the other hand, it is their weakness. Applications have a narrow specialization and are needed only in a brief moment of conversation, for chatting or as an interface for instant messaging. Of course, the ability to include media content in their messages or, for example, voice calls was added. But the ultimate functionality of such applications covers only a small amount of time for individual or group communication. Requirements for the presence of applications from both sides are also a lack of such systems.
The user usually has a wider range of needs, which is now satisfied with single-function applications. Evernote for personal notes, email for lengthy conversations, social networks like Facebook, Google+ and Twitter for public activities, and finally Path or Instagram for posting photos. This period is somewhat reminiscent of the era of Windows before Outlook, when applications performed only one function and the user had to use a large number of applications.
Can web companies defeat primary mobile?
The recent actions of Facebook and Google are only the first steps taken by Internet companies in response to the success of the initially mobile projects. Of course, these are not the final decisions, but now they are making a positive impression. Of course, there is still some time during which the instant messengers are mobile, can prepare a worthy response to the expansion into their sphere.
Already there are keys to the future of the mobile world, kindly provided by users. People still use email on their mobile devices (trillions of messages in 2013), which shows a partial dissatisfaction with chat-oriented applications. The growth of Vine and Snapchat (only one key functionality) shows that not all media sharing capabilities are satisfied. There are many more things to play with.
If we look five years into the future, then it is quite possible that the core of iOS and Android will support significantly more integrated communication tools used by individual applications today.
The ability to save personal and voice messages, conversations or conversations, sharing media content, video (in two modes - synchronous and asynchronous), time lines to look back and understand your activity a couple of days ago. All this will become new features of the operating system.
Due to the fact that mobile applications are passing their era of Windows 3.1, single-function applications, the era of an integrated future is coming, when the capabilities of one-time applications will be built into the operating system. Google and Apple, of course, have an advantage here with their operating system.
The future wins the present
At the moment, the existing focus is the solution to the question of what functionality should be allocated in a separate application and how to push them into a single interface, there is a beak step in determining the winner.
Facebook has Messenger, Camera, Pages and these primary applications along with Facebook Home are an integration point.
Google has Talk, Contacts, Mail, Plus, Hangouts, possibly with Now as an integration point.
Apple is a bit behind, but with iMessage, FaceTime, Photostream, Mail and Contacts, iOS itself can be an integration point.
WhatsApp, LINE, KakaoTalk, WeChat and others should go beyond the chat-oriented interface to a wider exchange of asynchronous messages, expand the set of social gadgets, possibly provide support for temporary flight, in order to be at the technological peak.
The end of social networks and the beginning of a new era?
The ground for the next few fascinating years has already been laid when web-based social platforms will find their way into the mobile-social applications environment, and mobile messengers will search for their way to expand and incorporate new social opportunities.
At the moment, initially-mobile applications are leading in the number of users and the level of involvement. To preserve this advantage, they must continue to invent innovations.
People are inherently social and the smartphone has all the necessary range of opportunities to meet social needs. It can be seen that the growth of Over The Top instant messengers, applications representing the ability to share media data, meets the social needs of users from without social networks.
Now the mobile social world is an open question about whose software do we use to meet our social needs? Actually, that's what this week was about.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/180193/
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