26 November 2007
I’m not sure the future really is facebook
Posted by Toner under: Nerd Culture; UX .
I think for the majority of Gen-X’s (like myself) the future, has, for the most part, been a bit of a let down. Brigitte Fonda’s character in “Singles” said it best when speaking of adulthood remarked, “I thought people would be traveling in airlocks by now…” Heck, I’m happy when the cable works.
There’s two articles on Read/Write the Web tying “the future” of the web with Facebook. One, about MyOffice, pertains to the “fully featured groupware” tool that was developed by two college kids that would allow basecamp-like project management functionality right into the facebook interface.
The other comes from an interview from some Yahoo folks who mention that (I’m paraphrasing here) users first become exposed to things like RSS on these social sites, thus, this means use of these tools will eventually find their way into the workplace.
Though I tend to agree with later, the idea that Facebook will be the driving force behind this movement leaves me a little flat.
Users are “trained” by their experiences… and then expect related systems to act at least somewhat similarly. The best designers realize this and incorporate these learnings into their designs. As a handy example sit down and play almost any football game on any of the popular gaming systems… Snapping the ball is almost always the “x” key on the controller.
This behavior (arguably) originated on the old Sega Genesis John Madden Game and as that game became the gold standard for Football games to come, any designer hoping to be at least moderately successful had to follow this convention. Games that didn’t simply did not do as well. The same can be said about the use of the WASD keys for movement in first person games.
I’ve recently had some clients mention that college kids these days are actually wary about taking jobs in places that are technologically backward and are beginning to expect the same experience inside the workplace as out, which I think makes perfect sense, though the idea that Facebook is going to lead this charge seems a bit naive.
If the Internet has thought us anything, it’s that the lifespan of these things (like a good club or restaurant) are completely cyclical. Look at Myspace. Once the online community, it’s now a little like an airport bar in a third world country.
Granted, Facebook is stronger in implementation and usability it’s only a matter of time before people grow tired of sending each other virtual hot dogs or “Jack o’ Latern” requests (I’m not even sure what that last one was is and I’ve told myself I’m not going to click on it…) and the community will move on to another home with better drinks and more Texas Holdem Aps.
What I think is a lot more interesting is “Open Social” which is being spearheaded by Google and joined by a wide range of partners including Google’s own Orkut, LinkedIn, Hi5, Friendster, Salesforce.com, Oracle, iLike, Flixster, RockYou, and Slide.
Essentially, this is taking evertything you could do with Facebook, but freeing it from the Facebook API letting users do whatever they want, WHERE they want. So, when Facebook evolves into a place chock full of friend requests from mail order brides
and ad banners for Viagra, you can now take all those cool widgets you’ve created with you. And that will make all the difference.
For more on open social, go here.
Technorati Tags: Gen-X, Facebook, MyOffice, RSS, social sites, Myspace, Facebook API, open social
2 Comments so far...
Ken Says:
29 November 2007 at 7:15 am.
I couldn’t agree more Jim. I think the Facebook will be influential in our future, but it won’t be our future. Much like you, I think of Facebook as a trend, who’s value is the entertainment it provides. Much like a TV show, it can be wildly popular, and make a lot of money for everyone involved, but eventually we’ll all grow tired of it and move on to the next big thing (which most likely will be invented by somebody named “Jerry”).
I agree also about Open Social. The fact is the value of any of these sites is the data and tools that users provide. What the sites need to understand is that this is valuable to the user that created it as well, and the site needs to provide the user accessibility and portability to it. So if Google can become the home for all of your “Social Data & Tools”, and you can then take that from one “nightclub” to another, Google is actually providing a valuable service, not just entertaintainment. And we all know Google is in dire need of a win 
Bruce Says:
4 January 2008 at 7:56 pm.
Snapping the ball is totally not almost always the “x” button. I’m pretty sure it was the “orange” button on the 2600. And possibly “square” on PS2 manifestations of American Football.
