One of these days, I’m going to write about why I think Facebook is a much better implementation of the social networking concept than MySpace. But until then, here’s a conversation with Nikkiana from a few minutes ago, regarding Dana Boyd’s new essay, Friendster lost steam. Is MySpace just a fad?
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Firas:
i really dislike how danah boyd is all like, ‘myspace rocks!’ just because it has so many users. you might as well say AOL rocks.
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Nikkiana:
hmm.. i never really got that feel off of her…
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Firas:
it’s obviously the charge she’s leading among the technicalites, that interfaces don’t matter, that this doesn’t matter, that doesn’t matter
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Nikki:
because she’s right…. to the AVERAGE 15 year old kid, it doesn’t matter.
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Firas:
i know, and if you’re working on msn spaces or something, maybe you should listen to that advice. but for those of us who care about interfaces ‘cloning myspace’ is the last thing we want to do—we’re in a different camp altogether
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Nikki:
the thing about MySpace is it’s the equivalent of the internet ghetto…
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Firas:
i’m not saying it doesn’t work for them
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Nikki:
MySpace was made popular by normal people. Not nerds.
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Firas:
just saying that saying it works for them doesn’t mean it’s ‘good practice’ in all contexts
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Firas:
myspace runs coldfusion, that’s nerdy!
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Nikki:
yes… but i’m talking about the users.
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Firas:
yeah, i know. ok, let my clarify what i’m saying here. (a) MySpace works for people. Agreed. (b) MySpace’s sucky design decisions don’t hinder its success. Agreed. (c) Everyone should do what myspace does. Disagree!
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Nikki:
But who implied C?
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Firas:
http://headrush.typepad.com/creating_passionate_users/2006/03/ultrafast_relea.html
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Nikki:
That said, I predict that MySpace will fade as the current teenage userbase gets older.
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Firas:
i guess my point is that the main thing going for it is ‘social capital’. ie, everyone uses it, hence everyone uses it.
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Firas:
i like how boyd’s analysis focuses on the userbase changes as a reason for friendster’s demise. because it’s like the most important asset of social networking tools—the actual users, not the software they use.
Just because something has a large usage share doesn’t necessarily mean that it’s any good. Just because many of Microsoft’s victims have to use Outlook Express for reading their email doesn’t mean that Mozilla Thunderbird should copy Outlook Express (the very idea is disgusting).
I don’t disagree with Danah Boyd’s analysis of social networking apps (au contraire, I really admire her essays about these things), and I also like Kathy Sierra’s writings in general (I think they’re great, enthusiastic and inspirational.) I agree with the particular conclusion Sierra was drawing in the article, that fast release cycles are good things. But quick and informal development methodology doesn’t necessitate thoughtless design. Your work style in the kitchen doesn’t matter, but wouldn’t you like to produce tasty meals when you’re done?
Sierra ties the 37signals way (fast development) with this quote from her daughter:
She said they respond to feedback, “As soon as you think of something, it’s in there.”
This is the antithesis of everything 37signals preach. Throwing in feature after feature doth not good software make!
So because MySpace ‘worked out’ (ie. sold for millions) doesn’t mean you can dismiss a point by saying ‘well, MySpace does it’. What makes for ‘good software’ is a subjective decision. Here are some characteristics people tend to lump together:
- Widespread
- Popular
- Enjoyable
- Powerful
- Easy to Use
- Revenue-Generating
- Well-Designed
MySpace is widespread, popular, revenue-generating, and enjoyable for its users. Ok. Is it well-crafted? Maybe the fact that it’s users enjoy it suggests that it is well-crafted. I think the best way to put my position here is that I’m in a different faction. As with David Hansson speaking of ‘Enterprise Java Architects’:
So by Enterprise, Architect, and Enterprise Architect standards, this gent must be the top of the pop. Thus, allow me to make this perfectly clear: I would be as happy as a clam never to write a single line of software that guys like James McGovern found worthy of The Enterprise.
If Ruby, Rails, and the rest of the dynamic gang we’re lumped together to represent, is not now, nor ever, McGovern Enterprise Readyâ„¢, I say hallelujah! Heck, I’ll repeat that in slow motion just to underscore my excitement: HAL-LE-LU-JAH!
If the software I like, the software I’m influenced by and the whole user-experience oriented gang we’re lumped together to represent, is not now, nor ever, similar to MySpace™, I say hallelujah!
