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The main issue with WhatsApp as the primary platform of communication is that it’s exclusive. You can’t actually switch to Signal and continue with business bec

The main issue with WhatsApp as the primary platform of communication is that it’s exclusive. You can’t actually switch to Signal and continue with business because you’d need everyone to switch with you. Tech has yet to go through it’s ‘industrialization’ phase where one of the main advents was replaceable/interchangeable parts. WhatsApp cannot be pointed to another network, it’s total vendor lock-in. Today happened at a non-critical time. If this happened during a hurricane, or any other disaster, the critical nature would be exposed. Right now we’re just amused, but the implications are real. Facebook has way more accountability in all of this than just, as Zuckerberg said ‘Senator, we sell ads’.

tuatoru 5y ago
> Tech has yet to go through it’s ‘industrialization’ phase where one of the main advents was replaceable/interchangeable parts. Not going to happen without legislation. Maybe not even with it. Industrial standardization was driven by the US Army around and after the time of the Civil War. The Army wanted rifle parts to be replaceable by any spare of the same type, not only those from the same batch as the gun. There is no large single buyer with "social" apps, and the incentives for vendors are to try to lock in their customers.
kitkat_new 5y ago
That's why instant messaging needs open standards like Matrix, which make switching apps and provider a nobrainer, because it almost wouldn't matter which one you would loose. Additionally, only one of many service proviers would be seriously affected if a service goes down. matrix.org
- timbit42 5y ago
  ...or use Tox and no service providers would be affected because it's 100% decentralized.
- zwieback 5y ago
  SMS is sort of that, right, at least a crude form?
  - kitkat_new 5y ago
    yes, but I don't think SMS is sophisticated enough. After all, instant messengers replaced it ...
  - jcfrei 5y ago
    Yes, why shouldn't the next standard (like 6G) introduce support for a better messaging network than SMS? With group chats and image support. Each carrier could decide if you can send unlimited messages or a few thousand. In any case it would remove this dependency on a single company. Edit: Just realized there's RCS: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rich_Communication_Services https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rich_Communication_Services
    - JoshTriplett 5y ago
      Such a standard is unlikely to ever introduce end-to-end encryption.
      - jvolkman 5y ago
        It already exists and is enabled by default (at least on my Pixel phone using the default messaging client). https://support.google.com/messages/answer/10262381 https://support.google.com/messages/answer/10262381
        JoshTriplett 5y ago
        That's not part of RCS, that's a Google extension.
  - 908B64B197 5y ago
    iMessage is the working implementation, as long as nobody joins with green bubbles [0]. [0] https://www.androidauthority.com/green-bubble-phenomenon-1021350/ https://www.androidauthority.com/green-bubble-phenomenon-102...
ikiris 5y ago
Excuse me, tech went through that phase and promptly left it because people didn't care enough
- bsder 5y ago
  Tech left that phase because there was no way to pay the bills. Servers cost money to run--equipment, bandwidth, power are all a thing. The only viable way anyone has found to pay for that is ads. So, here we are. You pay for the product or you are the product.
ekianjo 5y ago
> Tech has yet to go through it’s ‘industrialization’ phase where one of the main advents was replaceable/interchangeable parts. Oh i did not know that car parts could be used interchangeably from one brand to another. So nice to learn new things on HN every day.
heavyset_go 5y ago
> Tech has yet to go through it’s ‘industrialization’ phase where one of the main advents was replaceable/interchangeable parts. I disagree, tech has had periods of exactly this. Open protocols and APIs meant that you could write against almost any app or service that used them and switch them out and replace them. In the early to mid 2000's, this was the case for a lot of things in the tech world, especially when it came to communication and messaging. It's only recently that we've gone removed those open protocols and APIs in favor of proprietary systems and silos. That spirit is still alive today in some open source software.
timmytokyo 5y ago
Regulations need to focus on forcing these Internet monopolies to be interoperable. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/10/adversarial-interoperability https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/10/adversarial-interopera...

tuatoru 5y ago

> Tech has yet to go through it’s ‘industrialization’ phase where one of the main advents was replaceable/interchangeable parts. Not going to happen without legislation. Maybe not even with it. Industrial standardization was driven by the US Army around and after the time of the Civil War. The Army wanted rifle parts to be replaceable by any spare of the same type, not only those from the same batch as the gun. There is no large single buyer with "social" apps, and the incentives for vendors are to try to lock in their customers.

kitkat_new 5y ago

That's why instant messaging needs open standards like Matrix, which make switching apps and provider a nobrainer, because it almost wouldn't matter which one you would loose. Additionally, only one of many service proviers would be seriously affected if a service goes down. matrix.org

timbit42 5y ago
...or use Tox and no service providers would be affected because it's 100% decentralized.
zwieback 5y ago
SMS is sort of that, right, at least a crude form?
- kitkat_new 5y ago
  yes, but I don't think SMS is sophisticated enough. After all, instant messengers replaced it ...
- jcfrei 5y ago
  Yes, why shouldn't the next standard (like 6G) introduce support for a better messaging network than SMS? With group chats and image support. Each carrier could decide if you can send unlimited messages or a few thousand. In any case it would remove this dependency on a single company. Edit: Just realized there's RCS: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rich_Communication_Services https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rich_Communication_Services
  - JoshTriplett 5y ago
    Such a standard is unlikely to ever introduce end-to-end encryption.
    - jvolkman 5y ago
      It already exists and is enabled by default (at least on my Pixel phone using the default messaging client). https://support.google.com/messages/answer/10262381 https://support.google.com/messages/answer/10262381
      - JoshTriplett 5y ago
        That's not part of RCS, that's a Google extension.
- 908B64B197 5y ago
  iMessage is the working implementation, as long as nobody joins with green bubbles [0]. [0] https://www.androidauthority.com/green-bubble-phenomenon-1021350/ https://www.androidauthority.com/green-bubble-phenomenon-102...

ikiris 5y ago

Excuse me, tech went through that phase and promptly left it because people didn't care enough

bsder 5y ago
Tech left that phase because there was no way to pay the bills. Servers cost money to run--equipment, bandwidth, power are all a thing. The only viable way anyone has found to pay for that is ads. So, here we are. You pay for the product or you are the product.

ekianjo 5y ago

> Tech has yet to go through it’s ‘industrialization’ phase where one of the main advents was replaceable/interchangeable parts. Oh i did not know that car parts could be used interchangeably from one brand to another. So nice to learn new things on HN every day.

heavyset_go 5y ago

> Tech has yet to go through it’s ‘industrialization’ phase where one of the main advents was replaceable/interchangeable parts. I disagree, tech has had periods of exactly this. Open protocols and APIs meant that you could write against almost any app or service that used them and switch them out and replace them. In the early to mid 2000's, this was the case for a lot of things in the tech world, especially when it came to communication and messaging. It's only recently that we've gone removed those open protocols and APIs in favor of proprietary systems and silos. That spirit is still alive today in some open source software.

timmytokyo 5y ago

Regulations need to focus on forcing these Internet monopolies to be interoperable. https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/10/adversarial-interoperability https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2019/10/adversarial-interopera...