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Facebook is betting that people don't want to interact with apps but rather with their friends, which is a bet they have to make because, well they're Facebook.

Facebook is betting that people don't want to interact with apps but rather with their friends, which is a bet they have to make because, well they're Facebook. This also sounds very good and "human" but I don't know how true to reality it is. Apps are a way to gauge and guide intent. So if I want to send an email, I open an email app. If I want to check my schedule, I open the calendar app. These are established and agreed upon concepts and apps are just representations of those concepts. With Home, Facebook is saying that every time you turn on your phone "you probably want to see what your friends are up to." This assumes that we're all super social and are genuinely interested in people in our Facebook-lives. I think many people use Facebook out of a sense of obligation to be part of that scene (kind of like LinkedIn). But there probably are a lot of people who instinctively hit that Facebook app as soon as they turn on their phone and for them this will be great. I don't think it will drive more usage from that first group, though (and I think that should be Facebook's primary goal).

mtgx 14y ago
Yes, their whole "this is the future" strategy is actually that way because it needs to be the future for Facebook. So their view is extremely biased in that regards, just like the whole auto-sharing thing, which I consider pretty anti-user, but it's something Facebook needed for their business.
potatolicious 14y ago
I don't think the two concepts are mutually exclusive. I've noticed with myself that no matter what I'm doing, and what apps I'm using on my desktop, Facebook is always open in a tab. Which is to say, my high-intent and highly-guided behavior on the computer sits on top of a constant baseline social presence. Personally I'd be happy if Facebook Messenger was built into the phone such that I can respond to messages without breaking my flow in my current app. But I'm on iOS, so I'm really not holding my breath. Putting social networking into the background IMO aligns it closer to how I actually use it. Facebook as a high-intent application doesn't seem to work quite right.
altcognito 14y ago
> Facebook is betting that people don't want to interact with apps but rather with their friends, which is a bet they have to make because, well they're Facebook. This also sounds very good and "human" but I don't know how true to reality it is Also, people won't mistake the Facebook app for their friends when ads start appearing.

mtgx 14y ago

Yes, their whole "this is the future" strategy is actually that way because it needs to be the future for Facebook. So their view is extremely biased in that regards, just like the whole auto-sharing thing, which I consider pretty anti-user, but it's something Facebook needed for their business.

potatolicious 14y ago

I don't think the two concepts are mutually exclusive. I've noticed with myself that no matter what I'm doing, and what apps I'm using on my desktop, Facebook is always open in a tab. Which is to say, my high-intent and highly-guided behavior on the computer sits on top of a constant baseline social presence. Personally I'd be happy if Facebook Messenger was built into the phone such that I can respond to messages without breaking my flow in my current app. But I'm on iOS, so I'm really not holding my breath. Putting social networking into the background IMO aligns it closer to how I actually use it. Facebook as a high-intent application doesn't seem to work quite right.

altcognito 14y ago

> Facebook is betting that people don't want to interact with apps but rather with their friends, which is a bet they have to make because, well they're Facebook. This also sounds very good and "human" but I don't know how true to reality it is Also, people won't mistake the Facebook app for their friends when ads start appearing.