5 ms·

Enabling the Web of Mobile Apps

34 points by jmilinovich 13y ago

jaredcwhite 13y ago
Stuff like this is probably good from a consumer perspective. From a "state of the web" perspective (and speaking as a web geek/professional), this is terrible. Yet another step away from the openness of the web and into the walled garden of platform-specific apps. I thought we had already voted as a planet to embrace what the web represents. Walled gardens like Compuserve, Prodigy, (old) AOL, etc. Why can't links go to a mobile-optimized website, and from there (if I chose) I can decide to open that content in a native app? The browser should be the first destination of links.
- jmilinovich 13y ago
  It's interesting that you bring up the openness of the web and the walled garden of apps. Our goal is to break down those barriers by enabling people to link into the middle of apps to stitch together native and web experiences. We see the "HTML5 vs Native App" debate as a separate issue, though, and are instead focused on created the best possible end user experiences for our customers.
  - the_watcher 13y ago
    I agree, I see this more as a way to break down the walls between the app gardens. As a user, I really just care about what experience works best. I could care less if I jump between apps, apps and the web, or between websites.
  - Spone 13y ago
    What about linkrot when adla.st is no longer maintained? Imho yhat's the problem of this solution, relying on a third-party (your) domain.
    - the_watcher 13y ago
      Why would they stop maintaining it? Bit.ly hasn't stopped getting users and it poses the same risks, right?
      - Spone 13y ago
        Tons of reasons, actually. Just have a look at URL shorteners... http://www.archiveteam.org/index.php?title=URLTeam#Dead_or_Broken http://www.archiveteam.org/index.php?title=URLTeam#Dead_or_B...
        the_watcher 13y ago
        Guess I should have been more clear: what risks do they run that aren't already inherent to link shorteners like bit.ly (that are still getting users)?
    - jmilinovich 13y ago
      I can assure you, we're here to stay :)
nwenzel 13y ago
Yes please... Anything to get past crappy mobile websites. At least most mobile websites with apps (or is it baked into iOS?) are smart enough to give you an option to open an app after the page loads. And from a retailer's standpoint, how could you not use this? You basically bring someone exactly to where they asked to go and exactly to where you want them to go.

34 points by jmilinovich 13y ago

Stuff like this is probably good from a consumer perspective. From a "state of the web" perspective (and speaking as a web geek/professional), this is terrible. Yet another step away from the openness of the web and into the walled garden of platform-specific apps. I thought we had already voted as a planet to embrace what the web represents. Walled gardens like Compuserve, Prodigy, (old) AOL, etc. Why can't links go to a mobile-optimized website, and from there (if I chose) I can decide to open that content in a native app? The browser should be the first destination of links.

jmilinovich 13y ago
It's interesting that you bring up the openness of the web and the walled garden of apps. Our goal is to break down those barriers by enabling people to link into the middle of apps to stitch together native and web experiences. We see the "HTML5 vs Native App" debate as a separate issue, though, and are instead focused on created the best possible end user experiences for our customers.
- the_watcher 13y ago
  I agree, I see this more as a way to break down the walls between the app gardens. As a user, I really just care about what experience works best. I could care less if I jump between apps, apps and the web, or between websites.
- Spone 13y ago
  What about linkrot when adla.st is no longer maintained? Imho yhat's the problem of this solution, relying on a third-party (your) domain.
  - the_watcher 13y ago
    Why would they stop maintaining it? Bit.ly hasn't stopped getting users and it poses the same risks, right?
    - Spone 13y ago
      Tons of reasons, actually. Just have a look at URL shorteners... http://www.archiveteam.org/index.php?title=URLTeam#Dead_or_Broken http://www.archiveteam.org/index.php?title=URLTeam#Dead_or_B...
      - the_watcher 13y ago
        Guess I should have been more clear: what risks do they run that aren't already inherent to link shorteners like bit.ly (that are still getting users)?
  - jmilinovich 13y ago
    I can assure you, we're here to stay :)

nwenzel 13y ago

Yes please... Anything to get past crappy mobile websites. At least most mobile websites with apps (or is it baked into iOS?) are smart enough to give you an option to open an app after the page loads. And from a retailer's standpoint, how could you not use this? You basically bring someone exactly to where they asked to go and exactly to where you want them to go.