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Facebook Messenger Platform

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171–180 of 248 posts

Re: Facebook Messenger Platform

#171

I'm crying. Remember when messaging was built on open platforms and standards like XMPP and IRC? The golden year(s?) when Google Talk worked with AIM and anyone could choose whatever client they preferred? Welcome to the future friends when we must pay to battle the keymasters and gatekeepers on their terms to do what we used to do ourselves, for free. First they took my RSS, then they took my XMPP... Who can guess w…

We can take back the internet. We've been at a disadvantage for so long because centralized services are easier to build great experiences with than federated services. Messaging protocols require identities, and federated identities are user-hostile. They worked once: email. Never again. Luckily, we're in the middle of a decentralization renaissance. Instead of managing your identity on a server controlled by Facebo…

> Luckily, we're in the middle of a decentralization renaissance.

Source please. Absolutely 0 non-tech person uses blockchain technology besides paying for ransomware maybe.

Re: Facebook Messenger Platform

#172
post #12
post #11

Wouldn't it be wise for Facebook to just replace Messenger with WhatsApp and offer that as a platform?

I'm confused about this as well. Why are they choosing to compete with themselves?

Merge stuff together and you get something clunky like Google+.

Re: Facebook Messenger Platform

#173
post #167

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You're right about UX being central to the problem, but you're missing a major part of it here. UX is hard . Getting great user experience takes IMHO a lot more pain than getting algorithms and systems to work right (in most cases). UX is about endless revisions, a lot of boring and often ugly code, obsessing about pixels and quirky details of your UI's "story," and other things that are very time consuming, not fun,…

Agreed! Economic models for funding decentralized apps are the key barrier to liberating our network effects from the companies who have fenced them off. I spend my days trying to solve that problem. I'll post on /r/Ethereum soon when there's something people can use.

IMHO this is The Problem, and is far more significant than the problems IPFS or even cryptocurrencies are trying to solve. I would stop short of calling these projects wasted effort, but solving the economic model is a prerequisite to any chance of success for the entire endeavor.

It's not entirely a technical problem. At some point I think a few sacred ideas will need to be questioned, such as the idea that open source must also be "free as in beer."

If there is no economic model, nothing is going to happen. Closed silos will continue to dominate in all the areas that cost money, and among those UX is probably the most significant differentiator that will guarantee their dominance. I love open source gift culture but there are some pretty severe limits to what can practically be accomplished without some source of capital or subsidy.

Re: Facebook Messenger Platform

#174
post #160

"The Send/Receive API must not be used to send marketing or promotional messages...advertising...branded content..up selling..cross selling" Then, "Spring offers a personal shopping assistant on Messenger" https://messengerplatform.fb.com/wp-content/themes/fbmesseng... Huh?

The big difference seems to be that bots built on this platform are not to be used as an ad delivery mechanism, like, say, outbound.io. The App Review section of the docs makes this a little clearer of what is acceptable and what isn't, complete with graphics:

https://developers.facebook.com/docs/messenger-platform/app-...

Re: Facebook Messenger Platform

#175

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> - this may disrupt paypal, as soon as you can send 'money' over a messaging app. American banking is so backwards and this will only make it worse. In Australia and New Zealand, no bank offers you checks. Do I own you $50? Well give me your BSB and account number. I type it into my phone app or web browser, type $50 and click send. It shows up tomorrow morning. Works on weekends, holidays, ANZAC day, New Years Day…

At least ACH is slowly working towards being faster. In less than 2 years, next business day ACH should be pretty universal. In about 6 months, some ACH transactions will clear the following morning.

Meanwhile the UK has had instant transfers since 2008. That's about two years after I last wrote a cheque.

Re: Facebook Messenger Platform

#177
post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Agreed! Economic models for funding decentralized apps are the key barrier to liberating our network effects from the companies who have fenced them off. I spend my days trying to solve that problem. I'll post on /r/Ethereum soon when there's something people can use.

IMHO this is The Problem, and is far more significant than the problems IPFS or even cryptocurrencies are trying to solve. I would stop short of calling these projects wasted effort, but solving the economic model is a prerequisite to any chance of success for the entire endeavor. It's not entirely a technical problem. At some point I think a few sacred ideas will need to be questioned, such as the idea that open sou…

General purpose blockchains are social clay: you can model any economic interaction on them, then people can engage in that interaction without any company's assistance or permission. I think I have a model that incentivizes crowds to direct their efforts and funds like a non-profit.

It might not work, but if it does, no one can stop those crowds. If I find a new shiny object to chase, the software will keep running as long as people want to use it. We can reshape our world with software that can't be stopped.

We've strayed too far off topic, but you and any readers should feel free to email me anytime. It's in the profile.

Re: Facebook Messenger Platform

#178

I'm crying. Remember when messaging was built on open platforms and standards like XMPP and IRC? The golden year(s?) when Google Talk worked with AIM and anyone could choose whatever client they preferred? Welcome to the future friends when we must pay to battle the keymasters and gatekeepers on their terms to do what we used to do ourselves, for free. First they took my RSS, then they took my XMPP... Who can guess w…

HTTP

Yep, it's not like we don't have open protocols with millions of users. Data silos and super nodes in the network are a socio-economic effect, not technical. What I mean is that as long as it's desirable to become a high traffic, high authority node, there will be people (and corporations) spending time and money to build them -- I think it's an emergent property of human society + resource scarcity.

Re: Facebook Messenger Platform

#179
post #173

Earlier quoted context omitted.

IMHO this is The Problem, and is far more significant than the problems IPFS or even cryptocurrencies are trying to solve. I would stop short of calling these projects wasted effort, but solving the economic model is a prerequisite to any chance of success for the entire endeavor. It's not entirely a technical problem. At some point I think a few sacred ideas will need to be questioned, such as the idea that open sou…

General purpose blockchains are social clay: you can model any economic interaction on them, then people can engage in that interaction without any company's assistance or permission. I think I have a model that incentivizes crowds to direct their efforts and funds like a non-profit. It might not work, but if it does, no one can stop those crowds. If I find a new shiny object to chase, the software will keep running…

The current market cap for all cryptocurrencies is less than $8B, which means that about 75% of all cryptocurrency would have to be focused on the sort of thing you describe to have a chance of competing with Facebook's $5.8B 2015 revenue.

Re: Facebook Messenger Platform

#180
post #2

The 1-800-FLOWERS example in the F8 livestream was pretty neat. In the example a user ordered flowers through only a chat. Somehow they were able to do this without entering their credit card details. I wonder if the payment was a Facebook Messenger feature, or if the user had just already entered their details on the 1-800-FLOWERS site.

You've been able to setup a US debit card with your Messenger account and then use that to send friends money, so you can use that payment info with the Messenger platform integrations too. I'm guessing that FB processes the payment versus sending the partner your payment info. Here's more info on payments in Messenger, but note that this doesn't include info on the platform stuff and how payments interact with it si…

> so you can use that payment info with the Messenger platform integrations too

That's not supported by the platform yet.

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