Your App Is Not Better than an Open Protocol
andjosh.com
Your App Is Not Better than an Open Protocol
1–10 of 135 posts
Re: Your App Is Not Better than an Open Protocol
#2So we should never create anything new, then?
Re: Your App Is Not Better than an Open Protocol
#3So we should never create anything new, then?
I think the author is trying to say that we should build products on top of established, open standards. Or, where applicable and within reason, we should integrate them into our product. Allows our users to more easily integrate our products into their existing workflows.
Re: Your App Is Not Better than an Open Protocol
#4From the Flipboard page:
> You cannot build a 60fps scrolling list view with DOM.
I simply do not believe that. I have no problems scrolling around the internet. And the examples they give (flipboard.com/@flipboard) give me no clue about what their problem with the DOM is. I find it really hard to imagine you couldn't do that in the DOM.
I wonder what is going on over there.
Re: Your App Is Not Better than an Open Protocol
#5So we should never create anything new, then?
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Re: Your App Is Not Better than an Open Protocol
#6Perhaps a bit naive - these companies that start by embracing open standards then pull back from them are just pulling a classic bait-and-switch, with a bit of freeriding off open-source efforts thrown in. They bootstrap their user base and arrive to market quickly by using tools built by others. Then once they grow and gain market and mind share, they can start closing themselves off, walling the garden.
And it's just business - it's a logical step for a profit motivated organisation. You're value is in your users and your brand. So you take steps to lock in your users, prevent third parties from using your services with through open protocols (which dilutes your brand). Nearly all the current crop of (once-idealistic) companies are at it. It's really time to start learning from history that you can't depend on private, for-profit companies to act in the common good - because doing so spreads the value around, and a company wants it all for itself.
Re: Your App Is Not Better than an Open Protocol
#7So we should never create anything new, then?
No. You just must build your new things in such ways that your competitors can easily repeat them and your customers can easily migrate to your competitors.
Re: Your App Is Not Better than an Open Protocol
#8So we should never create anything new, then?
That's clearly not what the author is saying.
You can easily create something new while embracing standards. You can open your app up to existing standard means of consumption like RSS, email, SMS, etc.
Re: Your App Is Not Better than an Open Protocol
#9I think the question is - better for who?
Clearly for many businesses, walled gardens, avoiding "openness", works. That might be because they use it to create an artificial moat to protect their business (arguably LinkedIn here), or because it's the best way to serve their customers (Steve Jobs' argument, not saying I agree).
For customers, if the best experience is gained through a native app, then a native app makes sense from the company's point of view. This is why native apps took off in the first place, right?
Just because you or I believe in open standards and information sharing doesn't mean it's better from everyone's point of view.
Re: Your App Is Not Better than an Open Protocol
#10I feel like I'm missing something. We should use open standards like WhatsApp, who actually use a proprietary protocol that just seems familiar? We should avoid creating custom technologies like Flipboard, who actually embraced the open Canvas standard? Let's reminisce about SMS on Twitter in 2010 when smartphones were exploding and SMS was likely no longer the primary mode of interaction... This all makes no sense.