Close call!
Jul. 29th, 2011 06:30 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
urbpanThat was close. I was discussing with Alexis this morning where to blog in the future, now that the KGB had shut down livejournal forever. Our politics in the US is pretty disgusting, especially right now, but at least we don't send the CIA to shut down social media sites. Now Wikileaks on the other hand...
Anyway, now I have a huge backlog of stuff to catch up on, lots of stories to tell and pictures to share. If we are friends on facebook, we might be close to caught up, if you follow me on twitter you get it more or less in real time, and if I'm in one of your Google+ circles you'll wonder why I never post anything. I did add a bunch of pictures to my flickr account, too, and I'm trying to understand how that site works a little better, rather than waiting 4 years between uploads.
Despite the communist gangsters' interference, I still prefer LJ over the others, and Jon here has articulated it well:
Hi there, Google. I wanted to share a story with you. I have a confession: I have - and still update - a LiveJournal account. Go ahead, laugh. Get it all out. You done? Good.
Why? Well, because, frankly, for its simplicity of design and ease of use, no one's come up with anything better that integrates blogging and social networking. From a platform that dates back to the late 90s. For shame, Internet, for shame.
The lessons G+ can learn from Facebook are numerous and obvious. That G+ was rolled out specifically as a Facebook killer is clear to everyone except the staunchest of FB acolytes and Google's official press releases. But I'm going to suggest here - and hear me out, now - that Google can learn a lot from LiveJournal in terms of what to do with G+. Let me explain:
1) Nesting comments
LiveJournal: YES
Google Plus: NO
Facebook: NO
Dear God this one is so obvious I had to put it first. How is it that in 1999 designers could appreciate that people like to talk to one another and not at one another and yet somehow this has been lost to the sands of time? Nesting comments: bring them back. If that means G+ has to abandon its mock-Facebook UI, then all the better.
2) Integrated blogging with basic HTML support
LiveJournal: YES
Google Plus: NO
Facebook: SORT OF
Again, I'm not asking for much, here. Just for your basic array of vintage-1996 HTML tags to work to let me to embed some dang links and to post some pictures without having to use a separate interface. Text, links, pictures. That's 99% of blogging right there. Is that so much to ask for? Facebook halfway accomplished this with "notes" but it's a separate interface and doesn't have the world's best HTML support.
3) Additive filters for posting AND reading
LiveJournal: MOSTLY
Google Plus: MOSTLY
Facebook: BARELY
I can add together circles to post to on G+, but why can't I select more than one circle at a time to read on my stream? I'll admit that even LJ didn't get this one completely right but they were the first to make a stab at it. Google needs to take it the rest of the way. Furthermore, as of now if I accidently make a post under the wrong circle settings I must delete it and do the whole damn thing over again. Fix it, Google. Fix it fix it fix it!
4) Easy-to-understand security features that rarely change
LiveJournal: YES
Google Plus: SO FAR
Facebook: AW HELL NAW
If one thing and one thing only has driven people to G+ from Facebook it's FB's endless array of notoriously Byzantine security menus that seem to change weekly. Don't head down that road, Google. Make only necessary security patches, don't add unnecessary "features" that make it easier for people to leak information. And if you do add on a feature that could possibly in any way shape or form compromise security, assume users want it disabled until they make a conscious effort to turn it on. Trust me on this one. Remember when Friendster decided to allow users to see who's been viewing their profiles? Remember what happened to Friendster after that? I'll give you a hint: it wasn't MySpace's provincial charm that drew them away.
5) Severely limited third-party application access to user information
LiveJournal: YES
Google Plus: SO FAR
Facebook: OH LAWD IS DAT SUM IDENTITY THEFT?
Here's a helpful tip, Google: people aren't jumping onto G+ because they love Farmville and Mafia Wars so damn much. I understand that asking for no third-party development is sort of akin to asking you to promise to never make money ever, but please, make it so users must consciously choose to give up information to third party apps, not some BS one-click "oh, btw" interface. And if a friend of mine does use a third-party application, whether it's something as simple as a Twitter import or some asinine game, give me a one-click interface to block everything from that app. Facebook did that much right. Better yet, prompt me before you share that crap on my stream. Oh, and can I please have an option to hide hangouts I wasn't in? Because know who loves hearing about parties they didn't go to? Nobody, that's who.
6) Keep it simple, stupid
LiveJournal: YES
Google Plus: YES, BY DEFAULT
Facebook: MY EYES! THE GOGGLES, ZEY DO NOTHING!
Okay, maybe that's a bit over-the-top since MySpace still wins for worst site layout in history, but Facebook is still way too cluttered. LiveJournal keeps what the user sees at one time nice and simple and streamlined. G+ needs to keep a UI that's crisp and clean. Bonus advantage: will look better on mobile devices. A suggestion? Open up the damn stream. Just because Facebook thinks that only the center third of the screen should be dedicated to what you're reading 95% of the time doesn't mean you have to jump off that bridge, too, Google. You can stretch it out real slow-like. No one will notice, I promise, but they'll like it.
7) Easy interface for discreetly hiding single users
LiveJournal: NOT REALLY
Google Plus: NOPE
Facebook: YES
I felt a bit bad about being so vicious to Facebook here and so I thought I'd throw them a bone at the end. It goes like this: sometimes you have a friend who, for whatever reason, goes through phases of being a bit of a Chatty Charlie. The one thing FB has done right is being able to remove that person from one's feed until they calm the hell down, without having to resort to blocking them. Calling it "ignore" was pretty indicative of the Zuckerberg Aspbergian approach to social networking and I like how G+ has a "hide" feature when someone first adds you to a circle, but that's the only time that feature appears and it then vanishes into the Ether. That needs to be more visible all the time. Kudos for "mute this post," Google, but I want a "hide" tool in my box, too.
I'm glad we had this talk, Google. I hope you consider some of this. But seriously, nesting comments. Talking to someone by referring to them in the third person isn't how English works. Oh, and big props on allowing me to disable comments on any post I choose, since that makes me more comfortable with making public posts, like this one (btw, feel free to share this, folks). I know that the Kids These Days are the major revenue source and they love oversharing more than life itself but early on it's the Internet and blogging OG's in their 30s and 40s who are going to be driving the growth for G+ and, well, they want some privacy every now and then. Nobody has to use these features if they don't want, but the options should be there. Thanks for your time, Google.
He's![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
dosboof on LJ if you'd like to ask to friend him.
Anyway, now I have a huge backlog of stuff to catch up on, lots of stories to tell and pictures to share. If we are friends on facebook, we might be close to caught up, if you follow me on twitter you get it more or less in real time, and if I'm in one of your Google+ circles you'll wonder why I never post anything. I did add a bunch of pictures to my flickr account, too, and I'm trying to understand how that site works a little better, rather than waiting 4 years between uploads.
Despite the communist gangsters' interference, I still prefer LJ over the others, and Jon here has articulated it well:
Hi there, Google. I wanted to share a story with you. I have a confession: I have - and still update - a LiveJournal account. Go ahead, laugh. Get it all out. You done? Good.
Why? Well, because, frankly, for its simplicity of design and ease of use, no one's come up with anything better that integrates blogging and social networking. From a platform that dates back to the late 90s. For shame, Internet, for shame.
The lessons G+ can learn from Facebook are numerous and obvious. That G+ was rolled out specifically as a Facebook killer is clear to everyone except the staunchest of FB acolytes and Google's official press releases. But I'm going to suggest here - and hear me out, now - that Google can learn a lot from LiveJournal in terms of what to do with G+. Let me explain:
1) Nesting comments
LiveJournal: YES
Google Plus: NO
Facebook: NO
Dear God this one is so obvious I had to put it first. How is it that in 1999 designers could appreciate that people like to talk to one another and not at one another and yet somehow this has been lost to the sands of time? Nesting comments: bring them back. If that means G+ has to abandon its mock-Facebook UI, then all the better.
2) Integrated blogging with basic HTML support
LiveJournal: YES
Google Plus: NO
Facebook: SORT OF
Again, I'm not asking for much, here. Just for your basic array of vintage-1996 HTML tags to work to let me to embed some dang links and to post some pictures without having to use a separate interface. Text, links, pictures. That's 99% of blogging right there. Is that so much to ask for? Facebook halfway accomplished this with "notes" but it's a separate interface and doesn't have the world's best HTML support.
3) Additive filters for posting AND reading
LiveJournal: MOSTLY
Google Plus: MOSTLY
Facebook: BARELY
I can add together circles to post to on G+, but why can't I select more than one circle at a time to read on my stream? I'll admit that even LJ didn't get this one completely right but they were the first to make a stab at it. Google needs to take it the rest of the way. Furthermore, as of now if I accidently make a post under the wrong circle settings I must delete it and do the whole damn thing over again. Fix it, Google. Fix it fix it fix it!
4) Easy-to-understand security features that rarely change
LiveJournal: YES
Google Plus: SO FAR
Facebook: AW HELL NAW
If one thing and one thing only has driven people to G+ from Facebook it's FB's endless array of notoriously Byzantine security menus that seem to change weekly. Don't head down that road, Google. Make only necessary security patches, don't add unnecessary "features" that make it easier for people to leak information. And if you do add on a feature that could possibly in any way shape or form compromise security, assume users want it disabled until they make a conscious effort to turn it on. Trust me on this one. Remember when Friendster decided to allow users to see who's been viewing their profiles? Remember what happened to Friendster after that? I'll give you a hint: it wasn't MySpace's provincial charm that drew them away.
5) Severely limited third-party application access to user information
LiveJournal: YES
Google Plus: SO FAR
Facebook: OH LAWD IS DAT SUM IDENTITY THEFT?
Here's a helpful tip, Google: people aren't jumping onto G+ because they love Farmville and Mafia Wars so damn much. I understand that asking for no third-party development is sort of akin to asking you to promise to never make money ever, but please, make it so users must consciously choose to give up information to third party apps, not some BS one-click "oh, btw" interface. And if a friend of mine does use a third-party application, whether it's something as simple as a Twitter import or some asinine game, give me a one-click interface to block everything from that app. Facebook did that much right. Better yet, prompt me before you share that crap on my stream. Oh, and can I please have an option to hide hangouts I wasn't in? Because know who loves hearing about parties they didn't go to? Nobody, that's who.
6) Keep it simple, stupid
LiveJournal: YES
Google Plus: YES, BY DEFAULT
Facebook: MY EYES! THE GOGGLES, ZEY DO NOTHING!
Okay, maybe that's a bit over-the-top since MySpace still wins for worst site layout in history, but Facebook is still way too cluttered. LiveJournal keeps what the user sees at one time nice and simple and streamlined. G+ needs to keep a UI that's crisp and clean. Bonus advantage: will look better on mobile devices. A suggestion? Open up the damn stream. Just because Facebook thinks that only the center third of the screen should be dedicated to what you're reading 95% of the time doesn't mean you have to jump off that bridge, too, Google. You can stretch it out real slow-like. No one will notice, I promise, but they'll like it.
7) Easy interface for discreetly hiding single users
LiveJournal: NOT REALLY
Google Plus: NOPE
Facebook: YES
I felt a bit bad about being so vicious to Facebook here and so I thought I'd throw them a bone at the end. It goes like this: sometimes you have a friend who, for whatever reason, goes through phases of being a bit of a Chatty Charlie. The one thing FB has done right is being able to remove that person from one's feed until they calm the hell down, without having to resort to blocking them. Calling it "ignore" was pretty indicative of the Zuckerberg Aspbergian approach to social networking and I like how G+ has a "hide" feature when someone first adds you to a circle, but that's the only time that feature appears and it then vanishes into the Ether. That needs to be more visible all the time. Kudos for "mute this post," Google, but I want a "hide" tool in my box, too.
I'm glad we had this talk, Google. I hope you consider some of this. But seriously, nesting comments. Talking to someone by referring to them in the third person isn't how English works. Oh, and big props on allowing me to disable comments on any post I choose, since that makes me more comfortable with making public posts, like this one (btw, feel free to share this, folks). I know that the Kids These Days are the major revenue source and they love oversharing more than life itself but early on it's the Internet and blogging OG's in their 30s and 40s who are going to be driving the growth for G+ and, well, they want some privacy every now and then. Nobody has to use these features if they don't want, but the options should be there. Thanks for your time, Google.
He's
dosboof on LJ if you'd like to ask to friend him.
