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Curious: Apple and Facebook dominating the 'usability' habits for consumers? Via apps, web & devices
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5 Answers
I would say those two enterprises are gaining greater and greater control over how all of us communicate, and that means control over interactive technology as a whole. You can see it already, and not just in interactive technologies. FB, Twitter and smart phones are increasingly woven into the plots of network dramas and sitcoms, feature in late show monologues, even programmed into print magazines for instant access through bar codes.
This ubiquitous networking is here to stay, and it's only going to get worse (or better, depending upon your point of view). It will pervade everything and everyone, and businesses that can't or won't embrace it will be left to rot on the vine. I'm not saying that's a good thing, but it's just the way it is.
Rob
Absolutely. Technology is intertwining itself with lifestyles and daily activities.
I guess my question was more around the design and functionality of the web interface being used so frequently and on such a large scale. Is/will it affect the way people expect to use other entities websites, apps, devices? Will their designs, software, interactive components drive others to a standard of development in regard to the user?
User case: I own an Iphone 4. I've owned them since the first gen phone. I personally dislike other devices and OS's because Apple has tuned and put my intuition into their product. I don't think Android is a bad OS, but I find it much less usable than Apples.
Facebook on the other hand is making it so easy to connect, use and find people with their website that I get frustrated with other sites that don't take interactions and connections into account.
Does everyone go through this?
From a strictly usability perspective at least in the consumer space these two platforms are definitely dominating if not defining the way one uses and today evaluates technology form and factor. Chiclet keyboards for example have become the norm in most laptops today and was once pioneered by Apple.
Facebook meanwhile grows as the identity management system for a host of user content web sites, commenting systems and even log in on several web sites including Focus.
There is the argument, nay movement towards the "consumerization" of enterprise technology - the iPad in the enterprise has made CIOs for example wake up and take notice of the new ways that this piece of hardware can change the way data is presented, consumed and interacted with.
I think these two companies and the platforms that they have spawned have indeed redefined and dominated usability habits.
Rory, Yes! You have answered your own question. Everyone does go through this. Simply put, these company's have done so well at creating such a great user experience they have become the leaders and innovators of the industry. Facebook has become the standard for its' industry. Anyone can figure out how to use it and it only keeps getting simpler to use. Others in the same industry as Apple or Facebook are all trying to catch up with them at this point.
I think the answer is yes. Aside from the overall concept, people are driven to Facebook and Apple because they are user friendly. Other sites like Myspace are complex both in the design and user functions making it less desirable to use or see. Two words come to mind when I think about what people expect with regards to websites and applications: easy and fast. We’re over the days of dial up and have moved on to the era where everything should be easily and quickly accessible at our finger tips. Facebook and Apple are definitely leaders in the industry because they possess these qualities. With new daily technological advances, organizational change must occur to keep up. If companies don’t meet the public’s standards of “quick and easy”, they will fall behind.
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