Facebook and Twitter Integration, Badly Handled?

[Reddkryten]

Hello.

I just wanted to throw this out there and see what everyone thinks. The integration of facebook and twitter has been kinda bugging me. I'm not opposed to the integration, but more the way it was handled.

People at Apple went onstage and announced their new partner Twitter/Facebook, an exclusive partner who they were allowing to be added directly into the OS. Should they have really done this, or should they have announced the possibility to integrate any social network of your choice (provided it has an app which supports this)?

It just makes me think of a few years back when Myspace was king and people were writing everything in their live journals. I remember those two networks seemed huge. Then one day someone mentioned a site I had never heard of before called Facebook, suddenly Facebook was the next big thing and Myspace was all but forgotten. Today whenever I see a link to Myspace it makes the site look very old.

Maybe Facebook will be different, maybe it will become such a big part of the web that it will never go away... But what if it is also just another fad? What if five years from now we all move on to some other service? Will Apple leave the Facebook integration in iOS and look like that outdated website?

It just seems like a poor choice to add something directly into the OS, when it may only be a fad... a bit like getting a Pokemon tattoo, cool for a brief moment but an embarrassment years later.

On the other hand, having an open integration feature which any social network can use is a much more useful tool. Some people may not ever use twitter but can't stay away from instagram... or perhaps one person who needs to update their live journal.

Just something i was thinking about.

 

[newagemac]

I don't think Facebook is going anywhere any time soon. It has just about as much integration into people's lives now as Google search. In fact, probably more since it would be much easier to switch from Google's search box to some other new company coming along than it would be to convince all of your friends to move to some other social network and rebuild your entire profile history all over again.

So if what you say is true, they should remove Google from the OS completely to make sure iOS doesn't become dated.

Nothing is stopping Apple from removing Facebook, Twitter, or Google from their OS if/when these web companies are no longer relevant. Those sites that still link to Myspace deserve to be considered "dated" because they haven't kept up with the current times.

 

[Cybbe]

Apple - as a rule of thumb - usually don't choose the open solution, favouring proprietary integration instead.

For instance, Android apps can register themselves to Androids share-menu, and any app can then easily be used to share photos, webpages, whatever. Another example is the upcoming Windows phones, which will allow any voip-app to integrate tightly with the OS, not just their own Skype platform.

Apple usually sheds away from stuff like that. But you are correct in observing that a well-implemented open solution (via a well-designed API) would be better.

 

[newagemac]

Yes, sometimes open can be better. Like for instance, Apple is favoring an open solution with their maps application in iOS6 for local public transit data. In Android, Google forces you to use their closed proprietary arrangements without giving you choice. In my city and many other locations, the local providers have more accurate and detailed data for their location than google does. So Apple's more open system will benefit from that over Android's more closed system.

But in this particular case, there is Facebook and Twitter and then there is everyone else far behind so it makes more sense to custom integrate them and if things change they can update the app to go with the current leader. Just like how if/when Google is no longer a popular search engine, they can just drop them as well.

But for now, it makes more sense to figure out the most popular search engines (Google, Yahoo, and Bing) and then offer them than to clutter up the OS with so many options that few people use or pretend they are all equally used. Same with social networks.

And whether you're talking about search engines or social networks, you can still access less popular ones in the browser and through downloaded apps.

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I also like the fact that Apple is giving you choice by integrating the two most popular social networks into their OS. Android on the other hand directly and closely integrates Google's own proprietary and closed social network rather than give people the choice of using the more popular ones for closer integration.

 

[Menel]

Facebook founded 2004-2012+ Got 8yrs with no end in sight. Has stood defiantly through G+, Twitter, Linkedin, Orkut, Buzz, etc.

Myspace. Fizzled in 2007, ~4yrs.

 

[Reddkryten]

I absolutely agree that Facebook and Twitter are the dominant two social networks and deserve a prized place. One area where I think Apple implements this sort of thing very well is mail. When I go to add a new mail account is has Gmail, Exchange, Yahoo and other big contenders at the top, rightfully so. However at the bottom is the option to add an email address from any other source.

I'm not criticising them for integrating Facebook and Twitter, if you are going to integrate any social networks, those are the ones to choose (although I do believe they will go into a decline eventually, I've outlived too many things to think otherwise).

However I just think this implementation is very "clunky" and will age very badly, imagine this.

iOS 7 Announcement

Tim Cook: Welcome, welcome, today we are here to announce a revolutionary new feature that will change the way you do business forever. We've added Twitter and Facebook directly into the OS, which is great for personal details, but not for business. Today we have added linkedin directly into the OS. You can hear the latest news and respond right from notification centre.
::APPLAUSE::

iOS 8

Tim Cook: Now we've made a habit of introducing a new social network every year and this year...Pintrest. You can see your friends pintrests, you can...umm, pin things, right from notification centre...
::Slow Clap::

iOS 9

Tim Cook: So, anyone like Tumblr?
::Tumble weed::


If that senario happens, it'll get really old and really clunky for Apple to select a new social network each year. Just opening the integration function up to other networks is a simple and elegant solution.

 

[Reach9]

Facebook founded 2004-2012+ Got 8yrs with no end in sight. Has stood defiantly through G+, Twitter, Linkedin, Orkut, Buzz, etc.

Myspace. Fizzled in 2007, ~4yrs.

Disagree.

Although Facebook will definitely last longer than MySpace, it won't last forever. And recent data shows that Facebook's user growth has peaked and is slowing in North America and UK.
The biggest gains Facebook has right now are in Brazil, India, and Indonesia. What will happen once we reach the saturation point there?
I don't think it will completely disappear, but it might go the way Yahoo is right now. Wouldn't be surprised.

Also, Twitter and LinkedIn are totally different niches so you can't really compare them directly with Facebook.

OP: I agree with you, Apple should just have an option for the user to add any social media network they want. It would be far more efficient that way, since they will all share things more or less the same way.

 

[Menel]

Disagree.

Although Facebook will definitely last longer than MySpace, it won't last forever. And recent data shows that Facebook's user growth has peaked and is slowing in North America and UK.
The biggest gains Facebook has right now are in Brazil, India, and Indonesia. What will happen once we reach the saturation point there?
I don't think it will completely disappear, but it might go the way Yahoo is right now. Wouldn't be surprised.

Also, Twitter and LinkedIn are totally different niches so you can't really compare them directly with Facebook.

OP: I agree with you, Apple should just have an option for the user to add any social media network they want. It would be far more efficient that way, since they will all share things more or less the same way.

Not possible. Every network is going to have their own proprietary API.

 

[jman240]

Personally I like the way Windows Phone integrates it but it seems like they pick and choose the services they allow to have deeper integration as well. Mainly their messaging hub allows you to swap between SMS, Facebook, and Windows Live Messenger on the fly within the same conversation but I don't believe it's extensible to 3rd parties.

The OP is right though, this would be much better left up to the services to integrate into the OS than the other way around. If I don't want a service then I won't configure it but it would be nice to allow them to add themselves to the share sheets and integrate into the stock apps. Alternatively it would be nice to replace the stock apps with better 3rd party alternatives.

Yes I know android does this, but I have an iPhone and a contract so I'd prefer to see each phone maker add features like this without having to jump around to different OS's. I think iMessage should be opened up to android phones as well as the itunes store / content, airplay and all that. That will never happen but it would be nice to have an OS independent world where we could actually choose the one we like the most and it would integrate with the stuff we use.