There are many "elite" bloggers that state that the future of everything concerning internet communications is in the browser. I’ve heard "in the browser" so much in the course of 2009 that it now annoys me to even hear it. Why? Because as far as usability is concerned, doing everything in the browser is a step backwards.
All-in-browser is not user-friendly
Let’s say for the moment you did want to do everything in the browser. We’ll take four things – your social media, instant messaging, email and web sites. That’s 4 tabs right there, and having them open all the time chokes your browser to a crawl because it eats up so much memory. Furthermore there is nothing in the taskbar/dock/panel to notify you of anything. There are no toaster pop-ups. If a sound event happens, it’s unlikely you know which tab it came from. If whatever tab is loaded has no dynamic title area change, you don’t know what’s going on in that tab if not selected.
Usability-wise, this is a nightmare to deal with. The browser is not the answer to everything, and there has to be things that exist outside of it to get things done more effectively. We like having small icons in the taskbar/dock/panel that let us know what’s going on. We like small toaster pop-ups at the bottom right of the screen when an instant message and/or email is received. We like having the separation of browser from app.
And if the browser was the end-all/be-all of everything internet, why is it that there are still separated apps on smartphones with nice small notification icons to tell you what’s going on? It’s because it’s easier to use and allows you to get things done easier.
Having everything in the browser is just a stupid idea.
Anti-browser backlash
Facebook is a good example of anti-browser backlash. People generally like the Facebook service but hate the web interface with a passion. I am one of those people. It is so much easier just to have an app carry the task of posting status updates and replying to wall posts rather than dealing with slow, buggy and altogether ridiculous web interface that is Facebook.
And let’s not forget that web-based Facebook apps crash and burn half the time because the system they’re being used on is overloaded/choked with no end in sight.
Cross-posting is not evil when it comes to social media
The term cross-posting is deemed a bad thing by most people because it’s usually applied to spamming – but that’s not the case with social media. What people want is something in the form of an app that posts status updates to multiple services at once, such as Facebook and Twitter. And it must do so in a way where you don’t have to use the browser whatsoever.
All-in-one apps to the rescue
Fortunately there are real true-blue apps that do a very good job of combining it all (or most) in a way that works out quite nicely. There aren’t too many of these offerings as of yet, but they’re slowly coming out of the woodwork.
Here’s a few examples:
You most likely know this as a multi-protocol instant messenger – BUT – it can also post status updates to Twitter and Facebook AND reply to updates on Facebook and Twitter AND check your email AND do instant messaging.
Digsby is largely underrated as to how great it does all those things.
AOL Instant Messenger? Yes, the same.
AIM 7 can cross-post to three different services at once, that being AIM Lifestream, Twitter and Facebook. It also has the ability to directly reply to other friend’s status updates like Digsby does.
And possibly the best part about the way AIM cross-posts is that it does not double up/overlap. A single status update appears once on AIM, once on Twitter, once on Facebook. No doubling/overlapping – a common problem when people try to sync separate services. AIM got it right the first time here.
The back-end of how the AIM Lifestream service connects to social media is also very slick in the way it works. It does it in a way that doesn’t require you to jump through a bunch of hoops, privacy options are easy to understand and setup takes only a few minutes.
This is some seriously good forward-thinking by the AIM team concerning both the local app and the back-end it uses.
Pidgin (Linux)
You can outfit the Pidgin app to be able to post Twitter and Facebook updates. Unfortunately it’s a huge pain in the neck to get working, but the point is that it at least can be done.
Getting Twitter working in Pidgin can be done with microblog-purple. That code page does include an Ubuntu tutorial. Facebook stuff is done via pidgin-facebookchat.
Sick of doing it all in the browser and would rather use local apps?
Believe me, you’re not alone. Social media has gotten to the point where many would prefer it treated like a local email or IM application, because after all it’s the messages that matter the most. That being the case, I am in complete agreement that social media should act like email and/or an extension of an instant messenger program.
If you like social media but hate the way it’s handled in the browser, use one of the local apps listed above. And if it works for you, tell people about it. Tell them how much better it is to have a nice small program do the job instead of dealing with the ridiculous nature of how the web interface works. Email people about it, post status updates stating what software you’re using (and whether you like or dislike it), and so on. Alert the masses of the communications stuff you use outside the browser. Chances are there are those you know those that appreciate this information because otherwise it would have never been brought to their attention.
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