Product design of Address book based on cloud computing

The Address Book is a way to record the contact of a user's contacts, address and other information services, as a real-name social network, based on the address book, can be derived from a number of popular Internet applications, such as instant messaging, mail, social networking and so on, as well as a number of local applications, such as the user's computer outlook, mobile phone address.

With the rapid development of information society, the contact between people is more and more frequent, communication ways more and more diverse, how to ensure the relationship with friends, classmates, colleagues, leaders, relatives and so on, and can easily and quickly find, record, modify the relevant communications information, Manual methods alone have been unable to meet the need to manage an ever-expanding directory.

　　Address Book product market status

At present, there are many products with the address book, including the Pure Address Book products (PLAXO), social networking site with the contacts (Renren, Sina Weibo, etc.), instant Messaging with the address book (such as QQ, MSN), mail with the address Book (Gmail, NetEase mailbox), Personal Computer Address Book (Outlook newsletter), mobile phone Address Book (Application of the Spark Address Book), Address Book value-added services (Kik, micro-letter), and so on, each social product has its own address book, most of them are unrelated, a large number of contacts lead to the user management Address book more and more, Each address book data is not synchronized, resulting in user maintenance Address book become a nightmare.

How to solve the current Address book management confusion situation? Similar to the situation we have encountered before, is a human file management problem. Many people work with a computer, home with a computer, business trip with a laptop, how to sync and update their working documents in different computers is a very difficult problem, earlier people in order to sync files, usually to use U disk to copy and paste files, very troublesome, version management confusion, it is easy to make mistakes, Finally, the cloud storage Synchronization service, led by Dropbox, appears, users can use Dropbox to achieve automatic synchronization and update of files on multiple computers, automate all of these updates and versioning operations, file synchronization and updates between several computers are automatically completed, and every day the computer automatically downloads the latest version of the document, After any computer updates the document, it will automatically upload to the cloud storage server side, then sync to other computers, so that through the tool to solve the problem of multiple computer synchronization documents.

Since Dropbox can successfully manage file synchronization for multiple computers, so for the address book, we can also through the cloud computing method, the user spread in each terminal (computer, mailbox, mobile phone, etc.) of the Address Book organically integrated together, convenient, fast, flexible management of individuals, companies and related personnel communication information To learn the latest contact methods for your contacts.

The following is the Moonlight blog conceived a new cloud storage services, the service is similar to Dropbox, but with the Address book as the core, through a so-called "cloud Address book" To synchronize and manage all user address book information.

　　The characteristics of the cloud Address Book

Cloud Address Book is based on the cloud of Address book products, as a basic service, with the following characteristics:

1) based on cloud storage, cloud computing.

2 can achieve multiple platform synchronization (such as Outlook, Gmail contacts, other mail contacts, mobile Address Book, Renren friends, happy Net friends, etc.).

3 automatic backup, data security is guaranteed, the user's contact will not be lost.

4 Establish a Relationship network (users can contact the Address Book members, confirmed after the two sides are friends).

5 social contacts, the user's contact information changes are automatically maintained by the contact, contact changes to the contact information can be automatically updated to all friends of the Address book.

6) Integrated mail, SMS, instant Messaging functions.

7 The use of vcard standard Exchange Address Book data.

　　Profit model of cloud Address Book

Any service, if not a good profit model, it is difficult to operate successfully, similar to Dropbox such excellent services have provided personalized billing services, cloud Address book profit model can refer to the following points:

1 function limit: Free user function limit (for example, only free m text message), part of the function is limited to toll users (SMS)

2 through the number of contacts limit: for example, free users less than n contacts, more than n users charge user contact.

3 Platform Restrictions: web-side free, mobile phone-side charges.

4 The use of incentives to guide the user to operate: the establishment of a similar Dropbox invitation mechanism, each invite a user, give space or capacity on the reward.

　　Cloud Address Book SWOT analysis

1) Disadvantage:

1.1 Different platform synchronization requires a lot of development work

1.2 Late maintenance is more difficult

1.3 Data format changes may occur on third party platforms

2) Advantages

2.1 Data security, automatic backup

2.2 Multi-platform Address book synchronization

2.3 Can support the custom platform

2.4 SNS friend Address book synchronization

3) threat

3.1 Google has implemented Gmail and mobile phone sync Address Book

3.2 Enterprises ' concerns about information security

3.3 User's sync demand for address book is not high

4) Opportunities

4.1 No similar products in China

4.2 Foreign similar products Plaxo from the domestic access speed is slow, and Sync Address book function charge

4.3 Google does not support synchronization of domestic SNS applications

　　Interface design of cloud Address Book

1) Import Gmail contacts

Use the Google Address Book API to import Gmail contacts.

2) Import Hotmail contact

Import Hotmail contacts through the Windows Live Contacts API.

3) Import Yahoo Contact

Import yahoo contacts via Yahoo API.

4) Mobile Contact sync

Available Protocols Exchange ActiveSync or SyncML, SyncML servers can be built using open source products. Support for Nokia phones and outlook. Exchange ActiveSync supports iphone\ipad,android phones and outlook. Both have out-of-the-box server-side and client software.

5) Outlook Sync

Available protocol SyncML for synchronization. Reference tools.

6) Synchronization with Renren

Use the Renren API to connect to everyone's friends contacts.

7) sync with Sina Weibo

Use the Sina Weibo API to connect with your friends and contacts on Sina Weibo.

8 The domestic mailbox synchronization

Domestic mainstream mailbox, such as NetEase mailbox, QQ mailbox, etc., do not provide API services, so it is not as convenient as Gmail, Hotmail to get contact information, only through the simulation of user login to crawl the mailbox contact.

　　Cloud Address Book Example analysis: Plaxo

Plaxo is a professional online address book provider, the company is located in the United States, California Mountain View, according to the website, they have 40 million users, the address Book provides a pay-for-sync program, you can achieve with Outlook, Gmail, such as automatic synchronization of mailboxes. Plaxo also has some social networking features that allow users to post tweets, blogs, upload photos, and more.

1) Home

Plaxo Home Interface shows the main core functions of the Address Book, very concise, in large characters describes the Plaxo address Book is what, can do anything.

2 post-Login interface

After landing, Plaxo will display the Address Book statistics, Plaxo can be connected to social networking sites (Facebook, Twitter, Google reader, etc.), users can see the aggregation of social networking sites in Plaxo information.

For this function, I feel more redundant, if operating in China will bring a lot of additional risk.

3) Connect to social networks

Plaxo-supported social networking sites include Facebook, Twitter, Google Reader, and so on, but do not support popular social networking sites and microblogs in the country.

4) Import other address Book

Plaxo can be imported into Yahoo, Gmail, Hotmail, AOL, Outlook, Linkdin and other websites, support file import in CSV format, and do not support the import of domestic mailboxes and social networking contacts. Import other mailbox contact will prompt to enter the mailbox password, do you dare to enter your Gmail password in the following prompt box?

In addition, Plaxo can automatically look for people that the user may know, and prompts the user to "whom you may know."

5) Export Address Book

Plaxo Open the point is that the provision of contacts exported to CSV, VCF, and other formats, users can download the network from time to time to local records.

6) Contact Management

Plaxo can maintain the basic data of Personal Address Book, the basic data including personal files, communication information data and so on. Users can manually input contact information, and can be modified, delete and other operations. For queries, you can search by field information such as name. The Address book includes name, company, group, telephone, mobile phone, Email, type and so on field, the Address Book can carry on grouping operation.

Users can also maintain their own personal files, that is, modify, delete and other operations. After the personal information changes, the friend's address book data will be automatically updated.

7) Group Management

In addition to contact information, Plaxo also implements new, edited, and deleted group features.

　　Summarize

Above is my cloud storage Address Book product idea, this idea has already had a product Plaxo abroad, but I personally feel Plaxo is not very easy to use, and its core synchronization function can not be used for free, Address Book as a basic service, in the short term may not make money, But the address book for the enterprise has the vital significance, in the Address Book Foundation can easily realize the real relation SNS and similar Kik messenger such social message service, this is also many people to the address book's coveted reason.

However, the social message has Kik, micro-letter such products, mobile phone address book has a friend directory, the Spark Address Book, and so on, the iphone address Book has I address Book, and so on, based on mobile phone and the website of the directory synchronization People sync free version (synchronous Renren and mobile phone contact), QQ Mobile phone Sync (synchronous QQ mailbox and mobile phone), the overall view, the mobile phone address book has a lot of products, many products have been very perfect, pioneering companies to develop similar products more difficult. And for the Address book synchronization products are less companies involved, its development and implementation of the same mobile phone address book function, from this point of access to the Address book market is also a good innovation.