The tool of product and the myth of socialization

The recent hot Google +1, the new explosion of Google's social enthusiasm, but also let us re-examine the issue, why so powerful as Google, in so many years, it is difficult to make a difference in the social network.

Google +1 is not a stand-alone service, just a subsidiary of Google search. He's light enough to touch a button, but he's strong enough to be able to subtly connect Google's remote services to the users who use them. Google's +1 has too much room for imagination, and it also carries too much hope from Google.

But the outlook for Google +1 remains unclear. His success will depend entirely on the user's perceptions, depending on whether +1 can enhance the user's direct contact with the user, even if it is only a weak link.

Tool Products

A typical example is the Thunderbolt.

No doubt, Thunderbolt as a tool software, has been very successful. It can be said that he has to download this feature, almost to the extreme. In this respect, all the efforts of the Thunderbolt, are worth affirming.

However, from the recent large range of attempts to convert users to fee membership, the development of the Thunderbolt has encountered a bottleneck. Now the Thunderbolt, there are two options: continue to do the download tools, development and download-related functions, such as value-added services, or to take advantage of the existing advantages, to other areas such as SNS.

Thunderbolt is not no other attempt, the Thunderbolt game is one of them. From the revenue capacity, the Thunderbolt game can not be counted as a failure of the product, but in the thunderbolt that billions of users on the basis, but still can only do today this step. Spending a huge sum to buy a look at the domain name, think is also the result of the pain.

Why? This is about the characteristics of the tool itself.

Take the Thunderbolt as an example, a typical use of the process is about this

If you simplify this process further, this is basically three steps

Want to download => start download => complete download

In this process, in addition to the upper right corner of the suspension window, the Thunderbolt can be seen by the user time is very small, and even the suspension window, can not guarantee that users will always stare.

In other words, users of a tool for the use of time, is fragmented and disorderly, and even can be said to be lost after use. For a tool software, it is a very important factor to gain more "visible" time for users.

The reason lies in the purpose of the user. For the Thunderbolt, only when users need to download, will think of thunder. This is the mishap of the tool.

Although it can be recommended and so on, so that users faster to the demand for downloads, but ultimately can not preempt the user's memory portal. And users of this demand, is irreversible-you can hardly let a user think of the Thunderbolt, and then think, today there is a set of animation to download. It is precisely because of the purpose of the user, decided the Thunderbolt this tool software requirements-to help users complete the download.

Users have a clear purpose, the Thunderbolt as a tool for the product, his mission is to directly complete the user's needs, and let users quickly end this demand, but it is difficult to create demand. This is also the Thunder several transformations have not had the main reason which the breakthrough.

The tool of the product

And Thunder has a sharp contrast, is Tencent's QQ. There is no doubt that QQ, by its very nature, is always a tool, a tool used to connect people. But why QQ can successfully do the tool so socialized, but the Thunderbolt can not?

As far as I am concerned, I am still often logged in and using QQ. This use does not have a clear purpose, probably just because of boredom, loneliness, and so on, and some other times need to contact friends.

If this need to take apart, the actual purpose of my goal is not to QQ on QQ, more is to find friends. This kind of uncertain demand, decided that QQ is just a kind of channel, and this channel behind, is the link between user and user. In other words, QQ users do not have a clear purpose, they use QQ just because there is a user relationship exists, because the existence of QQ, only to complete the tool for this purpose, it is therefore, the existence of QQ, can be continuously provided, and create this kind of demand.

Relative to the Thunderbolt, if the Thunder is to complete the user's purpose and the tool, then QQ is different. QQ is not for the purpose of accomplishing some of the tools, on the contrary, the emergence of QQ for users to create new needs. And this ambiguous purpose, also let QQ have bigger imagination space.

Similarly, there are Facebook and Twitter. They are all tools for user relationships. It can also be said that only the use of this tool to contact more other users, which directly led to this tool as the end of all user actions. When the user's purpose is not only to focus on a specific point, for example, for the user relationship, the tool of the product becomes to the user to this goal means, powerful and control. This also makes the creation of demand possible.

This is also the essence of QQ and thunder difference. In a sense, QQ actually controls the contact between users, the user has little choice, and the Thunderbolt can not do this, the user may use the Thunderbolt, can also use to cover the ear, as long as he does good enough. For the product of the tool, such as QQ, his mission is to provide a user needs to complete the platform, and then the user firmly stuck, and then can continue to create new needs.

In other words, for the construction of social networks, the most crucial point is the control of user relations. Only by controlling the user relationship, can we stick to the user and have the opportunity to form a social network. Conversely, the more clearly the user's purpose is, the harder it is to be left behind, and the more difficult it is to form a socialized chain of relationships.

Google's weak relationship

If, according to the previous point of view, Google should be counted as a typical tool of the product: The user's arrival has a clear purpose, Google only need to let them complete the search behavior, to the destination, the end of all this, to complete their mission. But the barrier between utility and socialization is so great: one side is hoping to send away the user as soon as possible, while the other side is to want to leave the user as much as possible. This is especially true for traditional search tools such as Google.

But Google's social ambitions are almost as far as everyone is concerned. After years of development, using Gmail, Gtalk, Gmap, and even greader and so on Google's killer application, effective so that almost no previous intersection between users, have a full relationship. This is far from enough. With the exception of Gtalk, users who use other services have a clear purpose for their actions, and it is difficult for them to be retained by other things. Only Gmail still has some space--that's why Gtalk will be integrated.

Personally, I often use greader, and now I have accumulated a lot of attention. But most of the "best friends" I've ever met are just a few opportunities to meet each other in the comments. Thanks to Google Reader for the great sharing and magic sorting function, even though I don't know these people and have little communication, I still have the motivation to focus. This time, I constantly meet new friends, has been not just for social purposes.

In Google Reader, the communication between the user and the user is limited, and in more times, it can even be said that the individual and the individual are almost isolated. The emergence of social relationships does not change or affect the user's original purpose of reading information, but instead creates a better experience for that purpose.

This relationship in Google Reader is more of a "weak relationship" if a good friend based on the most direct social needs is called a "strong relationship" between a traditional social service like QQ and Facebook. Users and users, only when the need to contact, the other time independent of each other. This "weak relationship" is born with the initial experience of the product and grows with the growth of the product's user base, neither affecting the initial positioning of the product nor causing confusion to the user.

Relative to the traditional "strong relationship" based on the mailbox and im the failure of buzz, reader of this "weak relationship" has unexpectedly succeeded. This clearly gives Google great confidence. As a result, "Google +1", which has a similar structure, has emerged.

Google's +1 is based on traditional search tools, but the strengthening of this weak relationship is even more pronounced. Although there is no communication, the behavior of a user can be reflected in another user's search results. The most lightweight way to achieve the most heavyweight effect, so that the search tool from beginning to the user and the user link. This allows Google to expand the social network, with new channels and new directions, but also has a richer imagination space. There is an infinite possibility that there is a connection between the user and the user.

Google +1 is just the first step in Google's social network, and his success depends more on what's behind it. In the present situation, we have reason to continue to expect.

Source: Lolibeta submission, original link.