As we all know by now, last week was the overhyped launch of the Facebook "phone", which really isn't a phone at all but more of an overlay to Android. The phone created a tremendous amount of media coverage and prompted Microsoft to issue what I thought was an overly whiny blog about how they came up with the same ideas two years ago.
In the blog, Microsoft spokesperson Frank X. Shaw made the comment:
"I tuned into the coverage of the Facebook Home event yesterday and actually had to check my calendar a few times, not to see if it was still April Fools Day, but to see if it was somehow still 2011. Because the content of the presentation was remarkably similar to the launch event we did for Windows Phone two years ago."
Then he pointed out how the whole concept behind Windows Phone is to put people first, which is the main premise behind the Facebook Home application. Shaw also took a jab at Android, calling it an already complicated operating system that was made more complicated by Facebook Home.
First, I find the whole premise of Microsoft complaining about Facebook stealing the Windows Phone idea laughable when Microsoft's launch pad, Windows, was something that was stolen from Apple and Xerox before it. Sometimes it's not the company that does something first that wins, it's the one that does it best--and Microsoft arguably did Windows better than Apple, IBM, Commodore, Atari and all the other computer manufacturers that tried to build a GUI interface.
I'm skeptical that either company will actually be successful with this strategy but I think Facebook has a much better shot than Microsoft. While Microsoft could argue they came up with the concept of "people first", they didn't really have the community to execute on it. On the other hand, Facebook has a bigger community of users than any other organizations including Skype, Google or global telcos. This is the difference between the two approaches. Microsoft started with an idea and managed to grab a whopping 2.9% share of the mobile OS market. Facebook is starting with the community and building an application to leverage the community.
However, despite the promise, I'm skeptical of this being a successful initiative for Facebook. Now, don't get me wrong, I love Facebook. I use it on a daily basis, some days more than others, but have come to rely on it to follow what friends and family are doing. As much as I like Facebook I couldn't imagine it being my entire mobile experience 24x7. In fact there's no mobile application/user experience that I would really want taking over my phone. I'm a big sports fan but I certainly wouldn't want a phone that gives me a 24x7 sports experience either.
A mobile device, like a PC or tablet, is a multi-purpose device that's meant to be a communications tool as well as entertainment system. Sometimes I want to be in Facebook mode and when I do, I'll go into the app. However, I also want to be in work mode or Tiger Woods Golf mode or Angry Birds mode or any other mode other than Facebook. The smartphone enables me to do what I want, when I want and, I hate to break this to Mr. Zuckerberg, but sometimes I want to do things other than Facebook.
I also think there's a number of security concerns. The newsfeed constantly scrolls on Facebook Home whether my phone is active or locked. I believe if I left my phone sitting on my desk and someone picked it up 30 minutes later, whoever picked it up would see all the activity in my news feed. I know that's been positioned as one of the advantages of the phone but to me it screams privacy concerns.
I understand the importance of mobile to Facebook. The company needs to find a way to make mobile a bigger part of its strategy, as it currently generates only a few percent of its revenue from mobile. However, I don't think immersive Facebook is really the way. I would rather have seen the company improve its VoIP, messaging, chat and video capabilities. As I said before, the company has a community of users, so why not try and make Facebook the main way I communicate with my community? That I would certainly find value in; I just don't want it to be the only thing I experience when mobile. So, to both Microsoft and Facebook, "people first" makes sense some of the time, but it doesn't make sense all of the time.
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