Dear Tech Guys, We Hate This Word: Downloadable
A quick note, with more to come later: for all you web 2.0 site creators, browser extension creators, interior search engine creators etc, who expect me to download something to my computer...be wary.
We are VERY scared to hit a 'download' button. MySpace and Facebook are very popular. It was scary enough to give out our email (as the first generation to come to live in a spam-full world), but they didn't ask us to DOWNLOAD something.
Most of us didn't purchase our computers, our parents did. We are the a generation scared of viruses as well. Viruses only come when you download something. We therefore think long and hard before hitting anything that requires a download.
It's easy to get wrapped up in the web 2.0 world, thinking that since tech guys are so adaptable to downloading browser extensions, search engines etc...that everybody is like that. We're not. I live in that world as well...but only have 4 browser extensions...and I thought quite a bit about downloading each one.
Buddywave, as shown on TechCrunch, think they're going to have a browser that MySpace users will use, because it makes MySpace better. I bet you that not one person developing it was under 20 (probably none under 25) and they therefore probably aren't the kids clicking through 20 pages a day on MySpace. MySpace has a high convenience factor, its easy, straight forward, and it takes about a minute to join. We just want to look at our friends stuff and listen to bands (slash quasi-stalk people we find attractive), we don't want to download something that we don't know about. We still think download means that our parents /our computer may get a virus. We don't really know what a virus is, but we know it's bad.
Good post. I like that you give a 'non-tech' view on 'web' things.
Besides the programmers of course, every member of the BuddyWave team is around 21-22 years old and recovering myspace addicts ;) and I beg to differ that just wanting 'to look at our friends stuff and listen to bands (slash quasi-stalk people we find attractive)' is all the majority of myspace users are there for.
I agree that this is definitely part of it but there is much more to it and because of that many successful businesses have been built around the endless possibilities myspace presents. Customize your profile, make a custom playlist, add glitter, send custom comments, take a survey, instant message...we are just trying to take all these possibilities and put them in one place for you.
Posted by:Mike Cianciabella | February 15, 2007 at 03:22 PM
*I like that you give a 'non-tech' view on tech stuff.
Posted by:Mike Cianciabella | February 15, 2007 at 03:23 PM