A few weeks ago I wrote a post about messaging on social networks and how they are redundant because it’s just another inbox you have to check. I proposed a system that would give users the option to reply to messages directly via email.
So here’s my proposal: a social network messaging system that allows you to read and respond to messages via email. So if someone sends a me a message, the site forwards it to my email where I can read and respond to it—without leaving me email—and the site automagically forwards the email to the recipient who can respond however she wants to as well. Ideally the inbox on the social network would be kept synchronized.
I targeted social networks because everyone uses them and MySpace happened to be the source of my annoyance in the first place, but the same can be said for any software that has its own messaging system. For example, Basecamp, the Swiss Army Knife of project management and collaboration.
I ran across a post detailing a new feature they added to Basecamp on the 37signals product blog. The new feature: reply to a message via email. Sounds familiar doesn’t it? I doubt they got it from me, but apparently I’m not alone in my annoyance.
Posted on April 21, 2008 in Web
I competed in the Oregon SkillsUSA web design competition again yesterday. The rules were the same as least year. We had four hours to build a website based on a fictitious website proposal. However, I went solo this time around and competed against six other teams of two. It was interesting to say the least.
After the competition I went to Red Robin with Sadie, her dad, and Emerald for lunch. I had the most amazing burger I’ve ever had in my life there. It was heavenly, epic even. I think it was called the Whiskey River BBQ Burger. The onion straws at the bottom are magical.
After lunch we went back to the competition for the awards ceremony. It was really long like last year’s. They awarded the winners in alphabetical order by competition name so web design was near the very end. Sadie and Emerald took third and I took first again. That makes me the two-time state web design champion monster. 
Here’s a link to the website I made. That’s what four hours, a computer, a Kit Kat bar, a bottle of water, and an iPod full of good music can get you.
Posted on April 13, 2008 in Code, Life, Web
As I was sitting at my desk this morning reading my email, a new message arrived. When I switch over to the inbox view, I read the subject line of the new message and discover I have a new message on a social network I’m part of. How exciting—I don’t get these very often. I click on it to find out what it says, but I am quickly disappointed by a message telling me to go to the inbox on their site to read the message. What the hell?
They send me a message telling me to go check another inbox for a new message. Does anyone else see the redundancy in this? Then I wonder: why do they have a messaging system in the first place? If you think about it, all messaging in social networks really is just email. Why reinvent the wheel? Worse, why force people to check yet another inbox?
Let’s take a look at the differences between my MySpace inbox and my Gmail inbox.
Not much of a difference uh? From a developer standpoint this just seems counterproductive.
I can understand why some people might like this. It keeps things seperate. MySpace messages stay in one inbox and regular emails stays in another. But is there anything substantially different that people write in MySpace messages that merits separation?
So here’s my proposal: a social network messaging system that allows you to read and respond to messages via email. So if someone sends a me a message, the site forwards it to my email where I can read and respond to it—without leaving me email—and the site automagically forwards the email to the recipient who can respond however she wants to as well. Ideally the inbox on the social network would be kept synchronized.
Anyone who wants to implement this has my permission to use my idea.
Posted on March 29, 2008 in Web
