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Important reminder. I bet Facebook would look like a jumbled mess to new users without help, compared to any of the open source offerings I've seen.


twitter et al are « easy to use » now because we have been using them for years and years.

have you ever seen someone use twitter or facebook for the very first time? it’s fucking confounding.

« what am i supposed to do »
« following? why would i do that? »
« why can’t i get to your uncle’s photos »

usability isn’t a secret UX sauce. it’s years of acclimation and the formation of communities that can bootstrap that acclimation for each other.

in reply to JB Carroll

"Easy" really just means "familiar." But to a newbie, neither Facebook nor Microsoft Windows is easy! I find both Diaspora and Linux to be simpler as a newbie to learn.
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JB Carroll
By the way, I really love the hospital bill comparison, haha. Double burn!