TechCrunch
Facebook Adds Like Button To Mobile Messages, A One-Touch “OK”
“Alright”, “Yes”, and the much-hated “k” just got a visual redesign. Facebook’s iOS and Android apps have rolled out the option in messages to reply with a one-tap thumbs-up Like button sticker. It’s a highly-functional flourish that replaces the greyed-out Send button when you haven’t typed anything. And while it seems simple, I’m finding it quite satisfying.
Facebook confirms with me that the “Like Reply” button, as I’m calling it, was “part of a recent update”. However, it doesn’t appear to have been included in any of the “What’s New” release notes. That meshes with my suspicion that Facebook sometimes adds new mobile features and either doesn’t announce them, or notes them a few updates after they appear. Cheeky. The Like Replies are now available in Facebook and Messenger for iOS and Android, plus m.facebook.com, but not on desktop.
Distilled Communication
Stickers have blown up recently as people search for quick and vivid way to share emotions while mobile messaging. But usually you have to dig those out of a menu. Meanwhile, texting was built for efficient communication. One of the most common things you have to communicate is an ‘affirmative’. Yes to whatever you just said. I agree. I approve. I acquiesce.
And so “k” was born. A one-letter affirmative. But it still requires several clicks. To open the messaging field, to type the letter, and to send it.
But *BAM*, the Like Reply button does it in a single gesture. Facebook even has a Like button thumbs-up sticker, but this makes it instantly accessible in the right situations. The bright blue one on Android looks especially sharp. Yes, this will save you one second. But it could save you and everyone else that one second hundreds of times, multiplied by 750 million mobile users a month. Efficiency matters.
I’ve always wanted this for text messaging. Actually, not just for replies but as way to signal to people that was lighter-weight than a text message. I called it the “nudge”. A little buzz, even more subtle than an SMS. If I said I’d pick you up in 10 minutes, and you get a nudge 11 minutes later, it means come outside. If it’s late and I want to see if you’re up, I might nudge you. If I’m free to meet up with friends and want to ping a bunch of them? Mass nudge. Much less annoying than “Hey guys wanna hang out with me? I’m lonely.”
This is nice step towards my dream of openly interpretable binary communication. Try it out next time you need to confirm something via Facebook message. We’ll see if it catches on.
FTC To Review Google's Waze Acquisition On Antitrust Grounds
Google’s $1.1 billion acquisition of social mapping startup Waze has drawn the attention of the Federal Trade Commission after all. The Wall Street Journal reports today that Google has been contacted by FTC lawyers intending to conduct an antitrust review of the acquisition. Google declined to comment but did confirm to the WSJ that it has been contacted by the FTC over the deal.
According to the news agency, which said it talked to lawyers familiar with government antitrust investigations, the FTC may have asked Google not to integrate with Waze, pending its review. It also notes that Waze’s revenue was too low to trigger an automatic review by the FTC — but that does not stop the agency stepping in to examine deals after they close, as it now has.
Google stepped in and picked up Waze earlier this month, ending months of acquisition rumours in which the service had been linked with a variety of other suitors — including Facebook, Apple and even Microsoft.
In the end Mountain View walked away with Waze’s crowdsourced traffic data — saying it intends to incorporate Waze’s data into its Google Maps product, likely to enhance the traffic prediction feature. Google also said some of its own mapping technology will be incorporated into Waze. Whatever else Mountain View plans for Waze’s team and data remains to be seen, but there are plenty of areas for Google to explore.
So why is the FTC getting involved now? Google’s purchase of Waze may have attracted the FTC’s attention because its own mapping service is already so dominant globally, with some billion users vs the 45 million app downloads Waze had previously reported.
By buying Waze Google removes a potential competitor to its service — assuming Waze could have grown its user-base to become a head-to-head competitor with Google Maps. The WSJ reports that the FTC would have to determine whether Waze could have managed to challenge Google in that way, or whether there is any evidence showing Google wanted to acquire Waze specifically to prevent a rival buying the company.
Other mapping competitors to Google include Nokia, which acquired digital mapping service NavTeq for $8.1 billion back in 2007; TomTom which licenses mapping data to Apple; and the non-profit OpenStreetMaps crowdsourced map service, which is free to use.
Despite the FTC probe, the WSJ suggests it’s unlikely the FTC will ask Google to unwind the Waze deal — being as it would have to uncover evidence the acquisition would significantly damage competition in the mapping market.
Gillmor Gang: Mo' Beta Blues
The Gillmor Gang — Robert Scoble, Keith Teare, Kevin Marks, and Steve Gillmor — welcome the summer solstice with a dip in the gene pool. With Google Glass two months new and iOS7 in developers’ hands, the stage is set for the unification of app notifications across OS and device.
Microsoft releases Office for the iPhone, and Facebook Snapchat’s Instagram. But to quote Miles, it’s kind of blue, and so what. Meanwhile most of Glass functionality is already working on iOS7, with just a few weeks (?) until an official launch. With competitors like these, we can look forward to harvesting the fruits of this incredible mobile shift.
@stevegillmor, @scobleizer@kteare, @kevinmarks
Produced and directed by Tina Chase Gillmor @tinagillmor
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