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Todd Fast CTO, zembly.com [email protected] SNAP Summit 10-28-2008 Applications For The Masses, By The Masses Why Engineers Are An Endangered Species

Zembly: Applications for the Masses by the Masses

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Page 1: Zembly: Applications for the Masses by the Masses

Todd FastCTO, [email protected]

SNAP Summit10-28-2008

Applications For The Masses,By The MassesWhy Engineers Are An Endangered Species

Page 2: Zembly: Applications for the Masses by the Masses

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PropositionsSoftware engineers are an increasingly endangered speciesNeophytes will take over their jobsNo one will mind

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Agenda

Genetic FreaksTrendsApplications & PlatformsSocial ApplicationsToolsDo We Need Engineers?

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Software Engineers are Genetic FreaksTake a look around you; are these people normal?• Above-average intelligence• Above-average ability to abstract• Below-average tolerance for imprecision• Below-average fashion sense• Willing to sit in conference sessions instead of out pursuing mates

Engineers are at the edge of the population curveBy definition, most people are not like engineers

The sooner you realize you're not normal, the easier this will be for you

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Leading QuestionNormal people are not suited to software engineeringBut, what if relatively normal people could do a lot of what engineers do today?Let's call them casual developers

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Casual DevelopersNot “developers” as we typically define them• Not self-identifying as engineers

A large majority are under the age of 30• Students are a big fraction

Casually use advanced technology day-in, day-outProduce and consume information at dramatic ratesInteract with others asynchronously and non-linearlyAssemble personalized views of their worldIncreasingly entering the corporate workforceFleshing out the next-generation Web with increasingly interactive content

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Agenda

Genetic FreaksTrendsApplications & PlatformsSocial ApplicationsToolsDo We Need Engineers?

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Technology TrendsPlatforms are at the foreEverything is syndicatedSocial is everywhere• People at the center, not software

Simpler is betterSeemingly infinite demand for applications• Delivery can't keep up

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Social TrendsSocial computing is becoming a pillar of mass culture• Social features drive technology to the masses

Software increasingly mediates real-world relationshipsApp development merging with app usage merging with content creation merging with content consumption merging with culture• Apps are a way of life• “The medium is the message.” - Marshall McLuhan

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A Confluence of TrendsWidespread broadband connectivityThe ability to augment Web sites and social networks with user-defined functionalityA ever-growing supply of interesting Web APIsA mass market of technically-savvy people who are• Eager to express themselves and contribute• Extremely familiar with technology• Steeped in the conventions of social computing• Feel constrained by delivery of traditional technologies

Social networks that provide massive distribution channelsA presumption that social software is an end in itself

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Agenda

Genetic FreaksTrendsApplications & PlatformsSocial ApplicationsToolsDo We Need Engineers?

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QuestionHow many people here build applications?

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What is an Application?

An application is a piece of software that helps a user

scratch an itch.

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What is an Application?Most engineers make a living writing applications for others• Using powerful software tools• Using expertise accumulated over years

Traditional perspective of “application”• Solve other people's use cases• Are big and take significant resources to develop• Live a long time• Only highly skilled experts can create them

But, applications come in all sizes and shapes• Large: SAP, Amazon.com• Small: UNIX shell scripts, widgets

The scope of what is considered an application is shrinking• If it helps a user with a task, it can be considered an app

Small apps rely heavily on platforms

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What is a Platform?

A platform is a piece of software that enables

applications.

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What is a Platform?Fertilizer for ecosystems of applications built upon themSolve common problems so that applications don't have toExpose facilities (e.g. APIs) that make writing applications easierAs a rule, applications enrich the platforms they run on• Platforms need applications, and applications need platforms

Platforms are more than the sum of their parts• Crowdsourcing enriches platforms in ways that the original

developers didn't imagine, much less have time to do• Looks a lot like the open source model

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The Application Spectrum

Traditional AppsDestination sites; Enterprise; RIAs; Desktop; Mobile

Platforms & ServicesWeb-scale sites; Social platforms; Mobile platforms; 1st-gen Web APIs

Non-Traditional AppsWidgets; Social apps; Situational apps;

Syndicated functionality; 2nd-gen Web APIs (microservices)

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The Application Spectrum

Traditional AppsDestination sites; Enterprise; RIAs; Desktop; Mobile

Non-Traditional AppsWidgets; Social apps; Situational apps;

Syndicated functionality; 2nd-gen Web APIs (microservices)

Explosive growth!

Platforms & ServicesWeb-scale sites; Social platforms; Mobile platforms; 1st-gen Web APIs

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The Developer Spectrum

Traditional App DevelopersDestination sites; Enterprise; RIAs; Desktop; Mobile

Non-Traditional DevelopersWidgets; Social apps; Situational apps;

Syndicated functionality; 2nd-gen Web APIs (microservices)

Software EngineersWeb-scale sites; Social platforms; Mobile platforms; 1st-gen Web APIs

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Agenda

Genetic FreaksTrendsApplications & PlatformsSocial ApplicationsToolsDo We Need Engineers?

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Social ApplicationsOften smaller than traditional appsRely on underlying platforms for significant functionalityOften written quickly, using basic toolsOften developed by non-engineersHave the potential to scale big and reach huge numbersCan engage users in novel waysExamples• Widgets• Facebook apps• Social ads

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Use Cases for Social AppsDirect revenue• Monetize fun/useful apps with

ads, subscriptions, paid services, e-commerce

Feature syndication• Inject key features of another

site into other destinations

Brand awareness / engagement• Interactive marketing• Social advertising• Friend recommendation as an

advertising strategy

Utility (non-revenue)• Build something needed by

you or others

Community enrichment• A means for deepening

community ties

For the hell of it• Self-expression• Social experimentation

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Feature SyndicationExternalization of another application's functionality into other locations and platforms• Widgets• APIs• It's an ad!

Increasingly, app providers ask “DYWWWT”• “Do You Want Widgets With That?”

Feature syndication enables ecosystems• Not always application ecosystems, though• Ecosystems are an established technique for maintaining high user

engagement• If you don't have an ecosystem, you haven't reached the big time

Platforms are all about the ecosystem

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Two Types of Syndication1) Content Syndication• Sources

• Content providers• Blogs

• Form• Words• Images

• Via• RSS• Atom

• Goals• Spread memes• CPMs

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Two Types of Syndication1) Content Syndication• Sources

• Content providers• Blogs

• Form• Words• Images

• Via• RSS• Atom

• Goals• Spread memes• CPMs

2) Feature Syndication• Sources

• Web applications• Web services

• Form• Widgets• Social applications

• Via• Platforms• APIs

• Goals• Your site/service,

anywhere and everywhere• Value-add• User acquisition

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What is an Application?

Increasingly, applications are advertisements for value-

added services.

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What is an Application?

Applications are ad units.

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AttentionAttention is a fixed resourceNew forms of media deliver more per unit time• “<sigh> Kids today...”

New forms of media evolve to bypass our existing filters• For every new form of media, new means of filtering evolve

Every app we make is an ad, in some form• Trying to get someone's attention• Competing for usage• Competing for awareness• Competing for attachment

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Recent Innovations in Media DeliverySyndication of content & features• Facebook, OpenSocial• iGoogle, NetVibes,

Pageflakes• iPhone, Android• Web APIs

Social recommendations• Viral social apps• Micro-blogging

Low-barrier, hub-and-spoke publishing• Blogosphere/RSS• Micro-blogging

Peer-to-peer information exchange• Developer ecosystems, open

source• Collaborative content creation

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Agenda

Genetic FreaksTrendsApplications & PlatformsSocial ApplicationsToolsDo We Need Engineers?

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Example: Abstraction vs. Capability

vs.

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Todd's Tool TheoremsThree factors govern a user's ability to solve a problem using a tool:

Increasing the “doability” lets more people tackle a problem

The amount that a tool abstracts away details is inversely proportional to the set of problems it can solve:

(level of abstraction) (set of solvable problems) = constant

(work tool does for user) (applicability to problem)

(difficulty of solving problem) doability =

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Example: Abstraction vs. Capability

vs.

More doable, less capable Less doable, more capable

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Tools TakeawayTools don't have to be complicated• MediaWiki (Wikipedia) is a tool for mass collaboration

New kinds of application development tools (like zembly) raise the level of abstraction• Thus, more people are able to create applications

Cognitive surplus can (and will) be used to build applications when “doability” reaches a critical thresholdAs tools for casual developers proliferate, we see applications built by casual developers proliferate

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Agenda

Genetic FreaksTrendsApplications & PlatformsSocial ApplicationsToolsDo We Need Engineers?

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Moving Beyond EngineersThe scope of what is considered an app is shrinking• The number of apps is rising because we have more time for each

one when they are smallerMore people are technically savvy and capable of self-service app creationPlatforms make the job of creating apps and reaching users considerably easierTools dramatically reduce the financial and technical complexity of building appsSocial interaction is an engine of content creation

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Propositions RevisitedSoftware engineers are an increasingly endangered species• They already are, and always will be

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Propositions RevisitedSoftware engineers are an increasingly endangered species• They already are, and always will be

Neophytes will take over their jobs• Engineers won't be needed to do what many are doing now:

building everyday applications

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Propositions RevisitedSoftware engineers are an increasingly endangered species• They already are, and always will be

Neophytes will take over their jobs• Engineers won't be needed to do what many are doing now:

building everyday applicationsNo one will mind• Because rather than building the applications themselves,

engineers will be building platforms (meta-applications) so that other people can build them

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Application development model is changing• Opening up to a much broader audience

Exponentially more apps will be built• Extending the long tail• Using technologies that raise the level of abstraction so that

novices can accomplish useful tasks• Not because there are exponentially more engineers

• Because engineers are building platforms to exponentially enable others to build apps

Software engineers will increasingly build platforms, not applications• The increasing pull for applications creates new economics that

drive engineers to work lower in the stackYes!

Do We Still Need Engineers?

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What is zembly?Cloud- and browser-based social app development

Integrated creation and hosting of• Widgets• Facebook apps• OpenSocial apps• Meebo apps• iPhone apps• More

Cloud app development• One-line call to web APIs• Bring & share your web APIs

Social programming• zembly is a social platform

A service of Sun Microsystems, Inc.

Use zembly to• Create real-world social

applications – not toy widgets• Create social advertising

campaigns• Crowdsource your ecosystem• Syndicate your site features• Tweak and modify

community-developed assets

Page 42: Zembly: Applications for the Masses by the Masses

Todd FastCTO, [email protected]

SNAP Summit10-28-2008