RIBS in the Real World

While reading Tharon Howard’s RIBS model in Design to Thrive, I found myself constantly thinking about the arrival of Google+ and the recent changes that Facebook forced upon its members.  As far as social networking, Facebook has been the most popular site in the past few years, practically pushing MySpace off of the radar. When Google announced that it was releasing Google+ (G+) to compete with Facebook (FB), the social networking world was filled with excitement. What could G+ bring to the table that FB was missing? Would G+ feel more like the “old” FB, the more exclusive one? With G+’s invitation only platform, many hoped it would.

Unfortunately, instead of creating the “social capital” that Howard explores in his chapter “Significance,” G+’s exclusivity felt more like isolation. Each member was allotted 150 invitations to spread to friends, but the requirement of a gmail account kept several people that I know from being interested in joining. Ironically, many people were using FB to announce that they had invitations to spare, or to ask for an invitation from someone, anyone, who had already been invited to join. Even with this widespread “conversation,” G+ remained a lonely place to “hangout.”

But with FB’s recent changes to their newsfeed, and announcement of more changes to come, G+ has become a livelier place to visit. Because FB has taken control away from the members as to how their news feed is organized, FB has violated the remuneration rule in Howard’s book: it has taken away a benefit that was once available to its members. FB has also created a messier, more cluttered interface, creating confusion and redundancy for its members.

When FB forced its changes on the membership, without any forewarning, the newsfeeds were filled with complaints and requests to change FB back. Obviously, these complaints and requests fell on deaf ears because FB has not changed back, and in fact, is planning even more changes with the rollout of its Timeline. When members’ pleas for help are ignored, they no longer feel as if they have influence, as explained in Chapter 5 of Design to Thrive, and start seeking new places to spend their online time.

In fact, on my G+ account, my circles more than doubled in the two days following FB’s changes. While there are still some complaints on G+’s stream that it isn’t any different than FB, there has been increased activity in the network. And there are differences between the two sites; now that G+ has gone public and no longer restricts use to invitation only, there seems to be much more remuneration, influence, belonging, and significance in the G+ world. Now, let’s see if G+ learns from FB’s mistakes and listens to its membership.