+1 Yosem, except I take issue with the last point. I don't think its always that superior technical solutions *can't* provide better branding/usability, its that they choose NOT to, or in the past have even demonized anyone who thinks there is value in such things.
luckily this is changing! B On Thu, Mar 21, 2013 at 2:36 PM, Yosem Companys <compa...@stanford.edu>wrote: > Rich, that's because you're not thinking like the average non-technical > user, who usually does the following: > > The user hears from a friend that she can make calls for free over Skype. > So she clicks on the Skype link. Skype has millions of users, meaning it > will be around for a while. The Skype website looks visually attractive, > meaning that it must have a lot of developers. More recently, it is owned > by Microsoft, which the user trusts for similar reasons. "Most large, > stable, visually-striking brands can be trusted," the user thinks. She > doesn't think for she doesn't know that "Microsoft has been attacked a lot." > > Now, the user installs Skype. She clicks through a few steps, easy > enough. That's a low barrier to adoption. > > Next, the user sees all their family and friends on there. "Great," she > thinks. "Now I can call that friend who told me to install it." > > After that, the user reads in a news article that Skype is insecure. > "That sucks," she thinks. "But it's not like I do anything confidential on > there anyway." Or, perhaps, she thinks, "I haven't done anything wrong, so > who cares if I'm being watched. I'm glad the government is looking out for > those terrorists." > > To the extent that the user cares about security, now she needs to figure > out what's the best secure alternative out there. But notice what happens: > There's no large, established competitor that is secure. Those > competitors don't have brands. > > To the extent that the user finds a secure competitor, say because > Consumer Reports published an article on it (for the average non-technical > user may not know of EFF), then she might click and check it out. She > might ask her family and friends. But their family and friends have never > heard of it and, even worse, are not on it. > > "I care about my security," she may think. "So I will try it anyway." But > all the time it gnaws at her that she doesn't know the competitor's name > and that she has to take a leap of faith to install it. The company says > it's open source. "What the heck does that mean?" She thinks. "What if > this company is untrustworthy? What if this company goes under and sells > my data? What if..." Too many barriers to adoption. > > We always think, "let's make the most private and secure solution," > forgetting that users care about many brand attributes that the most > superior technical solution can't provide. > > On Thu, Mar 21, 2013 at 1:05 PM, Rich Kulawiec <r...@gsp.org> wrote: > > On Wed, Mar 20, 2013 at 11:17:03PM -0400, Louis Su?rez-Potts wrote: > >> One is tempted to suggest using other than Skype. Alternatives exist, > >> and these are secure, at least according to their claims. As well, > >> Skype's code is not transparent, in the way that other, open source, > >> applications' are. > > > > I'm more than tempted: I can't understand why anyone would even consider > > using Skype. It's closed-source, therefore it must be presumed insecure. > > Nothing Microsoft says about it can be trusted. There is reason to > believe > > that it's been successfully attacked by third parties. &etc. > > > > I dunno 'bout y'all, but I think that's enough to blacklist it > permanently. > > Done. Over. Next? > > > > ---rsk > > -- > > Too many emails? Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password by > emailing moderator at compa...@stanford.edu or changing your settings at > https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech > > > -- > Too many emails? Unsubscribe, change to digest, or change password by > emailing moderator at compa...@stanford.edu or changing your settings at > https://mailman.stanford.edu/mailman/listinfo/liberationtech > -- Brian Conley Director, Small World News http://smallworldnews.tv m: 646.285.2046 Skype: brianjoelconley
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