A Tweet from consultant Chris Messina has drawn a battle line that illustrates the shifting Web needs of mobile users -- especially iPhone users, who have a powerful touch interface and real browser with which to surf. In replying to a recruiter, he essentially demanded a non-Flash version of the recruiter's site since it wasn't viewable on his Flash-impaired iPhone.
While the lack of Flash capabilities on the iPhone can be frustrating (Hulu, anyone?), is the iPhone user base really enough to force companies into focusing on the iPhone when it comes to developing their Web sites and functionality?
One company apparently feels that the user-base is enough, and has built its business plan around it. Atlanta-based SaveStaff is developing a tool to allow small businesses to manage their human resource tasks online. Since the company focus is on being able to manage everything from hiring to firing and everything in-between with a Web application, how else would the founder seek a co-founder but a post on geek-friendly Hacker News? The post (which didn't receive many up-votes) was half employment ad, half statement, with the goal of finding a co-founder using only an iPhone.
In the crowded Web space, a gimmick can often get attention. It often isn't exactly the kind of attention desired, however, and as one commenter pointed out:
"If you can manage your own startup (i.e. find and communicate with a co-founder) without the startup-management application you're planning to build, it looks like you're shooting yourself in the foot."
The commenter has a point, but the iPhone tie-in is nearly irresistible, especially with an early-adopter crowd. While some may find the Flash-only Web site annoying, especially on an iPhone, others viewing it on the Web might find it attractive and easy to navigate. Not everyone has an iPhone, and not everyone developing a Web site or app is focused on the iPhone minority rather than the majority of Web users.
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Comments
Funny that you picked up my tweet. It was more or less a tongue-in-cheek response, but the issue is valid. The web (in my ideal vision) should not be built on proprietary formats like Flash that are not owned by an independent third party body (like the W3C, etc). Therefore, I am philosophically opposed to Flash in its many incarnations, although it does provide a good framework for building certain kinds of rich experiences for the web.
This exchange did actually take place however -- I was on the train to a meeting, got this email, tried to find out more about this person (since they had invited me to learn more!) and found that I could not! It's not just that it was frustrating, but that they didn't invest the effort in an alternative non-Flash view (which would be necessary for accessibility purposes anyway). When I finally did visit the site on my Flash-capable laptop, the design was nice but certainly didn't add anything that I couldn't have gotten from a text-based experience. In fact the type was so small as to be almost illegible!
In other words, it's not about the iPhone -- it's about building websites and using technology that is relatively platform agnostic to start, and then is progressively enhanced using open, non-proprietary or single-vendor owned web formats. and technologies.
To make this only about the iPhone is an interesting way to frame it, since the iPhone's browser is very good with web standards-compliance. Anyway, thanks for pointing this out!
NO!
http://fakesteveballmer.blogspot.com
iPhone is way overhyped on its impact to the web. There are way more handsets sold in the world relative to iPhone. Other handset makers are increasingly focus on web support on the handset although WAP support will continue to be the norm for lower end devices (non-PDA/smartphone). As such, iPhone user base alone cannot affect the web (in my opinion).
Chris, the timing just worked out. I was already working on the SaveStaff angle when I saw your Tweet and it fit in neatly. I think what David says is true; there's a lot of hype about the iPhone and iPhone users making demands for this, that, and the next thing to accommodate them, but not enough of a market share to back it up. I found it bizarre that FriendFeed, for instance, has an iPhone version yet I was forced into using a third-party solution like FFtoGo in order to view it on my RAZR. I'd still hazard a guess that there are more RAZRs out there than iPhones.
In theory, I agree with you, Chris, on Flash, especially when it comes to video sites, like Hulu, for instance. But it does make a pretty site. :)
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