The only place where you can’t be reached is on a plane
Posted by anuj on August 30, 2007
Today’s communication is richer (text, voice, pictures , video), more flexible ( mobile, computers, laptop, phones) and more varied (IM, email, SMS, Social network messaging, blogging, bulletin boards, forums, chat) than in the past. Yet, life seems more pressured because it is more complex. As users we want choices and we want to carve out lives that suits us. The discretion and choice that the modern era offers also requires decisions. With choice comes complexity and stress. We lead what is known as “complicated lives”.
13Friends was born out of the desire to reduce this complexity. Today we operate in different digital contexts; mobile is one, web is another. Similarly we have IM and SMS, email and social networks. We continuously move from one context to another. From office laptop to home machine, from IM to SMS, from email to messages on ‘wall’. And each time we move we leave behind the context. As i head home from office i start using sms to stay in touch with a friend who was till now available on IM. Me changing the medium led to a complete loss of context. Even in the same medium as i move from IM on desktop to IM on mobile is as good as start a new conversation. As if this wasn’t enough we have the added complexity of different silos that exist for each community. Yahoo, MSN, AOL, Gtalk, Skype, Facebook, Linkedin… the list is endless. 13Friends is built to offer seamless transition from one digital context to another regardless of location or type of device used or nature of content being accessed. Of course as we move between devices and mediums we don’t want the same experience. I would hate it if I got every chat room message as an SMS. As a receiver wish to be in control of how I would like to receive my messages. I am biased towards my family and close friends. I would like to have their messages reach me quicker.
Having the above available not just for 1-1 conversations but also in group environments is the vision for 13Friends. A non geeky (!!!) way of saying the same thing would be ” 13Friends is a service that shall let you stay connected with your friends ( only the ones you want to) over what ever is convenient and cheaper at all times. Or as we would like to say at MS - the only place where you can’t be reached is on a plane.
In the coming days we shall see this service unfold. Keep watching this space to know more about how we are adding a dash of simplicity to our much complicated lives.