Graphics Reference
In-Depth Information
whose members know each other well. In 2010, he co-founded Path, a network designed
for mobile devices.
Unlike Facebook, which encouraged users to be friends with just about everyone, Path
went the other way. Morin touted it as a place where users could communicate easily with
friends and family, but not many others. Morin's metaphor is that Facebook built the cities
and town halls, while Twitter built the news network. With Path, Morin and his team want
to create an online “home.” While networks like Facebook thrive on an ever-expanding
appetite for more sharing with more contacts, Path has built-in limits. The first restriction
is that of mobile devices; that's the only place to find Path. Morin told
Forbes
magazine:
“With mobile, life has become the platform.” Path reflects that because its small scale as-
sures the kind of privacy and intimacy one finds in the personal spaces of life. “We're cre-
ating a place that's like your dinner table at home on the Web,” Morin told
Forbes
.
Another limitation is that users can have only so many friends. Path based this on psy-
chological data showing most people can only handle intimate communication with a lim-
ited number of people. The data came out of research by British anthropologist, Robin Dun-
bar whose discoveries led him to the calculation that bears his name: “
Dunbar's Number
.”
This is not an exact calculation, but Dunbar estimated that with any given person it would
be between 100 and 230 friends. This wide range is usually resolved into a commonly cited
value of 150. This was what Morin and his team chose for Path. A user could include up
to 150 friends—maybe about as many as you'd invite to a fair-sized wedding or a pretty
big birthday bash. This network doesn't bring the world into your home. It's more like be-
ing at home online, and making
that
your world. It's a place to share those things that you
wouldn't necessarily want strangers to see.
Morin and his team had a rocky road, and their first launch didn't do what they'd hoped
it would. Morin doesn't see that as a bad thing. “Your first version's probably going to fail.
You probably should just accept that,” Morin said at a recent appearance at LeWeb Paris
II. His contention is that simplicity often takes time, especially with mobile services. By
his own estimate, the first version of Path had a 70 percent failure rate. This didn't dis-
courage him. Morin regarded this initial launch as a learning experience. He and his team
studied the incoming data from users, and returned to the drawing board. With their new
data, Path's design team created a second version of Path that's now taking off. Morin ad-
vises designers to look not just at “quantitative data but what people are actually trying to
do.” In other words: keep an eye on your users. When doing this, don't concentrate only
on what they can do successfully; pay special attention to whatever tasks they're attempt-
ing, but failing to accomplish. Only then will you understand your product's real functions,
problems and potential.
