Designing for extroversion

Evernote’s Founder, Phil Libin, speaking to Businessweek:

“What you put in Facebook isn’t who you are,” says Libin. “It’s what you want some people to see. And what you put in LinkedIn is certainly not who you are; it’s what you want the professional world to see.” Libin suggests that the addiction to a particular strain of “viral” growth has led to a drastic overemphasis on digital design for extroversion.

Over the years we’ve seen numerous products that start with the promise of an intimate social experience give in to the temptation of viral growth. This temptation leads to a change in the product’s focus. Path is one example that comes to mind.

This isn’t evidence that an intimate social service can’t exist. Rather, it suggests that expectations from the outset need to be properly aligned. Growth may be slower by not harnessing distribution via public sharing, but opportunities for organic growth that respect the service’s promise of intimacy are available.

The rapid growth of group messaging apps, combined with the expansion of features within these services, points to the possibilities in this market. I bet we continue to see great innovation in the intimate social networking space and that this market will yield big winners in the years ahead.