Messenger Platform Misses The Boat🚤
A few tips to help Messenger start a bot revolution
Last week, Facebook announced their highly-anticipated Messenger Platform which allows developers to build apps within Messenger. This is a huge step in the evolution of “bots” and soon enough you’ll be able to do most anything (find out the weather, get the latest news, order flowers, etc.) without ever leaving the Messenger app. That said, Facebook didn’t go as far as they should have. They missed a number opportunities that would help developers build bots that actually provide a better user experience while incentivizing the use of the Messenger Platform:
Sharing is Caring — Why not allow bots to share relevant information to improve and simplify the experience? Details like this make building on messenger a no-brainer. Everlane knows I wear a medium sweater and so should Spring if I allow it.
Hive Brain — Give bots the ability to access Facebook profile information (like all other FB apps). If I ask Poncho for the weather, it should already know where I am. The whole point of the messaging UI is to lighten my experience, not give me more work.
This would give Facebook an excuse to add a whole new level of profile data to collect on people. I wouldn’t think twice about giving them my sizes, address, or even credit card if it meant that I wouldn’t have to type it in again when interacting with future bots. Not to mention the endless advertising targeting they’d be able to do.
M(ake my life easier) — Or better yet, M could bridge the gap. Ask me for all of my personal information and when another bot needs something, I can add M to the conversation. This would instantly make M a necessary part of every interaction (giving FB even more data on each person)
Netflix and Bots — Bots need to be able to socialize. Whether it’s adding a bot into a group of normals (people) or adding multiple bots into a private conversation, this will only open up the opportunities of what can be built. If my friends are discussing dinner plans, I should be able to add Text Rex right into the conversation to help us plan where to go. Adding M to that same conversation could generate calendar events or make reservations.
End (or is this just the beginning?)
This is only a start but ideas like these will help open up the platform and reduce friction for all involved. Which, after it’s all said and done, is the point of all this.
If you have any feedback or ideas, I’d love to hear them. You can reach me at Jesse@TheInfatuation.com.
