

Show HN: Accounts, a simple address book for iOS - benguild
http://accounts.ms

======
ArikBe
OP has provided a link where he explains what this app actually does:
[http://benguild.com/2014/05/18/announcing-
accounts/](http://benguild.com/2014/05/18/announcing-accounts/)

Calling it futuristic isn't very descriptive of what it does.

In short (but not the tl;dr) this application attempts to act as a "contacts
backbone"* for all possible "social applications". Basically it's a contacts
list that shows you what services your contacts are subscribed to and what
services you are subscribed to. The value proposition towards the individual
is that you don't have to figure out what apps they are using, instead "it's
just there"™. OP also claims that this will improve efficiency and reduce
social network lock in (SNLI).

However, the problem of SNLI is not a search problem. Figuring out which apps
your contacts use, especially the ones…ya know…you care about (like 10% of
your contacts list) is not that difficult. The problem is getting enough
people from your social network to switch to the new platform and abandon an
old and familiar platform. The only time this works is if the new platform is
somehow better than the old one. That is to say, the problem is with the
social network application itself. And that problem is not addressed by this
application.

Instead this application attempts to solve a problem that has largely been
solved through concepts such as "notification center" which efficiently
display notifications from your friends from whatever app it is you have
installed.

Apps need to be experienced for people to start using them, a simple list of
all the applications that your contacts have is not enough.

* quoted from the blog post

~~~
benguild
The App does somewhat offer a solution to getting users to switch to new
platforms through notifying you when your contacts are engaging in a new
service, ie. "Joe, Matt, and 4 others just added Yo to their profile."

That sort of notification AFAIK is not offered by anything else at this time.
Accounts actively markets new services you may have heard of by notifying you
when your friends actually start using them

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jdiez17
How is it futuristic? What innovations does it include? From the frontpage, I
can only see a meh-looking address book with features that have been in most
for a while.

~~~
benguild
Everyone updates their own cards, and it focuses on social networks and
usernames of the future versus traditional email and telephone.

With that said, it also notifies you when your contacts' email and telephone
numbers change... which is great.

~~~
nijiko
Uhm... my contact list supports social networks, even integrates with
snapchat, twitter, instagram, etc...

Maybe it's apple that is lacking in this notion, but it's something android
has been doing for years?

~~~
neil_s
What app are you using for this? Or are you talking about the stock Android
contacts list?

~~~
nijiko
stock, at least for me; applications can integrate with the contact list and
the icon / link shows up in my list.

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samirmenon
I noticed a "Pat. pend." on your page... care to explain what part of this you
are patenting?

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king_magic
-Be notified when someone updates their information.

... then ...

-Don't feel obliged to post updates, or worry about privacy.

Does not compute? Maybe there is just too much missing info - definitely isn't
clear what this is, how it works, and what information is "out there".

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D4AHNGM
This looks pretty interesting. I've never been contented with the iOS default
contacts but haven't really found a way to replace that.

I think I'll download the beta and play around with it for a while. I do like
the Android way of handling contacts.

I'd be more reassured by seeing a fuller privacy policy rather than a vague
promise not to violate privacy, but perhaps that'll come in time.

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neil_s
I have thought about this solution previously too. The main issue is, how do
you solve the chicken and egg problem of getting critical mass for it to be
useful?

Sidenote: Why did you pick the .ms sub-domain? It made me think of Microsoft,
which obviously doesn't go with an iOS app.

~~~
benguild
It was the only one available that Google doesn't penalize or geotarget. I
agree the Microsoft connotation is odd but if the project is a success we'll
be able to acquire another domain.

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pandatigox
Doesn't Android have something similar, where various accounts can be added,
and the contacts will appear accordingly in Contacts? Nevertheless, the design
looks quite interesting and I'm looking forward to further updates

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lukencode
Reminds me of how the windows phone people hub works (which I think is a good
thing).

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twodayslate
How or why did this get on the front page?

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dang
We took the word "futuristic" out of the title since some of the thread was
about that word rather than the product.

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notreallol
Death 2 clean; death 2 flat.

~~~
packetslave
Death TO not writing like an adult

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davidcollantes
Ugly and unnecessary. But good luck!

~~~
aaronbrethorst
I downvoted you. If you're going to give uniformly negative feedback on
something like this, I highly recommend taking another minute or two to make
it constructive for the OP.

Regardless of the utility or lack thereof (perceived or otherwise), someone or
some group of people spent a good deal of time building this product.
Dismissing their efforts doesn't offer them anything, and makes them less
likely to share their future creations.

a couple notes:

* I have no connection to the authors.

* The app looks really complicated (i.e. overwhelming).

* The value prop isn't clear to me.

* What's a suggested service addition? The language I see in the screenshots uses a lot of jargon.

* It concerns me, likely to the point that I'll never download it, that the app is free. Clearly, selling it will prevent it from ever getting traction. However, giving it away suggests that I (and my friends) are the product.

~~~
davidcollantes
I see it as unattractive and, as I like the vanilla iOS address book as it is,
unnecessary. There is no much else to say.

I am not dismissing anyone's efforts. I simply stated how I
feel(about)/perceive the app.

~~~
aaronbrethorst
I think that this: "I like the vanilla iOS address book as it is" makes a big
difference on the tenor of the comment. Thanks for adding it.

