Facebook元老成硅谷移动导师

    大卫•莫林一边分析为移动设备设计产品的难处，一边有条不紊的摆弄着自己银手镯上的链子。谈话从一个大想法跳到下一个大想法，直到莫林突然想到一件深奥的事情。他认真地说道：“移动已经使得生活变成了一个平台。”

    现年31岁的莫林是Path的创始人，Path是一家只能通过手机访问的社交网站。Facebook和谷歌的社交平台Google Plus允许用户与数千熟人相连，然而Path用户最多仅能设置150名好友。它的理念是，限制好友人数使得互动更亲密、更真诚。苹果（Apple）和谷歌（Google）的手机都能运行这个应用。Path的界面灵巧且直观，相比之下，竞争对手显得十分呆板。

    今年初，Path进行了B轮募资，共筹集到2.5亿美元。投资方包括红点投资（Redpoint Ventures）、凯鹏华盈（Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers）等机构以及理查德•布兰森、尤里•米尔纳和马克•平克斯等独立投资人。

    他们对莫林的兴趣也许并不亚于Path本身。莫林曾是Facebook的元老，参与开发了Facebook的两大支柱技术——Facebook Connect和Facebook Platform。Facebook如今用户已经多达9亿，这两大技术可谓功不可没。在这之前，这位蒙大拿州的滑雪爱好者在苹果市场部工作。

    没有人知道Path前景如何。目前它的用户数只有300万，与Instagram或Pinterest相比，这个数字无疑不值一提。不过，这一点也许无关紧要。莫林的公司是“移动先行”战略的急先锋。他表示，这个战略的意义在于以时间为导向并注重细节。

    移动用户数的暴涨让许多硅谷公司面临重新洗牌的局面。不过，问题在于极少有公司明白如何设计移动产品，以及如何从移动用户身上赚钱。Facebook就是一个例子，该公司的iPhone应用自推出后就一直恶评不断，直到最近发布新的版本，才得到了大家的勉强接受。而Facebook豪掷10亿美元收购照片分享服务Instagram的部分原因也在于，该公司需要合适的设计者和工程师来打造移动产品。

    莫林现在已经成为科技界的一些大佬眼中的移动专家。Facebook联合创始人达斯汀•莫斯科维茨就是莫林的支持者。谷歌风投合伙人凯文•罗斯谈到莫林的设计步骤时说：“为什么要开发某种产品？它意味着什么？莫林对这些问题总是考虑得面面俱到。”Facebook的马克•扎克伯格也是他的粉丝。扎克伯格告诉《财富》杂志（Fortune）：“我期待和他更紧密地合作。”

    译者：项航

    Dave Morin is methodically thumbing the chain links on his silver bracelet as he parses the difficulties of designing products for mobile devices. The conversation careens from one big idea to the next until Morin hits on something profound: "With mobile, life has become the platform," he says earnestly.

    Morin, 31, is the founder of Path, a social network accessible only via mobile phone. Where Facebook (FB) and Google Plus (GOOG) let users connect to thousands of acquaintances, Path users can designate a maximum of 150 friends. This restriction, so the thinking goes, leads to more intimate and genuine interactions. The app, which is available for Apple- (AAPL) and Google-powered phones, features a slick, intuitive interface that makes competitors look sclerotic.

    Earlier this year Path raised a Series B round of funding valuing it at $250 million. Backers include Redpoint Ventures and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, as well as Richard Branson,Yuri Milner, and Mark Pincus.

    They may be betting on Morin as much as on Path. An early member of the Facebook team, he co-invented two signature technologies, Facebook Connect and the Facebook Platform, that helped the company surge to 900 million users. Before that, the Montana native and avid skier worked in Apple's marketing department.

    Nobody knows exactly where Path will lead. At some 3 million users, it hasn't achieved the phenomenal adoption of Instagram or Pinterest. But it may not matter: Morin's company is a pioneer of mobile-first design, which, he says, is time-intensive and requires attention to detail.

    The deluge of mobile users threatens to upend a wide range of businesses in Silicon Valley. Trouble is, few companies really know how to design for or generate significant revenue from such users. Facebook, for instance, stumbled badly when it released a clunky iPhone app that users groaned about until a recent update. Its $1 billion purchase of photo-sharing service Instagram was motivated in part by its need for designers and engineers skilled in creating products for phones.

    Morin has become a kind of mobile guru to some of the biggest names in tech. Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz is a booster. "He's always thinking through every aspect of why he's building something and what that means," says Google Ventures partner Kevin Rose of Morin's design chops. Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg is also a fan. "I'm looking forward to working more closely together," Zuckerberg tells Fortune.