[OPLIN 4cast] OPLIN 4cast #374: Getting the message

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OPLIN 4Cast

OPLIN 4cast #374: Getting the message
February 26th, 2014

WhatsApp logoMuch of the tech news last week was about Facebook's huge 
deal to buy the WhatsApp messaging service. (One economist pointed out 
<http://www.businessweek.com/articles/2014-02-24/facebooks-whatsapp-deal-makes-un-world-bank-imf-financial-scale-look-tiny> 
that the $19 billion purchase price exceeds the World Bank's total 
annual lending.) Google was reportedly also interested in WhatsApp. Why 
is a messaging app such a hot property? Partially because WhatsApp has a 
solid presence in the fiercely competitive Asian mobile market, where 
smartphone messaging is done a little differently than it is in the 
United States. And partially because technology that works well in Asia 
often finds its way to America. And if that happens, social networks 
like Facebook do not want to get pushed aside.

  * Upsetting the app cart: Asian messaging services challenge mobile
    order
    <http://www.reuters.com/article/2014/02/18/us-mobile-messaging-idUSBREA1H21E20140218>
    (Reuters/Jeremy Wagstaff) "More than half of all smartphone users
    are active users of such [messaging] apps, according to Analysys
    Mason, and the volume of messages has already overtaken traditional
    SMS short messages, and will double again this year. Riding this
    wave are dozens of companies peddling mobile messaging apps, with
    some able to gather a critical mass of 100 million users or more. By
    offering compelling mixes of chat, downloadable icons and games,
    LINE, KakaoTalk and WeChat have emerged as some of the most popular
    in Asia."
  * Messaging services shaking up telecom sector
    <http://www.enca.com/technology/messaging-services-whatsapp-shaking-way-we-communicate>
    (eNCA/AFP) "Some analysts expect more deals to come now that it's
    clear that messaging is becoming a killer app that can enable mobile
    phone users around the globe to get free from their local carriers
    and communicate freely worldwide. Declan Lonergan, analyst at Yankee
    Group, said the new focus on messaging 'signals the growing
    importance of IP communications in consumers' lives.' 'Facebook's
    valuation of WhatsApp is shockingly high, but so too is the risk of
    being left behind as these apps become dominant platforms for
    communications, media distribution, social engagement and
    advertising,' Lonergan said in a blog post."
  * Lessons for Facebook: How WhatsApp went from red-hot to passé in
    Southeast Asia
    <http://thenextweb.com/facebook/2014/02/23/lessons-for-facebook-how-whatsapp-went-from-red-hot-to-passe-in-southeast-asia/>
    (The Next Web/Jon Russell) "WhatsApp sits behind dominant local
    players in China, Japan and Korea, but its experiences in Southeast
    Asia - where its popularity is varied - provides important lessons
    for Facebook if it wants to keep its sparkling new acquisition in
    vogue among a sea of competing, and well-funded messaging rivals. In
    particular, WhatsApp is coming under pressure from a new breed of
    'platform' messaging apps that go beyond replacing SMS to provide a
    range of connected services, like games, virtual content,
    video/voice calling, e-commerce and more."
  * Five unusual ways in which Indians use mobile phones
    <http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-asia-india-26028381> (BBC/Tushar
    Banerjee) "India's newest political party - Aam Aadmi Party (or
    Common Man Party) - which now rules Delhi, launched a membership
    drive earlier this month by urging citizens to give a missed call to
    their phone number. The AAP officers would then get in touch with
    the callers and get them formally enrolled into the party. The AAP
    claims it has added more than 700,000 people to the party through
    missed calls in less than a month."

*/Missed fact:/*

OK, that last article is a bit off-topic, but if you've never heard the 
phrase, "give a missed call," the Wikipedia article 
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Missed_call> is pretty interesting.
------------------------------------------------------------------------
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