I missed the message:
"When texts won’t do, send images" by Hiroko Tabuchi | New York Times May 26, 2014
NEW YORK —Line is among a growing number of apps jostling for control of the rapidly growing mobile messaging business. Such startups are no longer just competing for users and their time. They are racing to define how a younger generation — one that has increasingly moved away from traditional text messaging, Facebook, and Twitter — will message on the go.
“There’s a frenzy of experimentation going on with the future of messaging,” said Benedict Evans, a partner at the venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, which has invested in social networks and messaging services.
Apps like Snapchat and Blink have increased their user bases through the appeal of spontaneity, transience, and privacy, with messages that self-destruct soon after they are opened. Those services have eaten into the early lead of WhatsApp, a no-frills service that focuses on letting users send and receive text, images, audio, and video via the Web. Viber has focused on messaging plus free Internet phone calls.
NEXT DAY UPDATE: Yahoo just blinked.
The Tokyo startup Line, along with WeChat from China, has sought to pepper the experience with stickers, social games, and even weather forecasts. Their sprawling online offerings make them huge distribution platforms for content, not just messaging services.
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Line is finding it difficult to gain traction in the United States. After an initial marketing push last year, it has eased off promotional activities and says it is focusing on other markets that need attention more urgently.
Line has struck a chord in Japan partly because of the country’s affection for all things cute, experts say. But there are more factors in play. Refusing an invitation from a colleague for after-work drinks, for example, could cause discomfort in a culture where an outright no is avoided at all costs. But enlist a bear as the messenger and there is less potential for embarrassment on either side, said Ryoko Morishima, who has written several guides on social media.
“It’s just easier when a bear says it,” she said.
Example:
Man with a mug of beer, winking.
Bear busy at work at his desk.
Man on his knees, devastated.
Bear bowing in apology.
:-(
Line’s characters are not just about better messaging, either.
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All that has allowed Line to build a solid business model. In the 12 months through March, Line earned almost $590 million from its stickers, in-game sales, and ads, just under the $665 million that Twitter earned last year.
“Line has become part of the communications infrastructure,” said Kenichi Sugai, a technology analyst at Speeda, a financial information platform in Tokyo. “Now it’s in a global race to win over users and to convince them this is what messaging should be.”
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Such apps have been the target of frenzied dealmaking. The question is....
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"Small business on-the-go? Smartphones make it easy" by Joseph Pisani | Associated Press May 24, 2014
NEW YORK — Smartphones have become vital for on-the-go entrepreneurs. Apps aimed at small business owners allow them to pay bills, update websites, market their companies, reach out to customers, and keep in touch with employees from anywhere. Some owners say their smartphones makes it easier for them to build a side business while keeping a full-time job or step away from the company when needed.
They’re also a big help for store owners, like Avi Shenkar, who runs his four hair salons from the palm of his hand....
A Noah Chaimberg and a Kimberly Davison are on the phone for you, readers.
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Then I $tepped back.
