Blog: Mobile messaging

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Snapchat cuts Snapcash but continues to grow commerce strategy

Georgia Meyer

25 Jul 2018

Facebook Messaging apps Mobile content

Almost four years after launching Snapcash Snap has decided to call time on the peer-to-peer payment service. On the surface Snapcash was set up to facilitate simple transfers of money between friends.

Facebook Launches App For Under 13s

Karol Severin

8 Dec 2017

Facebook Media messenger

Facebook has launched Messenger Kids, a free video calling and messaging app designed for kids to connect with friends and family from their tablet or smartphone. Until now, all apps from the company had 13 as the minimum age according to the Terms and Conditions.

Quick Take: What The New 280 Character Limit Really Means For Twitter

Karol Severin

29 Sep 2017

140 characters 280 characters Media

Twitter announced this week that it started trialling an extension of its established 140-character limit to 280 characters. This islargely about trying to improve engagement and, concretely, time spent.

Apple Just Put Another Nail In Snapchat’s Proverbial Coffin

Karol Severin

22 Mar 2017

apple clips clips Facebook

Yesterday Apple announced it will launch Clips in April, a video-making app that allows users to capture photos and videos, combine multiple videos and include a variety of features like Filters, Overlays, Posters and Live Titles.

Quick Take: WeChat Introduces Paid Content For Public Accounts

Karol Severin

20 Feb 2017

Messaging apps Mobile content Mobile messaging

It’s no secret that Asian messaging platforms have been leading much of the global innovation efforts, regarding the monetization of mobile messaging. Last week it emerged that WeChat is trialling Paid Content for public accounts.

YouTube Rolls Out A Chat Feature

Karol Severin

19 Jan 2017

Mobile content Mobile messaging Online video

After months of testing, YouTube is rolling out its chat feature. It launched Wednesday in Canada only for now, with other countries to follow. In the escalatingwar of big tech companies to establish Mobile Life Ecosystems and serve as many needs of consumers’ digital lives as possible, messaging ...

Quick Take: Are Telcos Shooting Themselves In A Foot With Google’s RCS?

Karol Severin

28 Nov 2016

Google Mobile content Mobile messaging

Google has partnered up with 58 telcos via GSMA to deploy a standardized revamp to SMS in form of Rich Communication System (RCS). The upgraded system will give telcos a shot at competing with mobile messaging platforms on Android, which are miles ahead in terms of the features, which they offer.

Why Integrating Siri Into iMessage Matters For Apple

Karol Severin

18 Nov 2016

Apple iMessage iOS

In June,I wrote about Apple finally making leaps towards revamping iMessage in a bid to turn it into a fully-fledged messaging platform able to compete with the leaders like Facebook Messenger and WhatsApp (in terms of the iOS user segment).

MIDIA Blog Exclusive: Just How Well Are Chatbots Actually Doing?

Mark Mulligan

11 Sep 2016

Chart Of The Week chat bots Facebook messenger

The arrival of chatbots has been widely covered by the media in the last few months. The hype peaked in April 2016 when Facebook (though by no means the first company to do so) released its Messenger Platform and invited developers to build chatbots for its Messenger app.

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Quick Take: Why Mr. Robot App Is an Exciting Case To Watch

Karol Severin

19 Aug 2016

Mobile content Mobile messaging Mr Robot

Mr. Robot is a cyber-security psychological thriller of NBCUniversal, popular with the tech-crowd. The company has partnered up with Telltale Games and Night School Studio and created a mobile game as a spin-off.

Why Disney Is Going Into Mobile Messaging

Karol Severin

5 Aug 2016

Disney Disney Mix Messaging apps

Disney announced a launch of Disney Mix, a messaging platform aimed at kids, tweens and their families. This is an important case to watch because it shows that: In a seemingly crowded space, there is still room for niche media platforms to integrate messaging functionalities and benefit from a rein...

Watch Out Facebook Messenger: Apple’s iMessage Just Got Serious

Karol Severin

17 Jun 2016

App Drawer Apple iMessage

Apple’s WWDC this week confirmed that company is getting serious about messaging. At its developer conference it announced a major overhaul for iMessage with the upcoming release of iOS10. While iMessage has been typically perceived as a rather ‘basic’ text messaging tool that amassed users th...

Why Twitter Really Made The Changes Around Its Character Limit

Karol Severin

27 May 2016

140 characters limit content distribution Mobile content

Twitter announced a number of changes this week, which are geared to extend the expression capabilities of the strict 140-character limit. The platform will no longer count media attachments nor ‘@names’ replies as a part of the character count.

YouTube’s New Instant Messaging Feature

Karol Severin

16 May 2016

consumer behavior Facebook Google

Last week Wired reported that YouTube introduced a messaging feature to a small group of users, allowing them to send instant messages and share videos within YouTube’s mobile app. Though YouTube is the number one video consumption ecosystem, its users have been missing a chance to seamlessly chat...

Profiling The Mobile Messaging User Segment

Karol Severin

6 May 2016

consumer segmentation Mobile content Mobile messaging

54% of iOS consumers and 52% of Android consumers now use messaging apps monthly, according to the multinational consumer survey from March 2016 conducted by MIDiA research. Though its proof of popularity in the digital era is as old as the SMS, it was the OTT platforms, that realized and truly doub...

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Facebook Just Claimed A Spot In The Mobile ‘App’ Distribution Of The Future

Karol Severin

13 Apr 2016

app economy chat bots F8 event

It’s official. Facebook released the highly anticipated Messenger Platform (Beta) inviting developers to build bots for the messaging platform at the F8 event yesterday. The traditional approach to building technology (e.

Snapchat Leaps From Social Media Hype To Messaging Life Companion

Karol Severin

31 Mar 2016

Chat 2.0 Facebook Mobile content

Snapchat rolled out a new set of features to its chat capabilities yesterday. Besides adding direct voice and video calling capabilities, the ‘Chat 2.0’ now offers a seamless way to switch between various types of communication within a chat session.

WhatsApp Drops Annual Fee As It Hits 990 Million Users – Next Stop: Monetization

Karol Severin

18 Jan 2016

Facebook Jan Kaum messenger

The CEO of WhatsApp, Jan Koum, announced in Munich that WhatsApp now has 990million users. There have been many talks about Facebook overpaying for WhatsApp. However, it managed to double its user base since the acquisition and played a significant role in helping Facebook dominate the mobile messag...

Kakao Corp Turns MelOn Into A Full Stack Music Company

Mark Mulligan

12 Jan 2016

full-stack Full Stack Music Company Kakao Corp

Korean messaging app company Kakao Corp has acquired a 76.4% stake in South Korean entertainment company Loen Entertainment for $1.6 billion , valuing the company at $2 billion. Kakao operates the mobile messaging app Kakao Talk which has around 50 million users, 39 million of which are in South Kor...

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Facebook Doubles Down On Messaging With Messenger Bots

Karol Severin

7 Jan 2016

chat bots chat sdk Facebook

Facebook released a Chat SDK to a limited group of developers allowing them to build official bots on Messenger. When users message these ‘official accounts’, bots can immediately reply with further product information, pricing, location, buy buttons etc.

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