Kik's Model: Exploring what the domestic entrepreneurial team is doing

Article Description: discussion on the interactive application prospect of Kik mobile phone communication record.

Based on the interaction of the Address Book, after the completion of the phone, SMS, MMS basic functions, has been the development of the stop, the traditional operators have been seeking to break through these interactive extension, but the performance of smart phones and 3G network of improvement, entrepreneurial enterprises but let this extension to continue, when Kik Perfect to enhance the SMS interactive experience, WhatsApp expand the interactive content, we can also expect what interaction and creativity? We are also trying to explore what the domestic entrepreneurial team is doing.

Kik Messenger Since the launch of October 20, a short period of 15 days, the user volume exceeded 1 million (currently has exceeded 3 million). Record-breaking speed makes it the star in mobile phone app. Many people first reacted to the idea of hitting the BlackBerry Messenger (BBM) market so that Kik was expelled from the BlackBerry App Store. In fact, there has been an app called WhatsApp in the IPhone for a year, but it's a little kik, but it's also tepid.

Since the domestic model of Kik has been introduced into China, the domestic manufacturers to a very alarming speed issued a variety of letters (a letter, micro-letter, friend letter), all kinds of chat (rice chat, speed chat), the grand simply called Kiki. I do not think these products are Kik after these shanzhai, this is very unfair to a lot of creative small companies, at least some domestic applications in the presence of time and in the function has been carried out their own understanding of the product. On the contrary, the big company's production cottage flavor is more thick.

Photo: The above time comes from official reports.

I have experienced almost all of the above software (the IPhone and Android experience primarily). Vimi can not be registered, only according to its official blog function introduction and screenshots inferred.

This article mainly to the current related software function design, as well as design ideas for comparison, from the product integrity, usability perspective do not do too much analysis, because the individual thinks that the current software is in a demo start stage, the following variables will be very large, we all have a very big space to compete, to improve, Of course, the process will also have a product aborted. Kik and WHATSAPP Two application, the positioning of their own very clear, but also basic stability. Rice chat and micro-letter due to have the best product team support, in the on-line after the basic can be smooth use, but also relatively perfect. In contrast, other small team products, in the current rapid distribution of competition in the environment, research and development has been difficult. This will be a big test for the future mobile internet start-up team.

Why Kik Compare the details of the success of WHATSAPP

Or first from the Kik, Kik team on their own product positioning in the solution, the current operator of the poor messaging service experience, to provide users with a most realistic face-to-face communication realization. It's a success! It did:

1. After each message sent to do the most exquisite state feedback, to meet the user heart psychology
2. It realizes the real-time texting function in the process of SMS sending
3. Users can easily from the Address book object as a source of chat objects, simplifying the process
4. The whole chat experience is very very fast and very pure!
5. It ' s free!

Through the product careful comparison, regarding the short message sends the state real-time feedback, is in the WHATSAPP state feedback mechanism to make the further consummation, makes the comfortable explanation on the UI, the experience does faster and smoother. Interestingly, WHATSAPP has been able to achieve kik almost all functions, as well as more file transfer services, but Kik as a successor is significantly more successful! This is very curious, I think we can also discuss the following:

1. Kik is called Kik Messenger, very intuitive to tell users this is a short message replacement tool, and WhatsApp compared to not very clear positioning.
2. In general, the main source of the phone address Book as the object, but in the details of Kik added to allow users to actively search for the user to add the function, from the user experience, one is the past IM experience habits very good transition, WhatsApp completely dependent on the Address Book mode, how many people very passive, Especially after the initial installation.
3. Why do WhatsApp charge?
4. In addition to Kik's focus on providing users with the best chat experience, WhatsApp seems more interested in providing a more innovative tool search based on the address book, just the current delivery of documents, location sharing, contact sharing, not enough to the killer, and these requirements do exist, But it is more like impulsive demand than the constant demand of chatting. In the promotion is bound to increase the difficulty.

The opportunity of network innovation based on contact book

If real-time feedback is the active innovation of traditional SMS, then I think another foothold is based on the Address book as the source of the user. This is also the main direction that this article wants to explore. Wang Yuquan in a number of occasions to emphasize the Address Book as a subversive innovative gold mine, entrepreneurs can use this to challenge QQ is a good platform. It is clear that the benefits of doing so can be seen in the path of success for Kik and WHATSAPP.

1. Faster and smarter import of existing user relationships
2. Users do not need to maintain a new network after using a new communication tool.
3. Limiting this interaction within their own real social networks because of the closure that brings credit value
4. is advantageous in the acquaintance promotion, usually has each other's number, as long as the opposite party installs, may smoothly see oneself, this experience in for many first time uses schoolmate, this very interesting process

For entrepreneurs like Kik, the use of existing Address Book network can be removed from their own in the training of users, and then to develop a user relationship between the cost-and directly with the Web to radiation users! Similarly, we assume that Kik has 1 million clients within 15 days, assuming that the Kik number is used between these clients, and that the Kik number is isolated or has only one single connection, the network is undoubtedly very vulnerable. In the development of any social network, the number of users is accompanied by the development of the relationship, and the more closely the relationship of a network, its stability and value is more obvious.

At the beginning of the internet, Twitter and Facebook, as well as Google Accounts, hold three networks of Internet users. These three networks are obviously different, for the basis of the relationship between the establishment (there is also a significant part of the overlap), here to add, I do not know whether you feel, through the Android,google Accounts can master the network from the email, smooth expansion to the contact book friends. Domestic situation is bound to be so, QQ undoubtedly has a world of internet companies are envious of the relationship between the network, everyone, happy have their own relationship network, we wait and see whether they will open, or like Tencent, more committed to doing their own development.

For start-ups, there is often no courage to set up their own network, it does not seem necessary, so many of the startup projects abroad support Twitter or Facebook or Google Accounts direct landing, want to use these mature network to promote, or directly in the network of these relationships to apply depth. But on their platform, a little bit reluctantly, this time, when we found that the relationship between the social reality like the Address Book, and not affiliated to any large company, based on the address Book of the social network, found that we can use it, is undoubtedly an opportunity.

The Battle of the Kik-class tools is ultimately a network struggle.

We can see from the source of these software friends, the application of the Address Book, the use of their own mobile phone number of several design ideas to compare, found that these software still have obvious differences in layout.

The formation and source comparison of user relationship in domestic application software

Obviously we can see from the table that most of the software is based on the phone address Book as the contact person, but it is worth noting the choice of micro-letter and rice chat.

Micro-letter choice is in fact also entirely in the expected, Tencent chose to QQ friends as a user base, 600 million of users can be enough user base to challenge the address book, so just use the micro-letter feeling is this is the QQ Lite version, for QQ users to create a suitable for mobile phone interaction on the lightweight tool, But I'm a little puzzled about the design of micro-letters that need to be reset by nicknames. At this stage, if Tencent also followed from the Address book, the first no advantage. If you try to integrate with the QQ network may be, but QQ is not the use of real names, the integration of the difficulty is still very large, very easy to bring bad user experience, similar things have happened in WP7 (Live account and Address book seamless) Android My phone address book used to spend the whole evening tidying up my old mail contacts and merging with my mobile contacts.

The choice of rice chat is the main mail contact, and set the meter, where we can even understand that lei June is trying to create a new social network for mobile phones, and as a starting point, YY voice can be in the professional field of access to the market, but it is difficult in the desktop system to compete with Tencent, for users, It is also impossible to accept a replacement for QQ client. However, in the mobile Internet field, the opportunity to MIUI, the support of rice chat is not can do better than MSN? At least there will be enough room for imagination. I personally think that only the angle to consider, you can understand that Rice chat completely abandon the address book, but to build a network.

Kiki naked fake name and function, the effect or to achieve the purpose of publicity, but for a long time, the product is only in the group in the stage, and problems, this is really not a big guy to do. From a preliminary experience, it should be one of the most Kik products, and there may be some interaction with the Address book function.

Contact-based contacts have the most central role in the entire social system

In the see Tencent tried to do a micro-letter on its own QQ network, rice chat of the ambition to create their own network of relations, that in China, we need a similar kik pure mobile phone address book based chat tools? Kiki, Vimi and friends are all walking along this road, and we wait and see (Kiki, Vimi like a copy of Kik and the friend letter is more like WhatsApp's copycat).

I think there is no doubt that these products will share the market of text messages together.  I believe that there will eventually be a similar Kik service provider focused on the address book chat providers, but whether he can grow up as smoothly as Kik, can share in the whole chat market, or there are quite large variables, and there are Tencent before and after, and after the rice chat such, plus the domestic short message fee flexibility and other objective environment, Domestic similar Kik service provider's entrepreneurial difficulty may be big many. On the contrary, do not worry about the operator's attitude, operators can be sealed VoIP but can not be sealed kik services, say, if now the flying team can seize the opportunity to do a good job, and breakthrough operator restrictions, should be an excellent opportunity, this should be the most should be the operator to explore the opportunity.

Then, maybe there will be happy chat, watercress chat with Messenger Facebook, the same school. It is clear that we can see another IM chaos, this is an IM battle, is essentially a network of disputes. The chat tool that users can accept online at the same time on the mobile terminal must be less than the number of IM tools on the PC. People will be based on their own life focus, lifestyle, choose the most suitable for their own social means of communication tools, many users in the trade-offs will certainly have considerable trouble, this time will be the birth of some similar Meebo , im+ a similar tool maker?

In addition, there are like quick chat so choose to register, in the absence of strong resources, and in the products do not have any advantages of the premise, survival will be more difficult.

Chat Service is the basis of the Address Book product?

Regardless of how each software is positioning the user relationship, it can be seen that the text of the Instant Messaging service is the basic function of these tools, this is also the Kik force point, and the key to success. After Kik the SMS experience to a new height, it is difficult for other vendors to ignore this part of the user experience, the following chart we have the current domestic software on the basic skills of SMS can do a comparison

Implementation comparison of SMS function details

We can see that the status feedback of the message and SD support almost become the standard of the software, believe that the micro-letter will soon be added in the later version, and the friend letter, a letter because of its application design depth with the existing SMS integration, and even want to replace the existing system with the SMS UI.

Where is the creative space based on the Address Book product?

We here from the chat products from the address book derived from the address book based products, because we have not only seen Kik imitators, but also WhatsApp imitators, if WHATSASPP is intended to break through, based on the contacts between the user relationship, we can not only chat, send pictures, What these traditional IM can do outside, can do some big problem. We can also see some domestic manufacturers trying to try it through different angles.

Apply Extended functionality Comparison

The above table has sorted out the software in addition to chat function, some of the direction of functional attempts to enumerate, through this form can also be more clearly see the location of each software and development direction. Kik because of its clear positioning, focus on chatting. WHATSAPP is a pure passion to explore the possibility of interaction between users based on the communication record, and provides a number of standardized common functions.

Friends look like WhatsApp followers at first glance, but recent versions of the update also see the developers have a very bold exploration, to try to break the other side without the client's premise of interaction, in fact, if you can through a strong HTML5 in the mobile browser to achieve a good experience, so that the interaction from the unilateral launch, The other side through the Unified UI browser page to interact, there should be some fresh ideas, and will not because both sides need to install the client, to limit the interaction of the object, as long as can give each other down a message to initiate a request, can be interactive game? Can I support third party applications? Let's think about it.

I've been listing the HighNote software, and in fact it doesn't even offer easy chat, but it has turned to a completely new aspect of functional breakthroughs, the basic idea of highnote is to input text (support custom text formats), audio, pictures, attachments, etc. on the client side, After uploading to the server, integrate into a Web page, the address by SMS down to each other. It even offers an interactive way of exploring like a riddle.

Are we going to continue to imagine that you can go down to a few of your friends, a menu of dinner options for the function page? Is it very much like Google Wave-complexity is complicated, but the possibilities are there. Even we can consider the existence of such an opportunity, the application of mobile phone WEBAPP micro-applications, as a flow of information, through the tool to push between users, interaction. Our point-to-point client can do a client experience like Chrome2phone, pushing the app micro-interaction, not simply a blog.

Look back to see rice chat, rice chat in the provision of a number of basic transmission functions, more interest like dynamic wall, as well as the integrity of the user's information, such as the basic functions of SNS to build, personally feel to see here the mind of rice chat has been highlighted, is not a small chat tool just.

See a letter interaction, the first time to open a very bright spot function, is the automatic statistics you send text messages most people, and recommended to these several people to promote, clearly informed if these people also use a letter you can save how much SMS costs. This is really good, it doesn't make sense to open up the whole address list, but the question we need to consider when we do social tools is: Are we facing a small range of close friends, or the entire address book, if only the former (because I believe the closest 10 The number of personal text messages should occupy all the text message interaction more than 95%), then we should simply go to dig deeper into the 10 interaction between people, this should be the direction of innovation.

Summarize

Individuals classify these applications as a point-to-point interactive application based on the address book, and the point-to-point interaction differs from the current social tools, and is more intimate and targeted. As with most social activities in the real world, there are clear objects and motivations in the process. thus making such interactive activities more realistic.

The difference between point-to-point interaction and traditional SNS interactive features

If placed in a longer period of time to consider, the first specific implementation of such applications is the telephone, followed by SMS, MMS, the traditional communications industry stops here, some of the provinces and cities have launched a call signature service, is in the process of call, the real caller in the signature file. Over the years, the GSMA alliance has been trying to break through to the point of basic business capabilities. The RCS (Rich communication Suite) concept was presented and tried in some European operators, but operators were not able to keep up with the evolution of the mobile phone system over the past two years, the evolution of applications, we found that we can easily bypass the operators, from the functional very fast implementation of these applications, is to enter the third stage, we can easily hair not limited by the size of photos, videos, various files, we can send geographical location, exchange business cards ...

So what's the next thing we're going to trade?  What about the open interface, such as Weibo, if we ignore the phone, and make our notebooks and tablets as an address book terminal? Kik is just a start ~:)