Facebook updates mobile IM apps to attract pure mobile internet users

Web site CNET wrote today that Facebook has revised mobile IM application Messenger and allowed users to send messages without using their Facebook account to attract social network users who do not use their computers and use only their mobile phones to access the Internet. Put them into Facebook's biosphere.

The following is the full text of the article:

It seems strange to explore Facebook's user growth. The company already has more than 1 billion users, more than three times times the size of the U.S. population. However, many of the company's businesses can be attributed to one purpose: how to attract a second 1 billion users? And the third 1 billion?

For this reason, Facebook announced that mobile IM application Messenger revision is so important. If it succeeds, there's a big question mark. Facebook may be expected to attract those who have resisted social networking so far. Just as important, Facebook will be able to build relationships with a large number of people who do not use computers to access the Internet directly from their phones.

"This is a good way to attract a group of people," said Sam Lessin, the Facebook product director, in an interview with CNET Sham Lessing. ”

Attract Pure mobile phone users

Facebook's new mobile IM application Messenger was originally developed for Android handsets, and Facebook has a lot of room to grow in India, Indonesia, Australia, Argentina, Venezuela and South Africa.

The point is: you don't have to register your Facebook account to use Messenger. Think about it, you don't even need e-mail. This is the means of communication used by people in industrialized countries. All you need is a name and a mobile number.

You don't need a smartphone, either. Facebook is developing messenger for functional handsets as a new approach to attracting users. About 1.5 ago, Facebook launched an app called Facebook for Every Pone, which makes it possible for inexpensive mobile phones to get the same functionality as smartphones. The rapid popularity of the product: Facebook expects the app to attract 750 million of users in Latin America, Asia and Africa this year.

More importantly, when Facebook continues to fulfill its mission of "connecting the World", it will attract tens of millions of or even hundreds of millions of of users. This is precisely their goal.

Today's move can also be a direct message to attack the long history of mobile communications services has just ushered in the 20 birthday. At the same time, this is a clear endorsement of the value of independent instant messaging applications, some of which have become a common practice between Facebook and iOS users.

Move first

Even mature markets such as the US are making such a change: people are exchanging information services such as Facebook or WhatsApp and Kik, giving up email, especially among teenagers and young people. An independent report last month confirmed the trend: US text messaging declined in the third quarter of this year.

At this point, Mobile has become the curse of Facebook. Like most businesses today, the company is also advocating a "move first" strategy. We uphold the ' move first ' mode of thinking. "This has changed our philosophy of development," said Peter Deng, managing director of Facebook Communications products, at the LeWeb conference in Paris today (Peter Deng). ”

Of course, Facebook was a complete necessity. The world is moving towards mobility, and Facebook has to adapt and have no choice. The company's mobile subscribers have grown 61% per cent year-on-year, while net mobile users have reached 126 million.

Buy Instagram to move

In order to move, Facebook acquired the photo app Instagram, in order to move, Facebook and mobile IM application WhatsApp launched the acquisition negotiations. Although the CEO of WhatsApp later denied the report, according to the recent layout of Facebook, the company has indeed become an important prey.

Unable to ignore Instagram's explosive growth, Mark Zuckerberg decided to buy the company a few weeks before the IPO. Similarly, he cannot ignore the progress of WhatsApp. WhatsApp announced in August this year that the number of messages sent per day reached 10 billion. In contrast, Apple CEO Tim Cook said in October this year that iOS users had sent 300 billion of messages through imessages over the past year.

These huge numbers suggest that instant messaging has become an important way for people to use their phones. It can also explain why Facebook has spared no effort to attract users to send information through their platforms, or even abandon the key to Facebook accounts.

It is unclear how the plan is progressing, and Facebook is constantly upgrading its camera applications and acquiring Instagram. Facebook did not comment on the acquisition of WhatsApp, but it is likely that the company is deploying the plan. Alternatively, Facebook may introduce new apps to challenge WhatsApp, while adding more features to attract those who don't yet subscribe to Facebook's social philosophy.