Facebook is in IM market social communication is a challenge to operators

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With a variety of applications, social networking sites are becoming more powerful and increasingly eroding the traditional business of operators. Facebook, a well-known social networking site, has launched instant Messenger (IM) apps for iOS and Android platforms. Before Facebook, another popular social networking site, Google +, also launched a similar app, Huddle.

Whether it's Facebook Messenger or huddle, its basic function is to help users pass text messages between their phones. Such functional design has apparently threatened the operator's messaging business, and the traditional sector of the operator is facing threats from social networking sites.

Multifaceted Instant Messaging Market

With the gradual popularization of 3G, the promotion of network and terminal has greatly promoted the development of mobile Internet, and instant messaging application has ushered in a great opportunity for development.

Not only did Facebook and Google + launch their own instant messaging apps, but not long ago, Nokia, a passive mobile phone giant in the smartphone market, launched its instant messaging client, Nokia im. In recent years, Apple, which has a imessage in the terminal market, released the same type of software at its 2011 Global Developers Conference. In addition, people familiar with the matter said that Google has also recently begun developing Google Messenger, an instant messaging tool for its Android operating system.

Unlike the international IT giants involved in instant messaging applications, social networking sites are uniquely positioned to push instant messaging applications.

People spend 32% of their time online on social networking sites, according to a report released recently by Flurry, a mobile application analyst. According to Airwide FX, a telecoms technology company, social networking sites will become a more popular communication mechanism than voice or SMS by 2015, when 94% of mobile users will use social networking sites. This shows that social networking sites for mobile users and the degree of adhesion, and development potential.

In addition, in recent British riots, British police said social networking sites helped push the riots. This is also a testament to the high popularity and high usage of social networking sites.

The bundling of instant messaging applications with social networking sites will undoubtedly allow them to develop more widely and attract more users.

Instant Messaging and SMS

Facebook Messenger, an instant messaging app, was released hours after it became the most downloaded free iphone app in Apple's itunes App Store. This shows the popularity of instant messaging applications in the marketplace. So, the operator's SMS business will perish? In fact, instant messaging applications and SMS services have their advantages and disadvantages, the development of instant messaging applications will have an impact on the SMS business, but the replacement of SMS business is not a short period of time can be achieved.

First, the applicable crowd is different. Instant messaging applications are more widely used in young people and fashion, and text messaging is more widely available, not only for young people, but also for older people using SMS.

Second, the most important advantage of instant messaging applications is the combination of multiple information methods, with the disadvantage of being subject to networks and terminals. With simple text presentation, instant messaging applications can carry pictures, expressions, audio, video, file transmission and other information transfer methods, and support group information sharing, so that users and users communicate more convenient and diverse. However, instant messaging applications have certain requirements for the stability of the network and the applicability of the terminals.

Third, SMS strong in security, with social functions. Compared with the security problems such as viruses and Trojans, SMS is undoubtedly more reliable in the security of communication. At the same time, the message in the prevention of major disasters also shoulder the function of early warning. In addition, the request of the short message to the network and the terminal can be neglected almost.

In fact, as some industry experts have said, the old business of texting can survive in the rapidly changing communications industry, it is reasonable. In the face of new market changes, if the old business can make changes, can also get new development opportunities.

Operators to upgrade services to cope with competition

In the mobile internet era, terminal manufacturers and internet companies are expanding the mobile internet market in a large scale, hoping to grasp the market opportunities through innovation and challenge the market dominance of operators. The traditional business of operators faces a comprehensive challenge, not only text messaging, but also voice communication is facing the impact of Internet telephony and so on.

In the face of challenges, operators should not ducks. On the one hand, operators can use their own network resources advantage, to launch their own mobile internet applications, such as in the Instant messaging applications, the domestic three telecom operators in the implementation of their own products. On the other hand, the huge mobile internet market, relying on the operator's own strength has been difficult to monopolize, with the Internet business, terminal manufacturers cooperation has been the inevitable development.

At the same time, it is important that operators of their traditional business needs timely innovation, improve service levels. In recent years, social networking sites have been popular because of their continuous innovation, through a variety of ways to meet people's information exchange, information sharing needs. Operators, as enterprises engaged in information services, need to make their own efforts in information exchange and information sharing.

The face of mobile internet this big cake, operators, terminal manufacturers, internet business who are unwilling to miss, who want to grab the cake knife. But the key must be from the market, from the user to start, only the user satisfaction, can really get the market recognition.