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Not sure I quite understand the argument against Facebook here, though I might just be missing something. The market for messaging apps is pretty saturated wit

Not sure I quite understand the argument against Facebook here, though I might just be missing something. The market for messaging apps is pretty saturated with competitors at the moment; if I didn't like their WhatsApp and Facebook accounts merging, for example, I could just bounce to iMessage / Kik / Snap / Telegram. Whether or not you agree / disagree with the security & user experience argument from FB (I personally can see both sides,) the low switching costs will always mean the user has quite a bit of power here.

freehunter 7y ago
"The users can just switch" doesn't actually work when the switching costs are high, and the switching costs for a social network are a lot higher than you are making it seem. If all of my friends are using WhatsApp, either I have to use it too or I have to convince everyone to switch to my preferred app just for my sake. And in the case of iMessage, I have to ask them to switch their phone too. If these systems could interoperate with each other it'd be different, but as-is, the switching costs are astronomical.
- kimsant 7y ago
  if all my friends are using Whatsapp... if all the phones come with google apps that track me Do you see the difference? The cost of changing can be "social gravity" (Whatsapp, WeChat, Telegram... depends of country and environment) a cost of learning something new (from Windows to Mac or any Linux distribution)... but it shouldn't be structural enforcement via no alternative given at a reasonable price. That is called Android and Google but wait, the trend is Facebook now so lets just focus on if Instagram and Whatsapp merge a little more or less... Dump dump dump dump dump!!!
- scarface74 7y ago
  So what should the government do? Tell all your friends not to use WhatsApp? How do you propose that you get interoperability and security? iMessage already interoperates with the standard phone messaging protocol - sms.
  - giancarlostoro 7y ago
    The benefit of iMessage is the encryption. Which SMS doesnt compare to that level of encryption used by Apple. Would rather iMessage be a paid for Android app. I woulda bought it but I might just switch phones altogether. Sick of Googles spying and political regime insanity (see Project Veritas).
JoshTriplett 7y ago
> if I didn't like their WhatsApp and Facebook accounts merging, for example, I could just bounce to iMessage / Kik / Snap / Telegram. > low switching costs Messaging services do not have low switching costs, for the same reason that Facebook itself does not have a low switching cost. People use the service that has their friends on it.
- morty_s 7y ago
  This. As childish as it sounds, I know a few people that get left out of group chats because they’ll turn the whole thing green...
RichardHeart 7y ago
Switching costs are not low whatsoever. Good luck getting everyone you know to use a new platform for you. Further, I don't think you've supported "saturated" as a claim here.

freehunter 7y ago

"The users can just switch" doesn't actually work when the switching costs are high, and the switching costs for a social network are a lot higher than you are making it seem. If all of my friends are using WhatsApp, either I have to use it too or I have to convince everyone to switch to my preferred app just for my sake. And in the case of iMessage, I have to ask them to switch their phone too. If these systems could interoperate with each other it'd be different, but as-is, the switching costs are astronomical.

kimsant 7y ago
if all my friends are using Whatsapp... if all the phones come with google apps that track me Do you see the difference? The cost of changing can be "social gravity" (Whatsapp, WeChat, Telegram... depends of country and environment) a cost of learning something new (from Windows to Mac or any Linux distribution)... but it shouldn't be structural enforcement via no alternative given at a reasonable price. That is called Android and Google but wait, the trend is Facebook now so lets just focus on if Instagram and Whatsapp merge a little more or less... Dump dump dump dump dump!!!
scarface74 7y ago
So what should the government do? Tell all your friends not to use WhatsApp? How do you propose that you get interoperability and security? iMessage already interoperates with the standard phone messaging protocol - sms.
- giancarlostoro 7y ago
  The benefit of iMessage is the encryption. Which SMS doesnt compare to that level of encryption used by Apple. Would rather iMessage be a paid for Android app. I woulda bought it but I might just switch phones altogether. Sick of Googles spying and political regime insanity (see Project Veritas).

JoshTriplett 7y ago

> if I didn't like their WhatsApp and Facebook accounts merging, for example, I could just bounce to iMessage / Kik / Snap / Telegram. > low switching costs Messaging services do not have low switching costs, for the same reason that Facebook itself does not have a low switching cost. People use the service that has their friends on it.

morty_s 7y ago
This. As childish as it sounds, I know a few people that get left out of group chats because they’ll turn the whole thing green...

RichardHeart 7y ago

Switching costs are not low whatsoever. Good luck getting everyone you know to use a new platform for you. Further, I don't think you've supported "saturated" as a claim here.