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Leaving WhatsApp is not as easy, in many countries you need it to do things like buying to local producers or communicating with a client. The network effect is
by mercacona 6y ago
Leaving WhatsApp is not as easy, in many countries you need it to do things like buying to local producers or communicating with a client. The network effect is more unavoidable than in other FB products.
- Mediterraneo10 6y agoWhen traveling West Africa overland, I found that Whatsapp was essential for contacting guesthouses down the road. Due to inconsistent electrical supply in the region, accommodation proprietors don’t have constant mobile phone availability, so trying to contact them on the phone is often fruitless. Instead, they all ask to be contacted over Whatsapp, so that when they get a chance to charge their devices they can catch up on whatever messages have been sent to them in the meantime. Also, I found in South America that almost no one would respond to an SMS sent to them. Apparently, SMSs used to be extremely expensive, so a culture developed of never answering them. If you want any kind of reply, then people insist you use Whatsapp.
- komali2 6y agoIt's also worth mentioning that the whatsapp team still is filled with dedicated anti-surveillance types, leftovers from the original company (note that the founder publicly came out against facebook after the sale). I don't know how much longer that'll be the case, now that they're all vesting, but they're in there.