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I'm currently staying in Bangalore. I had to join WhatsApp because most of relatives on Facebook moved on to WhatsApp and there are atleast like 6-7 groups on
by kamaal 13y ago
I'm currently staying in Bangalore.
I had to join WhatsApp because most of relatives on Facebook moved on to WhatsApp and there are atleast like 6-7 groups on my WhatsApp. Friends, Office colleagues, cousins and other people.
I'm rarely seeing FB updates from my friends these days. Most of it happens on WhatsApp channels.
So its not a surprise FB bought them. Because if they don't they risk losing all users to WhatsApp, at least that's how it is here in India.
- diminish 13y agoi had the following, icq, msn zone, msn messenger (live, hotmail.....:-), aim, irc, meebo, y!messenger, sms, blackmerry messenger, gtalk/hangout, facebook messages, twitters dms. so far I'm resisting whatsapp, viber... I'm curious what the future will bring.
- kamaal 13y agoI'm always late to adopt things. But the issue is if everyone else is on a system, the only way to sanely communicate with them is to join that system. I had to join FB and Orkut for the same reasons.
- medell 13y agoI'm in Ecuador and most young people (which is a lot here, the average age is 26) use a combination of Whatsapp, FB and SMS. Ex-pats avoid SMS as they are usually on pay-as-you-go plans on $20 phones. It can't be like this forever, as the network effect leans towards a single messaging solution, the carriers will lose their hold on SMS as a revenue stream. But this will depend heavily on universal Internet access.
- mr_luc 13y agoAs one of those expats (starting my 8th year in a little fishing village in pacific coastal ecuador), can I just say -- We're on pay-as-you-go plans, but usually on nice phones we brought unlocked from our home countries. I'm typing this on my trusty Air, which is tethered through an unlocked iPhone 4S. I'm also listening to waves crash. We got our first swell in a month yesterday, and non-locals are showing up a day late ... 4 or 5 of them. A crowd. I was the only one out for the good stuff yesterday, and I sucked the marrow out of it, and am instead enjoying sitting on my balcony drinking coffee and vagando here on HN. Ahhh. Where was I? Oh, yes. I can confirm the crazy-fast penetration of both smartphones in general (probably way over 90% android), WhatsApp in particular, and the FB/WhatsApp/SMS mix. So WhatsApp isn't the internet here yet. But it's definitely got brand parity with Facebook around here. Which is pretty amazing considering their relative valuations.
- balladeer 13y agoI live in Bangalore too! It's just that most of my friends are moving from WhatsApp to Viber and remaining will hopefully move now. I have around 10 groups running from school, boarding, college, jobs and some more. Fb buying them is a deal breaker. None of my "well read" friends are going to trust WhatsApp with those nude photos, short pornos or very very personal information we share. I don't know. Facebook just looks like a desperate chap.