I remember many years ago being introduced to WhatsApp by Labiba Laith . This was long before Manfredi and Johnson were killed in a horrible freak accident involving a very persistent sewer navigating suicide bomb attack shark “Don’t ask”.
I didn’t think much of WhatsApp back then and I still don’t think much of it right now because it’s not pretty, but I sure use it a lot. As of September 2015, WhatsApp has 900 million users. And hauled home 19 billion dollars as part of a much publicized Facebook deal (Mark Zuckerberg can only count in billions).
Don’t believe me? Check this link right here. It’s on the internet, so it must be true.
It’s now probably the most used app on most people’s smartphone. Facebook, Apple and Google know this. It is used for Family Groups to exchange messages and photos, Boxing groups like mine where I schedule a boxing training sessions that 90% of the wannabe boxers confirm they are coming, but actually don’t, because they have a meeting or the weather is too hot or my cat needs me tonight or some other noncommittal stuff like that. You know… stuff like I got work tomorrow and I don’t want to get hit in the mouth. Anywho.
The point is, what’s next for WhatsApp? Without getting into boring techie stuff. These are the options Kowalski gave me:
Option 1: A WhatsApp File system
For a small fee, let’s say another USD 0.99 per year, you could store all your files on WhatsApp forever. “They do this already I suspect but they don’t tell you about it”. Telegram does something like that — without investment from your side — as my friend George tells me, but who has time for other channels? What you need is the place that everybody is on because everybody is on it. You could probably have access to your files in a nifty WhatsApp-Web-like structure that shows you the stuff you have shared or has been shared with you. A conversation view might be better and more natural. A WhatsApp Sync if you will, where all your files are somewhere on your desktop or laptop or tablet somewhere. In fact, what is WhatsApp Web if not a nice storage place for your files? The problem with WhatsApp Web is that the minute you delete a conversation — and you will delete conversations because you are human and you talk to many people — your files in the conversation are also gone.
You remember things by people. The presenation you sent to your line manager? You remember it by remembering your line manager. That photo of your kid you sent to your mom? You remember it because you remember sending it to your mom. You get the idea. The less things to remember, the better. Will they do it? I don’t know. But they should . Facebook is all about making connections, and I want connections to my files dammit!
Option 2: A WhatsApp Feed
A WhatsApp Newsfeed based on your friends’ status updates on Facebook is probably one of the reasons Zuck decided to buy them. They were one feed feature away from being another social network — with 500 Million users — that runs on all mobiles. I don’t think Facebook is too keen on cannibalizing traffic from its main assets (web or mobile) but I’m sure they’re thinking about what-if scenarios. I hear they have good people there.
Here is how this could work: my public Facebook posts gets cross posted as a status update to my WhatsApp status. The value and utility? One less thing to check and arguably a better WhatsApp that shows you what your friends are up to along with a nice link to launch that post in Facebook. Just like they do in messenger. By the way, when are they going to merge Messenger and WhatsApp? Get to it already. Likelihood? When Halle Berry asks me out on a date.
Option 3: Do Nothing
Be Facebook’s little cousin who does only messaging and file exchange without capitalizing on the fact that this is the entry point for the next billion users whom you can damn sure bet will come from the developing world.
I wonder what Manfredi and Johnson would do?
