Since its
launch two weeks ago, more than 20 million people have downloaded and used
BlackBerry’s BBM messaging app on iPhone and Android smart phones. Although
there aren’t any available statistics to show just how many of these new BBM
users are Nigerians, with about 1.8mn blackberry owners, it would not be
farfetched to guess that Nigerian smart phone users welcomed this development
with open arms.
Research
in Motion (RIM) says that BBM now has 80m monthly active users, with 60m on
BlackBerry smartphones and 20m across iPhone and Android. Does this mean that
all is well and good? Not quite. The true test of BBM’s success however, is
whether or not these new users will continue to use the app; that in itself is
quite debatable.
Some
analysts think that BBM has gone main stream a bit too late.
While the
Canadian company kept its instant messaging the exclusive preserve of
blackberry users alone, some others took control of the mainstream market.
WhatsApp, with about 350 mn users is a perfect example. Free to download and
use (although WhatsApp costs $1 a year after the first year), subscribers use
internet to swap text messages, pictures, voice clips, “stickers”, and even
videos, between most types of phones. There are still more huddles to cross,
the unique pin of the BBM being chief.
The power
of a social app rests largely on the number of people in a person’s social
network that use that app. When a whatsapp subscriber has the phone number of
another whatsapp subscriber, it doesn’t take rocket science to connect. Another
thing is, although Nigerians are largely a smart phone bunch, it is still a
developing country; this implies that more people having cheaper,
not-very-smart phones than those with smart-phones.
The BBM
seems to be structured in such a way that it appeals to the latter alone; this
is a barrier that apps like whatsapp, facebook and twitter transcend. Even the
contacts and calendar sharing that BBM made possible on BlackBerry handsets
have not migrated to the Apple and Android versions.
Other
services expose BBM’s limitations: unlike Skype it does not yet offer video or
voice calls. Some say that this might soon change. Reports say that later this
year, BBM Channels will provide a forum for active, real conversations people,
brands, celebrities, artists, service providers, communities and more, that
matter to you. By creating a Channel, individuals and brands can engage their
friends and communities in conversations sparked by their thoughts, ideas and
passions.
Subscribing
to a Channel will let you join conversations with people who share your
interests. In addition, BBM Video calling and BBM Voice calling are planned for
availability for Android and iPhone in a future version. This also might answer
the question of how the financially unstable pioneers of this platform hope to
make some money from the entire thing. It is already obvious what the other
smart phone companies are getting from this-less patronage to the competition-
but how does this move help RIM especially since the app is for free?
Advertising is the answer, experts say.
“We do
expect the company will begin to announce its plans to monetize this social app
in the not-too-distant future,” said a Canadian analyst, “BBM Channels is
expected to be out soon and we expect some kind of advertising model to come
with that initiative. We are also expecting a business version of BBM to be
announced. In the near term we believe BBM could likely generate around
$300-million/year in mobile ad revenue, similar where we believe Twitter is.”
In the
meantime, we’d keep our fingers crossed, and ping away. Time will tell.
Vanguard
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