What are the ways to save it?
Posted via CB10
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What are the ways to save it?
Posted via CB10
BBM lost it long time a go, then introduced functions which would have lifted it from the oblivion, the management then decided to use them as a luring for monetizing BBM which in tun sunk it deeper into the thing they are trying to avoid.
There have been rumors of something called "stickers" coming to BBM that will bring It back to mainstream.
Well there are many things that BBM could do to monetise & yet don't antagonise the subscribers but I'm not sure if they are doing it.
There are also many things that BBM should do to make the app better and they are also not doing it too. That's why BBM will soon sink into the abyss.
Posted via CB10
Isn't more marketing the solution to all that ails BlackBerry?
Yes, more marketing is the answer for BlackBerry. This marketing has to address the fear & the talk that BlackBerry is closing down.
In terms of #BBM they need to do things that will make people want to use it. These has to be for free & at the same time make plenty of money for BBM. There are plenty of ways to do this & it has nothing to do with in-app advertising as well.
Posted via CB10
I was being facetious. More marketing will not save BlackBerry's handsets. Getting more devices in the hands of as many people as possible - not just "business users" - is the key. The way to do that is to sell competitively priced handsets ($750 USD for a wanna-be high-end flagship is just unrealistic).
As far as saving BBM? What kind of mass-marketing has Snapchat or Whatsapp really done more effectively than BBM? They seem to have grown mostly virally and by word-of-mouth.
There are a zillion IM apps out there, so BBM has to do something to set itself apart from the rest and attract users or it will continue to decline.
And, frankly, for the average user concerned about security, BBM is not the best option.
https://www.eff.org/secure-messaging-scorecard
BBM Protected is pretty secure, but it requires a comparatively high subscription price, so the average user is just not going to go for that when there are other secure IM options out there that are much cheaper or free.
Well, I have put my BBM pin in all of my email signatures, even for work. This is in place of my cell phone. Like previously mentioned in this thread, WhatsApp and SnapChat have become popular through word of mouth.. It felt awkward at first, having my pin being sent out there but, I quickly realized I'd rather have my pin out there than my cell phone anyway. Just my two cents..
I've done that, too. I've also sent out numerous email invites. I've gotten 3 relatives and 1 friend to try it and only 2 of them still use it to some degree. I think the rest just don't see the need for yet another IM app besides the ones they already use. FB Messenger, Whatsapp, Snapchat - they've sucked all the air out of the IM room.
Sorry but at. This point....its a lost cause.
Posted via CB10
Not through word of mouth... through effective marketing campaigns.
PassportSQW100-1/10.3.2.2339
Exactly. And there is one ray of hope to rescue BB10 OS and by default BBM and that is to open BB10 OS by making it an open source operating system like Android and let Blackberry consentrate on differentiating them-self through Black Berry services.
Making a product that is better..... not waiting for others to add Video and then just now release a beta version of Video for cross platform BBM. Not waiting for others to create demand for Stickers and then copying it.
BlackBerry would need to go to whatever markets there are out there that still use BBM and try to improve the user experience. Improving the product would need to be a major concern for the company.
In the US market... integrate SMS with BBM.
Instant Messaging apps/services are a fickle breed. Every couple years or so, someone reinvents the wheel and a new one comes out, and it's suddenly the cool new trend. It'll probably always be that way. And usually they become popular in their infancy while they still lack features compared to the already established solutions. When BBM became popular, it was only because BB devices dominated the smartphone market, but realistically BBM wasn't any better (and had less features) compared to any other existing IM platforms at the time. AIM, ICQ, Yahoo Messenger, and even Google Talk (which to this day I never understood why it was abandoned because it was actually quite good at the time), had more features and services than BBM. Even if BBM had gone cross platform earlier when they should have, it would have suffered the same fate eventually (albeit maybe not as soon).
Eventually Whatsapp, Snapchat, etc.. will see declines too when newer IM services reinvent the wheel.
The PIN is the number one reason that BBM cannot compete in the consumer market. Why? for the same reason that I type "amazon.com" into a browser instead of 54.239.25.208
The PIN does have an advantage... I have literally a couple thousand contacts. I'd much prefer giving them a pin when it's needed for them, versus my phone number or email address (like whatsapp and snapchat use) as an identifier. While Whatsapp and Snapchat have methods in place to block followers, the flaw is that they have either your phone number or other contact information which can be used to further communicate with you even if you choose not to see anything from them within those services. Block somebody on whatsapp? They have your phone number to send you SMS.
A PIN or any form of service specific identifier is much better than using a generic identifier that can be accessed via other services.
Out of my couple thousand contacts, less than 1% can email/SMS/call me directly. Simply because I choose not to give them that ability. And I'd like to keep it that way. Which is the number one reason I don't use Whatsapp. Because my phone # isn't my identifier.
Absolutely true, which is why its there in the first place. However the vast majority of users have deemed it too cumbersome.
BTW, how did you get your thousands of contacts to use BBM? I try to get a few people to use it and they respond with "Why don't YOU just get WhatsApp?"
Oh my thousands (around 2500) aren't by any means BBM contacts. Heck no. I have less than a couple dozen contacts that actually have BBM installed anymore, and even then they keep BBM "just cuz". And they almost never use BBM as a default to contact me.
They are mostly Hangouts users (because I can control which circles can contact me versus every Joe User). I do a pretty good job of leveraging G+ for my business contacts.
That's exactly what I have learned after switching my email signature to show my PIN rather than my cell phone number. I have a lot more control on how that person can reach me, or not reach me if I so choose. And isn't that kind of the essence of security, or at least managing your own security?
Posted via CB10
Well more accurately, it's more an essence or element of Privacy versus Security. But yes. A unique identifier is much better than a uniform identifier that can allow anybody to contact you willy nilly (IMHO).
I guess, but you are limiting yourself to people contacting you by either emailing you back or through BBM? Seems like most people won't bother to install BBM to contact you with a call or they won't have any idea what your PIN even means.
What is the big deal about installing/having "yet another IM app besides the one they already use"? LOL, are their phones running low on memory?
I think you missed the point of his post. He was pointing out that he changed his standard practice, and was limiting wanton release of his contact information when it shouldn't be out there. Which is a good thing. No need to pounce on home for it.
I don't know how I was hammering him on anything. I simply said he's limiting himself to someone replying back to his email or installing and using BBM, which a lot of people won't do. So if he's emailing someone and would like a reply, it's limiting to email if the person doesn't have BBM or doesn't know what it is. Not to mention it's basically telling someone that if you want to call him they have to install an app, which is a step that a lot of people won't take.
Exactly. I don't install apps I don't already use to contact ANYONE, PERIOD. And a lot of people are the same, even if they don't do it out of principle as I do, but rather out of apathy or indifference. It's especially true when you know that you aren't likely to contact anyone else you know with that method.
And that's the point: messaging, much like social networking, is one of those services where "network effect" really, really matters. If you don't have the users, you'd better offer something that MOST people will find important if you hope to grow. BBM offers additional privacy, but it does so at the expense of usability, and that has resulted in negative network effects (people left in droves, and the userbase [monthly active users] is still shrinking). Whereas WhatsApp made network discovery seamless, and while that chafes those who are sticklers for privacy, the average user LOVES IT because it makes WhatsApp both easy and instantly valuable to them, by having a big list of users who they already know automatically populate. BBM wins the privacy battle, but lost the user war - and WhatsApp, now that it is the defacto standard, is starting to increase security and privacy, further eroding BBM's advantages.
BB has always been good at security, but has always been bad at making security "consumer friendly" - because security is inherently consumer UNfriendly and because BB created a culture where being consumer friendly wasn't deemed to be all that important. And that's a big reason for why BB made many of the decisions that it made, which has resulted in BB losing marketshare and clout and tens of billions of dollars. They simply didn't deliver what the majority of the market wanted, so the majority of the market chose other options.