Can messaging apps beat SMS in the US?

This chart illustrates how the use of mobile phones in the United States has changed between 2005 and 2012. Just as messaging apps are starting to get traction in the US, a couple of interesting data points have been shared recently:

  1. The CTIA, a wireless industry trade association, announced that the number of sent messages went down for the first time ever in the US.
  2. Informa recently published a research note stating that the number of IP-based messages had overtaken traditional text messages worldwide

Services like Kik, Viber or WhatsApp are definitely gaining users popularity in the US. The question is whether or not they can survive in the long run. While their engagement is very high, the difficulty of utility apps is finding ways to monetize.

In Asian markets, Kakao Talk and Line have monetized by becoming a distribution platform and selling stickers. Will that work in the US market? Even if it does, it looks like Facebook Messenger has a clear advantage since it does not necessarily need to be ROI positive as a standalone app, just as a way to keep users on Facebook.

Reed Hastings was right again

About five years ago I asked Reed Hastings, Netflix’s CEO, why they didn’t also rent videogames. His answer was very clear: Netflix was in the movie business, not the DVD mailing business. While in the short term they could be missing some revenue, focus was clearly the right strategy in the long-term.

In July 2011, the company announced a new pricing model that caused a major uproar. After a couple of years, it seems that Reed Hastings was right again.

In July 2011, Netflix CEO Reed Hastings announced a new pricing model separating its streaming service from DVD-rentals. The combined subscription that had previously cost $9.99 was split into two separate plans at $7.99 each. The pricing reform was followed by public outcry over what was effectively a 60 percent price hike for subscribers of both services.

Consumed by “it”

Yesterday I listened to a pretty unique sermon at my local Church. John Ortberg, the pastor at Menlo Park Presbyterian Church, chose to show a video of him running on a treadmill to represent our relentless, neverending pursuit of “it”. “It” are those targets that we expect will solve our lives and fill us with happiness. e.g. a house, $1M, a partner, a new job, a sports car. Unfortunately, once we reach “it” we immediately discover another new target. He used many quotes of Ecclesiastes, one of my favorite books. I encourage you to spend the next 15 minutes watching the video.

Unfortunately life sounds too much like a social game sometimes. Having worked on them for a while I can tell you that most games have an infinite number of levels. Choose the one you play wisely and enjoy it.

 

Are digital subscriptions saving the music industry?

The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) just published its annual Digital Music report. In 2012 the industry saw its first year of growth (+0.3%) since 1999. There are a couple of other interesting data points:

  • Digital revenues increased by an estimated 9 per cent to US$5.6 billion in 2012, now accounting for around 34 per cent of global industry revenues.
  • Download sales increased in volume by 12 per cent globally in 2012 and represent around 70 per cent of overall digital music revenues.
  • The number of people paying to use subscription services leapt 44 per cent in 2012 to 20 million. Subscription revenues are expected to account for more than 10 per cent of digital revenues for the first time in 2012.
  • Digital channels account for the majority of record companies’ income in an increasing number of markets including India, Norway, Sweden and the US.

The report also keeps calling out piracy as the main barrier to growth, yet there hasn’t been a significant milestone in this area that could explain the growth in the industry in 2012. What has been driving the growth is companies getting closer to a value proposition for users that is better and more convenient than piracy at an acceptable cost: digital subscriptions with unlimited streaming and a gigantic music catalog. In Sweden, home of Spotify and the Pirate Bay, almost 50% of internet users used a subscription service in 2012. Subscriptions are disrupting piracy.

What this industry needs is more carrots, less sticks.

Mobile != on the go

Mobile apps are optimized to deliver instantaneous location-based value for users on the go. When tablets started growing, companies started treating them differently from smartphones. The assumption was that its use was mostly at home.  Harvard Business Review has now published a study that included this terrific piece of information:

Mobile doesn’t always mean on the go. New data show that 68% of consumers’ smartphone use happens at home.

The article was focused on the implications of this for ecommerce. Today I would like you to think of what this means for your product. Can you deliver local, immediate experiences for the 32% of people on the go and broader, deeper experiences for the other 68%?

Figure out how to monetize mobile

KPCB‘s Mary Meeker did a terrific presentation at D10 last week. You can go over the deck yourself, it’s available below.

I’ll point out some of the highlights:

  • 1.1B Global Mobile 3G Subscribers, 37% Growth, Q4 – @ Only 18% of Mobile Subscribers. Impressive 29% of USA Adults Own Tablet / eReader,Up from 2% Less Than Three Years Ago. Despite Tremendous Ramp So Far,Smartphone User Adoption Has Huge Upside.
  • Global Mobile Traffic Growing Rapidly to 10% of Internet Traffic
  • Rapidly Growing Mobile Internet Usage SurpassedMore Highly Monetized Desktop Internet Usage in May, 2012, in India
  • eCPMs 5x Lower on Mobile than Desktop
  • ARPU (Average Revenue per User) 1.7-5x Lower on Mobile than Desktop

It seems that monetizing mobile went from being an opportunity to a necessity for survival.

KPCB Internet Trends 2012 by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers

FB

Credit: Zef Nikolla

Today Facebook became a public company. This is not only a great moment for social media but for venture capital, Silicon Valley and entrepreneurship.

Congratulations to all of you who made it happen. Thanks for keeping the dream alive.

Still not tablet ready?

A month ago I published a post on the iPad outselling all major PC manufacturers. This week Forrester published a study that makes it clear that tablets are also changing user behavior; disrupting print and online media, music and gaming.

Device convergence is nothing new, but for many the device of choice is still mobile phones. The richer UX that tablets provide enables more complex and longer experiences, that can be monetized better.

This chart shows the results of a survey among U.S. tablet owners regarding changes in their media and device use since they own a tablet.

Crowdfunding as an alternative to bootstrapping or venture capital?

This week, industry veteran Tim Schafer (Day of the Tentacle, Full Throttle, Grim Fandango), managed to raise $3,336,371 to fund his next game. Crowdfunding is now so popular, especially for games, that there was even a session at GDC 2012.

So far, however, crowdfunding has been mostly a way to fund projects with unclear commercial potential. What we haven’t seen yet is a startup that uses crowdfunding as essentially a “free” series seed. Entrepreneurs could prove there is a market for their product and get customer feedback.

I am sure it will not take too long.

If you never saw the video Tim used to raise funds, here it is: