In 2008, almost every one of my friends had a BlackBerry, and swore by BlackBerry Messenger (BBM), the company's lightning-fast messaging app. It wouldn't be a stretch, in fact, to say that most of my friends bought a BlackBerry just to be able to use BBM. In combination with the world's fastest hardware keyboard, BBM offered a new degree of speed and utility. Never before could we chat on mobile as quickly as we could IM on desktops.
Five years later, I can't name a single friend who owns a BlackBerry. Their phones have all been replaced by iPhones and Androids, and maybe a couple Windows Phones here and there. BBM has been replaced by iMessage, WhatsApp, Kik Messenger, and Snapchat. The shift from BlackBerry to newer, more modern platforms is nearly complete. BBM languished as the apps it helped inspire thrived and gained hundreds of millions of users. Yet, BlackBerry just this week launched BBM for iPhone and Android — perhaps its last chance at capitalizing on the brand equity the company once commanded.
No comments:
Post a Comment