Just over a year ago, I wrote about the prolific rise of cross-platform mobile messaging apps along with the corresponding exodus of users in terms of “small circle conversation” on major social platforms. At that time , few people at my workshops or among clients ever heard of WhatsApp. Even up until very recently, I would still get blank stares when asking people if they knew anything about it.
As of today that will no longer be an issue.
Facebook just bought WhatsApp for $19 Billion.
Huh?
Let me explain what I mean. Here’s a brief history of Facebook from my own personal experience.
I joined Facebook sometime in mid 2006. It was only open to colleges and universities, quickly followed by cities. Up until that point, the main conversation platforms for myself and my close friends other than in-person conversations, email and the phone were tools such as ICQ followed by MSN chat. Within a few months the majority migrated to Facebook even though it was a step back (lack of chat feature initially) at the same time it was a step forward (social element: 2-way, one-to-many platform, photo sharing, etc…).
First thing I thought of when Google+ launched a few months ago was that they were making a big promotional mistake by making their USP (unique selling proposition) the fact that they allow users to create “circles”.
Why did I think it was a mistake?
One of the key things I remember that my strategic management prof would drill into our heads back in business school was to always differentiate between a “competitive advantage” and a “sustainable competitive advantage”. In Google’s case, the circle feature was clearly the former. In other words, a competitive advantage with a short lifespan; something that competitors could easily replicate.