Everything Tech and Social

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In a panel discussion at this week's Facebook <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-f8-live-blog-2015-3" sl-processed="1">F8 developer event</a>,
 the head honchos behind Messenger, WhatsApp, and Instagram sat down to 
explain why the social network owns and operates three apps that compete
 with its own core business.<br />
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<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">"There's a theory that in five years, all
 your products will morph into one. Maybe it'll be called 
WhatsInstaMessage," said panel moderator Mary Meeker.</span></div>
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<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">The key, it turns out, is simplicity: </span><span style="line-height: 1.5em;">Facebook and Facebook Messenger are only getting bigger and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/facebook-just-announced-messenger-platform-2015-3" sl-processed="1">more complicated</a>. Apps that do one thing, and do it really well, are the social network's hedge against bloat and user burnout. </span></div>
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<span class="s1">Anybody who can't handle Facebook 
Messenger will probably find something to like about the simplicity of 
Instagram and WhatsApp. And that goes double in the developing world, 
where the cutting edge devices and fast Internet connections required 
for Facebook's full service aren't going to penetrate for some time. </span></div>
<h3 class="p1">
<span class="s1"><strong>Learning simple the hard way</strong></span></h3>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">But both WhatsApp and Instagram had to 
learn to keep things simple the hard way. As independent startups, both 
originally tried to do too much.</span></div>
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<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">WhatsApp was originally supposed to be a 
more direct Facebook competitor, letting users post statuses. When that 
fell flat, WhatsApp pivoted to be a super-simple messenger that did one 
thing well, and thrived. </span></div>
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<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">"Simple, simple, simple has always been our mantra," said WhatsApp founder Brian Acton.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Instagram has a similar story, trying 
something complicated before stepping back to do something really simple
 "that solves a real problem" in a cool way, Krieger says.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">"If I had a tattoo, it would say 'do the simple thing first,'" quipped Krieger. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Meeker cut to the burning question, asking how the companies that all do similar things work with each other.</span></div>
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<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">"How do you take the best of each other without stepping on each other's toes?" Meeker asked.</span></div>
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<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><strong>WhatsApp: Simple messaging.</strong> Acton
 said WhatsApp just keeps its head down and focuses on providing a super
 simple messaging product. He's not worried about the Facebook platform,
 but any resources are there if he needs it, and he's a resource for 
anybody there.</span></div>
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<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">For WhatsApp, that future is in voice. 
Voice chat just came out for the Android app for WhatsApp, and is coming
 in the next few weeks for Apple iOS devices. But maybe more importantly
 than that is keeping the service reliable.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">"We spend a lot of time on just making it work," Acton. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Meeker also called out WhatsApp's 
international growth, which Acton attributed to the company's focus on 
fixing problems as customers discover them, making sure the app works on
 the tremendous variety of networks and carriers across the globe.</span></div>
<br />
<div class="p1">
This focus on simplicity comes with a downside, however. 
Two separate developers asked the panel for a WhatsApp API so they can 
build apps on top of that platform, too — only to be denied.</div>
<br />
<div class="p1">
"The user experience is what we must hold sacred," Acton said.</div>
<br />
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"><strong>Instagram: Great things with photos, and better discovery. </strong>Instagram
 just doubles down on providing an awesome photo experience, Krieger 
says, where people (and celebrities) can use the core app, the new 
Layouts app, and Hyperlapse to do things with their images and share 
them in a way you can't do with any of the other apps. </span></div>
<br />
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">The future, for Instagram, is in 
discovery — finding a single user among the 300 million using Instagram 
is a challenge, Krieger acknowledged. It turns out people like 
Instagram's Discover functionality, where it recommends photos. </span></div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1"></span> </div>
<div class="p1">
<span class="s1">Credit: businesinsider.com</span></div>

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