The age of mobile has changed the way services are made, instead of a large social service encompassing every feature of social networking, there are specific services for one feature.
Facebook has learned this with the acquisition of Instagram and WhatsApp, and the launch of apps like Facebook Messenger, Groups, Mentions, Paper and Rooms—all offering one specific feature.
Twitter is still a bit dark in this aspect however, only offering Vine as a short-video platform. There are different ways to view Twitter—through Tweetdeck, Twitterrific and other third-parties—but these do not extend Twitter’s core functionality.
What Twitter is in desperate need of is a messaging platform, either homegrown or acquired. The current DM service is not useful, and Twitter either needs to update the service, or make a new one.
The necessary features for the Twitter messaging service are:
- Standalone app
- Spam/friend filters
- Connection with main service
In typical Twitter fashion, perhaps users will only be able to type 140 character messages, allowing a more steady back-and-forth between two users.
Implementation of Groups, stickers are other features would be a plus, but Twitter could get away with a bare bones standalone experience, as long as it integrates with Twitter’s main service.
If Twitter decides to acquire, here are three potential candidates:
- Kik Messenger – Large user-base; Twitter kickstarted the growth; can be moulded into Twitter-esc service.
- Viber – International user base; VoIP; smart implementation of groups.
- Snapchat – An oddball choice, but would be a huge boon for Twitter.
Of course, Twitter could go for a much smaller acquisition or just start poking around for messaging talent. There is plenty of available routes for the microblogging website.
One of the big questions is where Twitter is going and what they want to be, and a solid messaging service might show they are in the game for the long term.
