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0 pointsembedding-shape1mo ago0 comments

I guess if you want to lower that number, you'd need to build something better, in some way. Answered as another European who've had Whatsapp forever, as some stubborn people refuse to move away from it, and also bunch of businesses use it.

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01HNNWZ0MV43FF1mo ago

Network effect is killer. "better" would include having more than 3 billion people already on it.

Maybe the EU or China will crack down on it. A single company shouldn't decide who gets to talk to half the world. If that company is American they will not tolerate it for long.

Personally DeltaChat is my new favorite Thing but it falls afoul of Zooko's Triangle - A WhatsApp number or POTS number is short because it's centrally controlled and you have to pay for each one. DeltaChat has public keys, so I have 20 of them, and nobody can control who gets one, but they're incredibly long... the QR codes are nightmares.

embedding-shapeOP1mo ago

> Network effect is killer. "better" would include having more than 3 billion people already on it.

At one point people moved from something else to Whatsapp, and that happened before Whatsapp had 3 billion people on it. If it's good, early adopters will adopt it and want others to adopt it too, then it snowballs from there.

It has happened before, and as long as new regulation doesn't solidify Whatsapp/FB in their position, it can happen again :)

riffraff1mo ago

WhatsApp happened at a time when, in Europe, you paid for SMS.

WhatsApp allowed people to send SMS without paying, or rather, paying just once to buy the app, so it was instantly valuable if you just convinced your spouse or parents or a single friend to install it.

To overcome it now, you need a lot more effort (or rely on enshittification, which I'm sure will happen).

1 more reply

stavros1mo ago

The EU has already forced WhatsApp to be interoperable. Of course, Meta complied maliciously, making it a setting that you have to enable, but at least it's a start.

embedding-shapeOP1mo ago

I guess the bean counters figured it'd be cheaper compared to ultimately paying the fine they get for maliciously following the rules. Hope the fine ends up large enough to make them wrong :)

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse

0 comments

01HNNWZ0MV43FF1mo ago

Network effect is killer. "better" would include having more than 3 billion people already on it.

Maybe the EU or China will crack down on it. A single company shouldn't decide who gets to talk to half the world. If that company is American they will not tolerate it for long.

embedding-shapeOP1mo ago

> Network effect is killer. "better" would include having more than 3 billion people already on it.

It has happened before, and as long as new regulation doesn't solidify Whatsapp/FB in their position, it can happen again :)

riffraff1mo ago

WhatsApp happened at a time when, in Europe, you paid for SMS.

To overcome it now, you need a lot more effort (or rely on enshittification, which I'm sure will happen).

1 more reply

stavros1mo ago

The EU has already forced WhatsApp to be interoperable. Of course, Meta complied maliciously, making it a setting that you have to enable, but at least it's a start.

embedding-shapeOP1mo ago

I guess the bean counters figured it'd be cheaper compared to ultimately paying the fine they get for maliciously following the rules. Hope the fine ends up large enough to make them wrong :)

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse