Why do people use WhatsApp/Friendster/Etc

[aeonrevolution]

aJust curious. Things like WhatsApp and Viber and other various forms of "all-in-one" social programs. Why do people use them? I'm not sure if it is an anti-facebook/google thing. As far as calling and texting goes, I just call and text people. Why do you need a third party program to do this?

I'm not trying to bash on these programs. I really am just trying to see if I'm missing something.


EDIT!! Turns out Friendster is no longer what I remembered it as being. Now it is a social gaming site. Disregard that.

 

[Crystal Gaol]

I've used WhatsApp to text to colleagues in foreign countries or to text while in a foreign country with a US-based phone, where traditional SMS texting is costly.

Beyond those two use-cases, I otherwise have no need for it and didn't even consider installing it until I was informed that they were using it.

 

[zzang]

I use WhatsApp for group chats. It's much easier to plan things as well and let everyone know what's going on. Also, to save on texts for people who have limited text plans.

 

[zandor]

My friend who spent last summer in China told me WhatsApp is popular there because a lot of people pay per SMS message. WhatsApp lets you text over WiFi or mobile internet, so it's cheaper or free. It's not popular in the US since unlimited SMS plans are pretty much the norm.

 

[schizrade]

I don't even know what those are. If they are anything as annoying as linkedin, then they should burn in the fires of hell.

 

[drdeutsch]

WhatsApp used to be popular here in Taiwan, but because only the first year is free, it fell out of favor.

Now people use LINE, although some also use WeChat.
It's quite nice, as you get messaging, and calling through 3g/4g/data instead of texting.

It probably has to do with the mobile plans here in Taiwan. A basic plan is just calling minutes; texting minutes are extra; data tends to be cheaper and sold in chunks or unlimited. Many people, including foreigners, are on a prepay plan - they pay so much a month and then they use the minutes until they run out, but 3g is usually included or cheaper, so they get that instead of texting minutes.

Plus, the calling is a nice feature. I know some students who call me because they are poor and don't want to pay for extra minutes. Many foreigners also use it to call internationally to families back home.