Episode 33 – iMessage as a Platform, Twitter Earnings

We kick off this week's episode with our usual news roundup. This week, our topics are 5G (and AT&T's announcement on this topic earlier today), Apple's rumored March event, and ASICS' acquisition of the Runkeeper fitness app. Our Question of the Week is finally back after a two-week hiatus for earnings season, and this week we talk about whether Apple should turn iMessage into a platform, and what that would mean. The context here is the Asian messaging apps, such as WeChat, LINE, and Kakao, and the way in which they've built platforms around the core messaging experience. As this trend continues, the question becomes whether Apple needs to follow suit, albeit not as a business model but as a way to stay competitive. We talk about what this might actually look like in practice, were Apple to announce it, including user and developer/business features, and the potential for more social elements. Our last topic is Twitter's earnings this week, and what they signify. We wrap up with our Weekly Pick, which this week is a video service recommended by Aaron. As ever, there are related links and more on the website at podcast.beyonddevic.es.