{"id":3786,"date":"2017-02-25T18:46:24","date_gmt":"2017-02-25T23:46:24","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/digital.hbs.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/facebook-bets-on-bots-with-messenger-platform\/"},"modified":"2017-02-26T09:28:34","modified_gmt":"2017-02-26T14:28:34","slug":"facebook-bets-big-on-bots-with-messenger-platform","status":"publish","type":"hck-submission","link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/facebook-bets-big-on-bots-with-messenger-platform\/","title":{"rendered":"Facebook Bets Big on Bots with Messenger Platform"},"content":{"rendered":"

In April 2016, Facebook unveiled<\/a>\u00a0a brand new Messenger Platform, offering developers the opportunity to build solutions for many Messenger users around the world. Facebook\u2019s Developer Blog[1]<\/a> clearly articulated the enormous opportunity ahead: \u201cBuild just one bot, and your experience is available on all platforms where Messenger exists, including iOS, Android, and web. It also\u00a0removes the friction of your users having to download one more app [and] Messenger is now used by 900 million people every month[2]<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Though Messenger launched in 2011, the product first began to achieve meaningful growth in 2014, when the messaging feature was pulled out of the core Facebook experience. Users were forced to download Facebook\u2019s standalone Messenger app in order to send private messages on mobile[3]<\/a>. Establishing messaging as a feature independent from Facebook was the company\u2019s first critical step \u2013 coupled with its acquisition of WhatsApp six months earlier[4]<\/a>\u00a0\u2013\u00a0toward taking on messaging incumbents like WeChat, KakaoTalk, and Line. The only way Facebook could compete with the world\u2019s most established messaging players was to pull as many users as possible into Messenger, decoupling the action of logging in to check Facebook (which a user could do every day, once a month, or very infrequently) and chatting with a friend using Facebook\u00a0(an activity that\u00a0increases the likelihood of regular engagement).<\/p>\n

Messenger Platform is not Facebook\u2019s first platform business: in fact, Facebook\u2019s very first platform launched 10 years ago[5]<\/a> alongside a flurry of alpha partners that included Amazon, Washington Post, and Red Bull, all of whom developed platform apps for the occasion. Five years later, in 2012, the company released its Open Graph API[6]<\/a> to allow brands, websites, and services to share a user\u2019s actions into News Feed (e.g., \u201cJames ran 3.51 miles with Nike.\u201d), effectively creating another platform for third-party developers.<\/p>\n

Is Facebook Messenger the \u201ckiller platform\u201d in the company\u2019s series of well-intentioned attempts in games, publishing, and customizable Pages? Why would Facebook consider a messaging-specific platform important when its core product (Facebook.com) already boasts more than 1.2 billion DAU[7]<\/a>?<\/p>\n

Creating Value<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Messenger Platform<\/a> creates value for users and companies through its third-party apps \u2013 specifically bots \u2013 that developers can build easily and launch through Messenger. Bots can be customized, provide automated updates on online orders, and allow people to efficiently interact with businesses for customer support.<\/p>\n

For example, a person thinking about taking a trip could\u00a0use a\u00a0Messenger bot to help find flight times, hotels, or local attractions:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/watch?v=A3r72C4PM1s<\/a><\/p>\n

As of July 2016, more than 33,000 bots had been developed for Messenger[8]<\/a>. Bots are able to \u201clink Messenger profiles to customer accounts, such as a bank or online merchant\u201d. Companies are using Messenger bots to their advantage, giving their brands a voice and a powerful way to connect with users in real-time. For example, Burger King created a bot[9]<\/a> that allows people to order from the menu, pay through the app, and shares\u00a0which restaurants\u00a0are nearby \u2013 all without leaving the Messenger experience:<\/p>\n

https:\/\/youtu.be\/MJjxzIuto4Y<\/a><\/p>\n

Capturing Value<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Messaging apps have a huge and highly engaged base of users, with over 4 billion MAU of messaging apps worldwide[10]<\/a>. WeChat, for example, allows users in China to send payments effortlessly, while also making it possible to shop online without ever leaving the app. By making it extremely easy for anybody to do anything on their mobile device \u2013 from running an errand to making plans with a friend \u2013 network effects become stronger. Eventually, users become locked into the platform \u2013 the cost of switching becomes too high.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

By launching Messenger Platform, Facebook benefits from the entrenched network effects of its core business.\u00a0The social network is leveraging its\u00a0established user base to move into a high network effects \/ high multi-homing business while at the same time, using the platform as a way to onboard both Messenger holdouts and businesses. Network effects are making it possible for Facebook to take\u00a0what was originally just a feature of its main product \u2013 messaging \u2013 and create a brand new business model poised to compete against today\u2019s largest messaging companies and ready to be monetized through News Feed.<\/p>\n

[1]<\/a>\u00a0Facebook Developer Blog<\/a><\/p>\n

[2]<\/a> As of July 2016, Facebook Messenger is used by over 1 billion people<\/p>\n

[3]<\/a>\u00a0ReCode<\/a><\/p>\n

[4]<\/a>\u00a0ReadWrite<\/a><\/p>\n

[5]<\/a>\u00a0TechCrunch<\/a><\/p>\n

[6]<\/a>\u00a0TechCrunch<\/a><\/p>\n

[7]<\/a>\u00a0FB Newsroom<\/a><\/p>\n

[8]<\/a>\u00a0Business Insider<\/a><\/p>\n

[9]<\/a>\u00a0Fortune<\/a><\/p>\n

[10]<\/a>\u00a0Hubspot Research<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With a billion people using Facebook Messenger \u2013 and Zuckerberg\u2019s public promise that Messenger will make sure you \u201cnever have to call 1-800-FLOWERS again\u201d \u2013 will Facebook\u2019s newest platform prove that bots are hot\u2026 or not?<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1196,"featured_media":3793,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","categories":[1207,1090,489,596,429,219,1186,492],"class_list":["post-3786","hck-submission","type-hck-submission","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-bots","category-brands","category-chat","category-facebook","category-incumbents","category-messaging","category-mobile-platforms","category-social-networking"],"connected_submission_link":"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/assignment\/growing-businesses-in-the-age-of-platforms\/","yoast_head":"\nFacebook Bets Big on Bots with Messenger Platform - Digital Innovation and Transformation<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/d3.harvard.edu\/platform-digit\/submission\/facebook-bets-big-on-bots-with-messenger-platform\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Facebook Bets Big on Bots with Messenger Platform - 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