The origin of Whatsapp is as intriguing and interesting as its many features. Two ex-employees of Yahoo, Brian Acton and Jan Koum, got together and came up with an idea of a paid app as they did not want to attract advertisers who could have crowded in a free app. Theirs is also a story of inspiration. Little did they know that a small app that they devised so that users could send messages free without having to rely on the phone service provider, would turn out to be one of the most used and most downloaded apps in the whole world. As of January 2015, the app had more than 600 million active users and by April this year, it had reached 800 million. What is it that makes Whatsapp so irresistible?
It is easy to use: Well, this is one of the main reasons behind its popularity. There is no need to login or remember a password. Just download the app and start using. You don’t even have to add friends as it automatically shows all of your contacts on the list using the app. Users needn’t even have an email id. That is the reason senior citizens who stayed away from technology so far, have jumped into the Whatsapp mania.
Texting is now easier: The best thing about Whatsapp is of course, the ease of texting. It helps that you don’t have to pay for each message because earlier, each smses you sent, you were handed a bill for the same.
So many emoticons: Be it smileys, crying faces, shocked emotion, houses, cars, festivities, celebration, embarrassment, chuckle, fashion symbols, hearts, bride, crown, hat, dancing people, ring, thumbs up or down, folded hands, clapping hands or pointing fingers, gifts, animals, buildings, vehicles, or even Santa and Christmas tree, you name one and there is an emoticon related to it on Whatsapp. These make texting interesting and even bring about the uniqueness of a face to face chat. For example, your friend has just shared a gossip with you and more than expressing your disbelief in words, a shocked face would add to the conversation. In fact, you don’t even have to put a word to it, just send the face and your friend will know that what your reaction is.
You want to wish a friend on her birthday, just type ‘Happy Birthday’ and add balloons, cakes, chocolates, dancing girl to the text and you have sent a cool birthday card.
Send photos and videos in a jiffy: Earlier, one had to wait for the mercy of a speedy internet connection to send photos and videos through email. It was actually tedious. With smartphones came smart cameras and with it came smarter and more pictures. What’s the use of selfies if you can’t share it with others? On other social media applications, you had to login first, then put the password, then wait for the page to open and then attach the pictures, and then again wait for them to upload and then another wait for them to be gone. But with Whatsapp, all you have to do is choose the person you want to sent the photo to and go to your photo gallery, tap on the photo or video to be sent, and confirm and it’s gone!
Your status reflects your personality and you don’ want it to be boring
You can choose to be ignorant and set up no status at all but that will make you sound like a recluse. A status today is more about popularity and a factor on which you are judged which makes updating your status an important task.
There are numerous sites with thousands of WhatsApp Status update quotes that are innovative and witty and by making use of these quotes everyday you can very easily maintain your popularity among your WhatsApp circle or friend’s group.
Put up any picture of a cartoon, a flower or a quote and post it and let others know about your state of mind. So, you do not want to be disturbed the whole day, just put up a status ‘Busy’ and no one will dare to disturb you even with a message – this is whatsapp mania.
