In the 2010s, as chat apps became a primary mode of communication for many people across the world, WhatsApp quickly outpaced rival messaging apps and developed into a platform.

In this book, the authors provide a comprehensive account of WhatsApp's global growth. Charting WhatsApp's evolution from its founding in 2009 to the present day, they argue that WhatsApp has been transformed from a simple, 'gimmickless' app into a global communication platform. Understanding this development can shed light on the trajectory of Meta's industrial development, and how digital economies and social media landscapes are evolving with the rise of 'superapps'. This book explores how WhatsApp's unique characteristics mediate new kinds of social and commercial transactions; how they pose new opportunities and challenges for platform regulation, civic participation and democracy; and how they give rise to new kinds of digital literacy as WhatsApp becomes integrated into everyday digital cultures across the globe.

Accessibly written, this book is an essential resource for students and scholars of digital media, cultural studies, and media and communications.

Autorentext

Amelia Johns, Associate Professor in Digital and Social Media at the University of Technology Sydney.

Ariadna Matamoros-Fernández is Senior Lecturer in Digital Media at Queensland University of Technology.

Emma Baulch is Associate Professor of Media and Communication in the School of Arts and Social Sciences at Monash University Malaysia.

Klappentext

In the 2010s, as messaging apps replaced SMS to become the main communication technologies for millions of people around the world, WhatsApp rose above its rivals to become a global communication platform. In this book, Amelia Johns, Ariadna Matamoros-Fernandez and Emma Baulch provide a comprehensive account of WhatsApp's global growth. They begin with its emergence from a messaging app to its purchase by Meta in 2014, which, they argue, transformed WhatsApp from a simple, 'gimmickless' app into a global communication platform. Understanding this development can shed light on the current status of WhatsApp in relation to rivals, the trajectory of Meta's industrial development, and how global digital economies and social media landscapes are evolving with the rise of 'Superapps'. This book explores how WhatsApp's unique characteristics mediate new kinds of social and commercial transactions, how they pose new opportunities and challenges for platform regulation, civic participation and democracy, and how they give rise to new kinds of digital literacy as WhatsApp becomes integrated into everyday digital cultures across the globe. Accessibly written, this book is an essential resource for students and scholars of digital media, cultural studies, and media and communications, as well as anyone interested in the emergence and growth of WhatsApp.

Inhalt

Acknowledgements

Introduction

Chapter One: Why WhatsApp Matters

Chapter Two: Platform Biography

Chapter Three: Everyday Uses of WhatsApp

Chapter Four: WhatsApp Publics: Activism, News, Disorder

Chapter Five: WhatsApp Business Model

Chapter Six: WhatsApp Futures

Notes

References

Index