Why Telegram Encryption Is Different
I am a big believer that where there is a network or a platform there are hundreds of people trying to work out if it will fit their use case, how they hack it for their use case or how to leverage it for their own gain.
Chat apps are no different. WhatsApp dominates Europe, WeChat dominates China, smaller iMessage groups still dominate the US, and Telegram is an essential resource in Russia and Ukraine.
Importantly, Telegram has captured several organisers, online personalities, and celebrities for its rich media and broadcast use case, and many movement leaders have leveraged its scale to have huge groups. FWIW If you have ever seen a t.me link that is a link created via Telegram.
In the video below, Ben Thompson goes into great detail on why some chat apps are more secure than others and why Telegram’s USP of allowing groups to be huge (into the tens of thousands) impacts their ability to be more secure and encrypted.
On the whole, Telegram is a very strong product, has many better features than the likes of iMessage and WhatsApp and despite what you think happens on platforms like Telegram, for a lot of the bad, there is a lot of knowledge sharing and groups for good on platforms like Telegram.
The Business Of Duolingo
Duolingo is that app that is given as case studies, its seen as the leading light in Growth, app growth and AB testing.
Duolingo did incredibly well on TikTok and is often the go-to example of how to leverage brand in the Marketing landscape.
They were deliberately random and arguably smart, however, don’t expect it this to be your copy-paste winning formula for your brand.
Many do not realise the business model and the economics behind the language app, with over 80% of users not or never paying for any features of the app and an ad model that only contributes to -10% of its revenues.
Here is a quick video with the Duolingo team talking about their app, their smart approach to push notifications (think mum guilt), its economics and how AI is going to be powering many tests and many more to come.
The State Of Apps H1 2024
I found this an interesting deep dive into the most important apps and app markets, from downloads to revenue the whole industry has continued to move and shift to the Markets.
Gaming is critically important to app stores while social media and dating gains a lot of attention, this deep look emphasises how usage doesn’t always translate into revenue.
Dating Is Social?
The area that might be of most interest is the social space and revenue.
It is pretty obvious dating is an incredibly powerful market but with Match Group owning the top-grossing apps Hinge & Tinder how small the ecosystem is despite its competition.
Have a look through the gallery of images below (or flip to slides 35+ above) in and see how many apps don’t make money (especially chat apps) and how dating isn’t in the top number of downloads but commands much of the revenue.
It is important to note services such Telegram offers its own bitcoin offering (TON) and have been incredibly successful which might not be tracked. in these states, as has many developing nations have the option to natively transfer money (via WhatsApp’s native service).
Facebook’s dominance on Android is not be overlooked especially with its DAU numbers on image 5 - Meta’s ownership of conversation and shift into Groups and WhatsApp Channels might well be their next revenue play.
Social media, dating and gaming often go hand in hand, however, these show how difficult it can be to monetise or how important advertisers are within these spaces. We are likely to see more investment in H2 and see if social media apps can monetise more effectively.
Lets see how iOS18 launch impacts the space and how it could upend a number of services.
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