Its not like anyone uses email anymore, right?
If you’ve ever used WhatsApp, you’ll know just how far behind is Apple’s iMessage service.
Or at least, it could be very, very useful.
Alicia Christin Gerald / Unsplash
These let you gather existing group conversations together.
Timetable changes come in as highlighted screenshots.
And email is chronically insecure.
Priscilla Du Preez / Unsplash
Priscilla Du Preez / Unsplash
Privacy is also essential for open, nuanced conversation.
This is called ‘context collapse,’ and may be the biggest barrier to meaningful discourse online.
However, we already have one workaround.
Our messaging groups are assembled from people we already know, or trusted invitees who other people know.
They are groups of friends, rather than drive-by random people on Twitter.
This is what makes messaging services like WhatsApp, iMessage, and Signal real social networks.
However, unlike email, all WhatsApp data lives in a silo.
But in the end, its all down to convenience.
