The Power of Chat Debrief, a new report from PSFK Labs, explores trends in communication, text and messaging platforms. We found, most prevailingly, that what people demand in messaging today is simple: efficiency and immediacy.
Instead of writing out I love you, even language experts will opt for a single <3 icon. We text our peers, colleagues and family expecting the shortest timeframe for a response in comparison to all other modes of communication. An app called ScreenPop proves that some people don't even want to go through the effort of unlocking their device screens to send a message.
The messaging service is essentially Snapchat for your lock screen: it allows people to communicate with each other without even entering the rabbit hole that is their full array of smartphone apps and features. The app allows you to draw on pictures in a similar manner to Snapchat, and is changing the way friends communicate by encouraging them to volley photos back and forth.
The Locket team, the parent company to ScreenPop, used the service for internal communication and realized its potential as a way for people to communicate. Consequently, developers adapted the idea to a wider audience, dealing with a different and younger demographic who use images and ephemeral messaging to carry on entire conversations. Founder Yunha Kim told PSFK:
Locket is doing very well (in fact featured as a Best App of 2014 by Google), and by launching ScreenPop and allowing photo sharing on the lock screen, it just allows us to use the same technology and platform to reach a different target audience. While Locket is for 20-30s who are interested in news and content in general, ScreenPop is for younger demo that loves sharing photos daily and communicating with friends consistently.
The contrasts and overlaps between these two groups, one traditionally characterized as consumers and the other as producers, is something that apps like ScreenPop will continue to wrestle with in fun and inventive ways. An iOS version is said to be in the works, but its functionality is a "secret." In the meantime, let's get popping.
Learn more about trends in communication, text and messaging platforms in The Power of Chat Debrief. The report from PSFK Labs tackles how SMS, messaging and chat are once again prevalent and even integral to delivering best-in-class brand experiences to customers.