Messaging app Slack adds new user-friendly feature

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Workplace messaging service Slack continues to improve with another new feature.

Slack will introduce threaded messaging, which groups messages together with replies, to the platform, CEO Stewart Butterfield told The Verge. Threading will make it easier for users to visually follow the flow of a conversation. Without it, messages simply appear on the screen as they are typed by each party.

Butterfield did not provide specifics but the new feature is expected to debut in the second quarter of this year.

The addition of threaded messaging should help Slack compete with its peer services such as Yammer, which already has threading built into its platform. By focusing more on cohesive themes, Slack can expand its functions as a collaborative tool in the workplace, which would make it a more integral part of an employee’s workflow.

Slack is aware that users want different ways to control the flow of messages at work, and threaded messages could be a way to cater to that desire.

But on the flip side, Slack must be sure to strike the right balance. The service has grown in popularity because of its simplistic and clean user interface, so the addition of too many new features could clutter the screen and hinder the user experience.

Messaging apps such as Slack have been transforming recently. No longer are they just simple ways to send text messages to friends, family, and coworkers. Instead, they have become one-stop locations for communication, commerce, and more.

Taco Bell, for example, recently announced that it would introduce TacoBot, a chat bot that lets you order ahead right from your desk, to Slack soon.

And that’s just one instance of this ongoing transformation.

Will McKitterick, senior research analyst for BI Intelligence, Business Insider’s premium research service, has compiled a detailed report on messaging apps that takes a close look at the size of the messaging app market, how these apps are changing, and the types of opportunities for monetization that have emerged from the growing audience that uses messaging services daily.

Here are some of the key takeaways from the report:

Mobile messaging apps are massive. The largest services have hundreds of millions of monthly active users (MAU). Falling data prices, cheaper devices, and improved features are helping propel their growth.
Messaging apps are about more than messaging. The first stage of the chat app revolution was focused on growth. In the next phase, companies will focus on building out services and monetizing chat apps’ massive user base.
Popular Asian messaging apps like WeChat, KakaoTalk, and LINE have taken the lead in finding innovative ways to keep users engaged. They’ve also built successful strategies for monetizing their services.
Media companies, and marketers are still investing more time and resources into social networks like Facebook and Twitter than they are into messaging services. That will change as messaging companies build out their services and provide more avenues for connecting brands, publishers, and advertisers with users.

In full, this report:

Gives a high-level overview of the messaging market in the US by comparing total monthly active users for the top chat apps.
Examines the user behavior of chat app users, specifically what makes them so attractive to brands, publishers, and advertisers.
Identifies what distinguishes chat apps in the West from their counterparts in the East.
Discusses the potentially lucrative avenues companies are pursuing to monetize their services.
Offers key insights and implications for marketers as they consider interacting with users through these new platforms.

To get your copy of this invaluable guide, choose one of these options:

Subscribe to an ALL-ACCESS Membership with BI Intelligence and gain immediate access to this report AND over 100 other expertly researched deep-dive reports, subscriptions to all of our daily newsletters, and much more. >> START A MEMBERSHIP
Purchase the report and download it immediately from our research store. >> BUY THE REPORT

The choice is yours. But however you decide to acquire this report, you’ve given yourself a powerful advantage in your understanding of the future of messaging apps.

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