Didn't Facebook try to get everyone to use its service for messaging by giving all users an email address? How well did this take off with its end users...?
Hint: It didn't. They dropped the service a while ago.
Twitter has issued a couple of big, meaty, hints that it wants in on instant messaging. The avian network already has a messaging service, in the form of “direct messages” that are sent between two parties but don't ever appear in public. Such messages, known as DMs among the Twitterati, aren't very widely used because most …
They also recently changed their facebook app so you require a separate messenger app to read and send messages to your friends. Most of the people I know who communicate via facebook messenger simply uninstalled the facebook app and created a shortcut to the mobile site, which lets you view the news feed and access the messages.
I recently installed this, to retrieve a message that I'd been sent. Suffice to say, I won't be keeping it on my phone.
I think Twitter are barking up the wrong tree, here - what are they going to offer that an SMS doesn't already accomplish? WhatsApp (ugh, who named that?) is a good alternative to MMS, so maybe they're chasing that?
The failure I found with DMs was insufferably long delivery times. I'd send a DM to SWMBO, and she'd be notified of it (official Twitter clients for both of us) 30 minutes to an hour later.
It would be marvellous if you're paying per-SMS but can find some free WiFi to scrounge; but the lack-of-instantness killed any claim to instant-messaging.
Of course, it may have changed in the last 30 months.
Don't they realise their users are in the wrong demographic?
A typical twitter user is a narcissistic attention whore who thinks their anal dribblings are worthy of attention. They'd sooner' direct message' in public if it meant their list of stalkers went up.