"Jan Koum, a thirty-three-year-old computer programmer, was trying to get people interested in a product he had developed for Apple's App Store, which had opened the previous summer. Koum tweaked his app's name every few days-from Status App to Smartphone Status to iPhone Status-so that it would appear among the newest releases. The idea was that the app would show people what their contacts were doing before they called or messaged them."
"That June, Apple enabled push notifications on iPhones. Now, when one of Koum's users updated his status, it was broadcast to all of his contacts who were also on the app. People began to share real-time information: they were going to a bar, or to a movie. During the summer, Koum worked with Igor Solomennikov, a coder based in Moscow, to add a messaging function. They used open-source software and enlisted some friends to test the system."
WhatsApp began as a status app that displayed contacts' activities and initially attracted 5,000–10,000 downloads but saw little use. The founder renamed the app frequently to gain visibility in the App Store. When Apple enabled push notifications, status updates were broadcast to contacts and users started sharing real-time activities. The founder collaborated with Igor Solomennikov to add messaging, employing open-source software and friend testing. Once messaging connected two people and messages flowed, the network rapidly gained utility. The app shifted from perceived uselessness to a vital messenger as adoption and network effects activated.
Read at The New Yorker
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