Week 1 Original: "LINE" Up the World, Free Chat Together!

Are you still sending messages to your friends, your family, and your colleagues by texting or email? Well, Line's debut shocked the world. It changed the way we communicated with each other. 

“Hello World, We Are LINE!” This was the first greeting that Line said to its worldwide customers.  Shortly after it came out, the number of users increased greatly from 47 million native Japanese users to over 230 millions worldwide users. So what is Line? Here is a short video to give you a brief concept of Line.

"We are LINE USA!"

Isn't it fun, my friend? As shown in the video above, we know that Line uses a lot of stickers to attract people from all over the world. Line believes that "expressive stickers convey more than words."  "We hope Line can become the common language in the world," says the Chief Executive Officer of Line. 

       Stickers are very popular on Line

So why Line becomes popular around the world? Let's see how convenient Line is and how smart the marketing strategy it uses. My own experience can be an example. When I was in the study abroad program in Europe last summer, my American friends always told me that their phone bills were incredibly high due to the oversea communication fee. Additionally, the signal was so poor that they seldom called their friends and family. However, they could always see that I was on the phone or sending voice messages, which made them curious about me. Yes, I was using Line. All the text messages, phone calls and video chats were FREE! And all I need was a

smart phone. Line didn't just save my money, but also save my time. Its pretty stickers were not just for fun, but also very useful. For example, I could send an "eating sticker," a "party sticker" and a "happy face sticker" instead of typing words to tell others that I was having fun at a long table dinner with my group mates. During the project discussion time, I even set up a group chat, inviting my group mates to discuss our group project on Line because we went to different places to do researches.

Tens of thousands of stickers can be chosen to use

Using free apps such as Line is a trend. Users do not need to worry about which network carrier they are using because they can use Line freely even without a Sim-card. Moreover, Line is very easy to use, even grandpa and grandma can learn how to use it in 10 minutes. If you are too lazy to type, that's fine; just press a button, hold it, and talk; when finish, remove your finger, then a voice message is sent. Want to share your favorite photos to your friends? Sure! There is a "Timeline" function on Line. You can post everything you like on Timeline just like using Facebook -- but Line is more private and safer. Being a social media application, Line can let you add whoever you like, and block whoever you hate. An interesting function of Line is "Shake it!" This function allows you to add friends by accident. By accident I mean the system will help you find another person who is shaking his/her phone somewhere in Africa when you are shaking your phone at your home, then Line will "line you up" with that person, and you can make a decision that whether to be friend with that person or not. It is fun, isn't it? 

LINE: Use It Anytime, Anyplace!

There are still a lot can be talked about Line. Line is not only an app simply for chatting, but also for entertaining and social. It is growing fast, and become more and more popular. Meanwhile, more and more functions are added on Line, such as searching, billing, shopping, and playing games. Last year, Line finally entered North America market, which is very different from any other markets in the world. Let's see how far Line can be in the coming future.

Business models and strategies

 

Reference:
http://www.inside.com.tw/2013/08/21/line-event-2013