Out with the old, in with the new
I’d imagine a lot of you would have heard or seen these messages recently ‘Add me to Kik…’, ‘Kik me’ or my favourite ‘I’ll Kik you in the face’flying around on Facebook or Twitter. But what is Kik?
- A Japanese hacking scam?
- A legitimate messenger app for smart-phone users?
- Or a new instant messenger app that will die out over the next few months?
Let me start by answering question number 1.
A lot of smart phone users have recently downloaded the Kik app onto their phones, but within minutes deleted it due to listening to some Chinese Whispers. We all know not to listen to gossip or rumours that have been spread…by whom? You don’t know. The rumour is that Kik is a hacking virus scam that will get into your phone, shut it down and take all your information. OK, I can see why people are worried, I deleted it last night, but then thought why I have I not heard about this from more reliable sources like the news? Oh wait, that’s right, Sky News have reported it for being a hacking scam and for all users to delete it. Oh wait again, no they haven’t. If Sky news published this, then the other news channels and mainstream newspapers would have also followed lead, but have any of you actually heard this from them? Did you know that Kik has been around since October 2010? Do you really think top mobile brands such as Apple would really allow a piece of technology that will hack into millions of phones worldwide? No. It will be too damaging to their brand reputation…look what happened with Blackberry recently? I would imagine that the likes of Apple, Android and Blackberry would have done their research first, tried and tested it with a fine toothcomb before allowing it onto their platform. With Kik being around for over a year now, surely these Japanese hackers would have been caught by now? The new rumour is that Kik will charge you £70…whatever next?
That’s the rumour sorted, onto question 2.
Kik was first introduced in October 2010, but it has only recently become popular over this last week. When this new instant messenger app was first launched, it received 1m downloads in just 15 days and has now reached over 6m users worldwide….eeeeeesh, times that by £70…these Japanese hackers will be laughing! To sum Kik up in just a few words, it’s the latest free instant messenger app that is basically the same as BBM and Whatsapp…but newer and was founded by Ted Livingston. To all BlackBerry users out there, BlackBerry has removed Kik from App World, which is why you have to download it using a link. It allows users to send quick messages, upload photos for free and tells you when it’s been sent (s), been delivered (d) and read with an (r). So, be warned if you don’t want to reply back to someone or are avoiding someone, they know you’ve read it! It is a tried and tested legitimate app that has no doubt had the rumours started due it being new! There are plenty of articles out there that have given the app the heads up and mark of approval. Mashable being one of them, the most popular social and technology blog site worldwide. Kik have been working alongside the operating systems, Android and iOS for over a year.
‘First launched in October 2010 and we’ve since grown to millions of users on iPhone, Android, BlackBerry, Windows Phone and Symbian, becoming one of the most popular mobile apps’.
http://www.kik.com/blog/
And finally, question 3.
It may not last long, you might get bored and we tend to do that a lot! We’re not easily pleased and is always looking for the next new thing, but only time will tell. People are already getting bored with seeing their friends’ status asking them to ‘add them on Kik’ or ‘not downloading Kik because you can afford to send a text message’. Well, those who post the latter, don’t most phone contracts offer you unlimited or a certain number of free text messaging per month? No one wants to pay 10 or 12p per text message! Not everyone lives with gold coins or has money growing on their trees, as much as we’d like to. The majority of phone consumers today have a smart phone which comes with free instant messaging anyway like, BBM and iMessenger? What’s the difference? It would be the same as someone telling you to stop sending BBM messages and text or phone someone instead! It’s the 21st century guys, technology is where we live. When people tell you to use a computer to write a message to someone instead of using instant messaging, how many of you would (apart from when at work of course or supposed to be doing work)? You’d probably use your phone instead to send a message on Facebook or on Twitter. My guess is that Kik will eventually die out when the next new thing comes along.
There is a lot of hearsay about and you do need to be on your guard, as you never know, it could well be a hacking scam. I know I will be, but until I hear or read it about from more reliable, trustworthy sources, it’s staying.
For now enjoy Kik, don’t enjoy Kik, but tell us what you think about it? My advice is to all those who have Kik, only accept your friends and no one randomers who start talking to you! They could be anyone! There is a block app…use it!
