In its heyday, BBM (Blackberry Messenger) was of the standing that Whatsapp, Telegram, WeChat and Facebook Messenger hold currently. Sadly for their remaining users though, they’ve announced the sunsetting of the consumer messaging service at the end of next month on the 31st of May.
The Blackberry Messenger team have tried, it seems in vain, over the last few years to reinvent the platform and keep it relevant.
The unfortunate reality that BBM faces is that with other platforms being extremely popular, causing a consistent migration of users, they saw dwindling return for their efforts.
The technology industry however, is very fluid, and in spite of our substantial efforts, users have moved on to other platforms, while new users proved difficult to sign on.
The team sign off with a dignified best wishes to their users on whatever messaging platform they choose to use moving forward, knowing that BBM has almost certainly had some influence over what they’re using today.
As a former user myself (of a Blackberry – what a device! and BBM), I can see what influence it’s had and tip my hat to their team for what they’ve accomplished in a very dynamic and fickle market.
