Line, an app made by NHN Japan Corporation, which has grown rapidly, amassing over 100 million users since its launch in summer 2011, is typically labelled as a messaging app – and compared to the likes of WhatsApp, Viber and Skype because it offers free calls and texts. But in reality Line’s feature set positions it closer to being a social network. In other words, Line is going after disenchanted Facebookers as much as it’s hoping to woo Skype-calling addicts.
Download Line’s app and you’ll find a matryoshka of other apps and services nestling inside. From games to play with your Line buddies, to utility apps such as Line Camera, which lets you add filters and graphics to photos – à la Instagram. There’s also ‘Official Accounts’ in order to follow verified celebrity Line users to receive their updates; Line Café for forums for chatting to other users by topic; and your own Facebook-esque timeline/wall where you can post updates, photos, videos to let chosen friends know what you’re up to.
In the U.S., a market which Line entered at the start of this year — having built its initial user base in Asia (it’s especially popular in Japan, with “close to“ 50 million users there) — Line sees an opportunity to take advantage of the space between basic mobile messaging and traditional social networking, says its U.S. CEO Jeanie Han.
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