Stickers: From Japanese craze to global mobile messaging phenomenonapan-based mobile messaging company Line raised eyebrows in May when it revealed that it made $17 million from selling stickers during the first quarter of 2013. Last year stickers were all but unknown in the West, but today you will find rich emoticon-like stickers on Path, Facebook, Viber and a range of other services beyond the first messaging apps that helped popularize them in Asia.
What are stickers and why are people buying them?
Stickers are larger-scale emoticons which are primarily used for instant messaging (IM) chats. They are popular among some, particularly in Asia, because they help convey emotion, and are more visual than blocks of text. Stickers typically come in packs of up to a dozen, most of which are free to download and use, but some services charge $1/$2 for premium packs — which may be customized for brands, products or limited edition events.
Once downloaded or bought, they appear as an option in the text box, and are published when pressed. Here’s me using a sticker on Line, the free call and text messaging app, which claims to have more than 250 stickers.
Read More … http://thenextweb.com/asia/2013/07/12/stickers/
