Are you reading this story while messaging one, or more friends online?
If you are, then you are one of 8.08 million of Internet users in this country, and one of the 200 million people using instant messaging (IM) in the world, according to statistics of online-market research firm InsightXplorer (
IM, a text-based program that allows users to communicate real-time on the Internet, has been widely adopted by users and has become a major communication tool, both in personal and business communication, in daily life.
With the huge number of users, IM is considered a powerful marketing tool in the dotcom era, said Joyce Chin (
"In the near future, IM may replace browsers as users can basically get whatever they want through the system, such as receiving e-mail, checking the weather or stock information and booking tickets, which will create a lot of business opportunities for online marketers," Chin said yesterday during a press conference in which Yahoo-Kimo rolled out a new version of its Yahoo Messenger.
While downloading IM is free, Chin said the company makes money from selling advertisements and services via the platform, and may consider charging users forn certain items in the future.
The system is expected to serve as a major customer-to-customer (C2C) marketing tool owing to its capability to create and connect a huge online community, she said.
Thus, to lure as many users as possible, Yahoo-Kimo has added new features including animated "audibles" that greet or flirt, and "avatars" that represent users and can be customized with different outfits and hairdos.
Users can also listen to Internet radio stations from around the world, play games with friends and share files.
Globally, Yahoo messenger ranked No. 2 after America Online Inc's instant messaging services and ahead of Microsoft Corp's MSN Messenger.
In Taiwan, 6.69 million of Internet users logged in to use MSN Messenger last month, while there were 4.04 million Yahoo Messenger users, InsightXplorer said.
Joyce Kuo (
She noted that the ads on the bottom of its messenger's interface have received higher click-through rates than those of common banner ads in Web pages.
"We will continue updating our version with more user friendly and amusing functions to create more business opportunities," Kuo said.
"We also plan to charge users with the all-in-one service," she said.
Also See Story:
Yahoo seeks to attract surfers by blocking spyware
Intel Corp chief executive officer Lip-Bu Tan (陳立武) is expected to meet with Taiwanese suppliers next month in conjunction with the opening of the Computex Taipei trade show, supply chain sources said on Monday. The visit, the first for Tan to Taiwan since assuming his new post last month, would be aimed at enhancing Intel’s ties with suppliers in Taiwan as he attempts to help turn around the struggling US chipmaker, the sources said. Tan is to hold a banquet to celebrate Intel’s 40-year presence in Taiwan before Computex opens on May 20 and invite dozens of Taiwanese suppliers to exchange views
Application-specific integrated circuit designer Faraday Technology Corp (智原) yesterday said that although revenue this quarter would decline 30 percent from last quarter, it retained its full-year forecast of revenue growth of 100 percent. The company attributed the quarterly drop to a slowdown in customers’ production of chips using Faraday’s advanced packaging technology. The company is still confident about its revenue growth this year, given its strong “design-win” — or the projects it won to help customers design their chips, Faraday president Steve Wang (王國雍) told an online earnings conference. “The design-win this year is better than we expected. We believe we will win
Chizuko Kimura has become the first female sushi chef in the world to win a Michelin star, fulfilling a promise she made to her dying husband to continue his legacy. The 54-year-old Japanese chef regained the Michelin star her late husband, Shunei Kimura, won three years ago for their Sushi Shunei restaurant in Paris. For Shunei Kimura, the star was a dream come true. However, the joy was short-lived. He died from cancer just three months later in June 2022. He was 65. The following year, the restaurant in the heart of Montmartre lost its star rating. Chizuko Kimura insisted that the new star is still down
While China’s leaders use their economic and political might to fight US President Donald Trump’s trade war “to the end,” its army of social media soldiers are embarking on a more humorous campaign online. Trump’s tariff blitz has seen Washington and Beijing impose eye-watering duties on imports from the other, fanning a standoff between the economic superpowers that has sparked global recession fears and sent markets into a tailspin. Trump says his policy is a response to years of being “ripped off” by other countries and aims to bring manufacturing to the US, forcing companies to employ US workers. However, China’s online warriors
RSS