I still don’t understand the selfie, despite the fact that I am part of the generation that has embraced it like it was oxygen. However, that hasn’t stopped companies creating ‘selfie’-related items to appeal to said generation – like ‘selfie’ cameras on HTC and Huawei phones, and a selfie stick from Kogan.
Now, there’s an entire messaging service devoted to the ‘selfie’.
Created by London-based startup Lutebox, Click Messenger lets you chat with your friends by sending selfies with a message overlaid on top of the image. According to them, using selfies “makes your chats more expressive, visual and fun”. They may have a point. As the old adage goes, a picture is worth a thousand words.
Users can send these picture messages – or, described as ‘face-texting’ in their investor presentation attached in the press kit – to friends privately or as a visual status update to a group of friends.
Click Messenger compares itself to Instagram and Snapchat, which it describes as companies that have done “a great deal to illustrate the effectiveness of the selfie.” They do note – as a point of difference – that they are more about having conversations or group chats, not about public acknowledgement or just sending random moments.
To me, however, Click Messenger’s biggest competitors are not Instagram or Snapchat. It’s other messaging services like Whatsapp and Facebook Messenger. How is this any different to sending your selfie through those services?
I should stress that these opinions are based on one thing – the press release. I have not tried the app, but that is mainly because I do not have an iPhone to test out Click Messenger. At the time of writing, they do not have an Android app. That said, personally, Click Messenger doesn’t appeal to me. It will most likely appeal to those in my generation who are ‘into’ selfies.
The app is free and available only on iOS.