When a fledgling tech startup becomes one of the world's most recognized brands, its patina of hipness fades. The Internet-savvy folks who first discover the Next Big Things tend to be young—in the case of Facebook, that's because the social network required its first users to be college students.
But when a social network throw open its gates and the masses stream in, its historical status as the coolest kid on the block doesn't count for much with the tweens and hipsters who put it on the map. So the network has to start working for the love and affection (and monthly active use) of those tastemakers.
Thus: Stickers. Yes, Stickers. The little cartoon characters you can message to your friends were first popularized in Asia by messaging services such as Line. Soon Path jumped on board with its own sticker packs, and Facebook quickly followed suit. Though Stickers might seem mindless and silly to most Facebook users (or maybe just to me), experts agree that they have the potential to kill two birds—wooing back the cool crowd and boosting revenue—with one stone.
Why Stickers? Why?
Facebook packaged Stickers with Chat Heads as part of Facebook Home's launch in March, and then rolled them out to iOS users soon after. Two weeks ago, Facebook announced that Stickers had just become available on the site's desktop version.
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