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WhatsApp

From a one-to-one Messaging App to a Global Communication Platform
By Ariadna Matamoros-Fernández and Emma Baulch and Amelia Johns
Series: Digital Media and Society
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Book Hero Magic crafted this summary to help describe this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Summary
This book traces WhatsApp's evolution from a basic messaging app in 2009 to a global communication platform, examining its rapid growth throughout the 2010s. It explores WhatsApp's role in shaping digital economies, social media, and communication across diverse cultures, especially in the Global South. The authors discuss how the app mediates social and commercial exchanges, affects platform regulation, democracy, and digital literacy, making it a critical study of modern digital cultures.
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Format: Paperback / softback
$3799
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Book Hero Magic created this recommendation. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! IS THIS YOUR NEXT READ?

Ideal for students and scholars of digital media, cultural studies, and media and communications seeking an accessible yet comprehensive understanding of WhatsApp's global impact.

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Book Hero Magic formatted this description to make it easier to read. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! Description

In the 2010s, as chat apps became a primary mode of communication for many people across the world, WhatsApp quickly outpaced rival messaging apps and developed into a platform.

In this book, the authors provide a comprehensive account of WhatsApp’s global growth. Charting WhatsApp’s evolution from its founding in 2009 to the present day, they argue that WhatsApp has been transformed from a simple, ‘gimmickless’ app into a global communication platform. Understanding this development can shed light on the trajectory of Meta’s industrial development, and how digital economies and social media landscapes are evolving with the rise of ‘superapps’.

This book explores how WhatsApp’s unique characteristics mediate new kinds of social and commercial transactions; how they pose new opportunities and challenges for platform regulation, civic participation and democracy; and how they give rise to new kinds of digital literacy as WhatsApp becomes integrated into everyday digital cultures across the globe.

Accessibly written, this book is an essential resource for students and scholars of digital media, cultural studies, and media and communications.

Series: Digital Media and Society

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Book Hero Magic summarised reviews for this book. While it's new and still learning, it may not be perfect - your feedback is welcome! HOW HAS THIS BEEN REVIEWED?

"Fascinating and authoritative. This genuinely international and cosmopolitan study shows the ways that WhatsApp is decisively shaped, especially in the Global South." – Gerard Goggin, The University of Sydney

"With a refreshing personal touch, the authors retrace how a seemingly simple chat app morphed into a global communication and business platform." – David B. Nieborg, University of Toronto

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Book Details

INFORMATION

ISBN: 9781509550531

Publisher: John Wiley and Sons Ltd

Format: Paperback / softback

Date Published: 15 December 2023

Country: United Kingdom

Imprint: Polity Press

Audience: Professional and scholarly

DIMENSIONS

Spine width: 25.0mm

Width: 155.0mm

Height: 218.0mm

Weight: 295g

Pages: 220

Collections

Amelia Johns Ariadna Matamoros-Fernández Education & Reference Emma Baulch Non-Fiction Series: Digital Media and Society

About the Author

Amelia Johns, Associate Professor in Digital and Social Media at the University of Technology Sydney.

Ariadna Matamoros-Fernández is Senior Lecturer in Digital Media at Queensland University of Technology.

Emma Baulch is Associate Professor of Media and Communication in the School of Arts and Social Sciences at Monash University Malaysia.

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