Activate CEO Michael J. Wolf Says Mobile Messaging Is Big -- And Getting Bigger

Mobile messaging is the fastest growing and most predominant digital vehicle ever — and it’s about to get even bigger.

Within the next three years, mobile messaging will grow faster than the Internet, adding another billion users, according to a new forecast from Activate chief executive Michael J. Wolf.

The veteran media executive and one-time Yahoo board member offered his predictions for technology and media Tuesday at the Wall Street Journal’s WSJDLive conference at The Montage in Laguna Beach, Calif.

Wolf said mobile apps in the U.S. will begin to sport some of the features already found in popular communications apps like WeChat in China, which people use for a variety of purposes, including saving money, finding jobs and hailing taxis.

“We’re seeing the first companies building apps on messaging,” Wolf said.

Wolf challenged what he called the “myth” of mobile apps as a place where the independent developer can strike it rich. While the number of apps has doubled since 2013, only the top 20 developers scoop up half of the revenue, he said.

Two of the biggest beneficiaries of the increasingly cluttered mobile app world are Facebook and Twitter, which sell ads to promote downloads, Wolf said.

The onetime MTV Networks executive challenged the contention that the future of TV will be built around apps, or that millennials will abandon pay TV en masse.

“There is this misconception that millennials aren’t watching TV. They’re watching a ton of it — more than 20 hours of TV a week,” Wolf said.

Companies looking to create a “cable killer” will need to deliver comparable content at a competitive price.

“It needs to be cheaper and have a better user experience,” Wolf said. “All it takes is writing checks. It would take very large checks.”

Update: If you’d like to check out Wolf’s full presentation, you’ll find it here: http://www.slideshare.net/ActivateInc/activate-tech-and-media-outlook-2016

This article originally appeared on Recode.net.

We're here to shed some clarity

One of our core beliefs here at Vox is that everyone needs and deserves access to the information that helps them understand the world, regardless of whether they can pay for a subscription. With the 2024 election on the horizon, more people are turning to us for clear and balanced explanations of the issues and policies at stake. We’re so grateful that we’re on track to hit 85,000 contributions to the Vox Contributions program before the end of the year, which in turn helps us keep this work free. We need to add 2,500 contributions this month to hit that goal. Will you make a contribution today to help us hit this goal and support our policy coverage? Any amount helps.

One-Time Monthly Annual

$5/month

$10/month

$25/month

$50/month

Other

$

Yes, I'll give $5/month

Yes, I'll give $5/month

We accept credit card, Apple Pay, and Google Pay. You can also contribute via