Vertical Video - CNN/Sam Barry
Yo - thinking more deeply about notifications
Emojis/stickers - use of cartoons, animations
Telegram/Firechat - Iran/Hong Kong
Yik Yak/Jott/Snapchat - millennials
Hike, Zalo - more culturally relevant
Facebook Messenger/Skype
WhatsApp API release?
Shao-ice Microsoft in China - plugin chat bot to social media
Messenger M
Siri/Google Now
Kik, Line, Telegram already have bots which are going to get more sophisticated
Two futures - two or three global giants could emerge where you can do anything you want on the internet inside them (Wechat in China). OR messaging technology gets baked into pretty much all digital services.
WhatsApp currently best placed to be that electricity - if it decides to open up an API