It seems like, if you're making something flexible enough to handle payments, various social and interactive services, and yet somehow fall short of being a full web browser, haven't you just reinvented Prodigy for the 2020s?

I assume at this point it largely runs on momentum in a Facebookesque way-- it no longer has to be particularly food at any given service because the sheer mass of its userbase will make it a major player in every market it goes near.

But that doesn't explain initial success. Was it catapulted by a specific environmental condition (i. e. they got zero-rated at a point where mobile data was too expensive to just choose random websites to browse?) or a dramatically better ergonomic experience?