The founders behind WhatsApp’s rise

Acton, meanwhile, expressed worry about what a bigger company would do with WhatsApp’s users, to whom the company has made such an important promise of “no ads, no gimmicks, no games.”
Click to expand...

That's damn right.
Facebook is going to have to intergrate WhatsApp into itself - and that means making money - more money.
And the ads will come.

Zuckerberg will treat it the same way he did Facebook - no ads, it has to be cool - then ads.
But its already cool - so the ads will come quicker.
Give it another year or two.
 
spikry said:
But Instagram does not have ads and it was brought by Facebook.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I think this buyout is after user data more than ADs. Explains why whatsapp has been free all this time (they keep extrending your freeness just before it expires...) - it's been about building a large database of personal information to pawn off.

Mr Peck says WhatsApp users look cheap at about $40 compared with a Facebook user at $140 and a Twitter user at $160.
Click to expand...
 
spikry said:
But Instagram does not have ads and it was brought by Facebook.
Click to expand...
Instagram was a cheap transaction.

FB will have no choice but to show a return on its $19 Billion purchase; Whatsapp's current $1 / user / year just won't cut it.
 
[)roi(];12148391 said:
Instagram was a cheap transaction.

FB will have no choice but to show a return on its $19 Billion purchase; Whatsapp's current $1 / user / year just won't cut it.
Click to expand...

This. Unless Zuckerberg and the FB board have stipulated that it's going to take x-amount of years before a return is even seen because they're going to take some time to integrate the Whatsapp product into their core offering.
 
"WhatsApp is simple, secure, and fast."

Not really secure in the least, mate ;)

But anyways, hopefully Facebook will leave the look, feel and functionality alone as all they wanted were the phone numbers. If they fill it with ads, people WILL move to something else.
 
Interesting fact:
Roelof Botha (Son of Pik Botha) is one of the Directors of Sequoia Capital, the Venture Capitalists that assisted Jan Koum and Brian Acton with their strartup.

He has probably made a few bucks with this deal as well.
 
Last edited:
Didn't know that. Hell, there are a good few South Africans behind some major tech companies / tech money.
 
[)roi(];12148391 said:
Instagram was a cheap transaction.

FB will have no choice but to show a return on its $19 Billion purchase; Whatsapp's current $1 / user / year just won't cut it.
Click to expand...

Agreed. Read somewhere it works out to $40 - $45 per user in the purchase price.

The valuations just don't make sense. I think we are seeing a social media bubble.
 
[)roi(];12148391 said:
Instagram was a cheap transaction.

FB will have no choice but to show a return on its $19 Billion purchase; Whatsapp's current $1 / user / year just won't cut it.
Click to expand...

I'm pretty sure Facebook wanted to buy them to get access to users messages and all their contacts. They will be able to grow their userbase a lot with that info, and improve targeted adds a lot having access to most of your communications and that of all your contacts...

Type of situation where friends of yours are discussing going for a holiday to France, and you already start seeing ads for trips to France.
 
Do people actually use those ads anyway? I have never clicked on any and actually regard them as an irritation
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top
Sign up to the MyBroadband newsletter
X