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Facebook’s New Message to WhatsApp: Make Money

wsj.com

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Re: Facebook’s New Message to WhatsApp: Make Money

#61

Post by EduardoBautista »

eitally wrote: post #19
danirod wrote: post #14

Remember when WhatsApp required a subscription? One of the first changes made by Facebook after purchasing WhatsApp was to make it available for free. And now they're complaining they can't milk it enough? Oh dear. I know that a percentage of WhatsApp users would stop using the app if they started requiring a payment again –because apparently paying $1 per year for using an application on your $999 phone is outrageou…

Yeah ... but a huge fraction of Whatsapp users (in India & Africa especially) use $100 (or less) phones....

Thousands of corporations have survived without having to worry about markets that don't have disposable income. You don't see Apple hurting because they aren't successful in the poorest areas in the world.

It may sound cruel, but is it crueler than saying "Since you can't afford to pay, just give us access to your emails and private messages"?

Re: Facebook’s New Message to WhatsApp: Make Money

#64

Post by pmlnr »

bassman9000 wrote: post #28
moe_32 wrote: post #10

Earlier quoted context omitted.

E-mail. It's pretty amazing.

It is, and I've discussed how it will be around and strong 10 years from now, when many other current platforms are past dead. But it's not an option for the fast-pace, short-text, short-lived communication, thread style conversations. No, Gmail lock-in is not an option.

Email, not gmail.

Re: Facebook’s New Message to WhatsApp: Make Money

#65

Post by bassman9000 »

saagarjha wrote: post #37
bassman9000 wrote: post #25

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Thanks, but we have a mixed ecosystem, and Apple vendor lock-in is not an option. Plus, their current pro-privacy stance seems phony.

Phony in what way?

In the way that's not the result of a real pro-privacy strategy, but a unintended side effect of losing the voice assistant battle. Because Siri was getting behind, they now market themselves, directly or not, as privacy friendly. IMHO, they haven't yet found a way to market those vast amounts of tracking information without causing another scandal.

Re: Facebook’s New Message to WhatsApp: Make Money

#66

Post by anuragbiyani »

danirod wrote: post #14

Remember when WhatsApp required a subscription? One of the first changes made by Facebook after purchasing WhatsApp was to make it available for free. And now they're complaining they can't milk it enough? Oh dear. I know that a percentage of WhatsApp users would stop using the app if they started requiring a payment again –because apparently paying $1 per year for using an application on your $999 phone is outrageou…

You are completely mistaken if you think adding a subscription-only would not reduce usage of WhatsApp by 10x at least. I am an Indian (WhatsApp's biggest market by far), and know for a fact that hardly 1% of people using it right now in India would be able/willing to set up a payment system AND willing to pay $1 for it (which is not as inexpensive as you think) when there are so many free alternatives. And then it immediately loses its value as a messaging platform (since if my relatives/friends are off it due to forced subscription, what will I do on WhatsApp even though I am ok paying $1). #networkEffect

So adding forced subscription is a definite death sentence for WhatsApp. Also remember that even if everyone of the 1B people did pay $1 for the service, it will still be impossible for FB to recoup $19B it purchased WhatsApp for.

On the other hand, I would love a "Ad-free" mode for people who are willing to pay (like YT Premium), and ads to support other 99.xx%.

Re: Facebook’s New Message to WhatsApp: Make Money

#67

Post by wereHamster »

sreyaNotfilc wrote: post #40
danirod wrote: post #14

Remember when WhatsApp required a subscription? One of the first changes made by Facebook after purchasing WhatsApp was to make it available for free. And now they're complaining they can't milk it enough? Oh dear. I know that a percentage of WhatsApp users would stop using the app if they started requiring a payment again –because apparently paying $1 per year for using an application on your $999 phone is outrageou…

I'm wondering if this pressure was in response to the 20% decline on FB stocks. Its as if the shareholders looked at their portfolio in search of companies acquired that could fill that void.

Facebook didn't lose any money they need for day-to-day operations. The company lost value in the eyes of its shareholders, that's all. Facebook doesn't need to fill any void, as there is none.

Re: Facebook’s New Message to WhatsApp: Make Money

#68

Post by Rescis »

EduardoBautista wrote: post #61
eitally wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah ... but a huge fraction of Whatsapp users (in India & Africa especially) use $100 (or less) phones....

Thousands of corporations have survived without having to worry about markets that don't have disposable income. You don't see Apple hurting because they aren't successful in the poorest areas in the world. It may sound cruel, but is it crueler than saying "Since you can't afford to pay, just give us access to your emails and private messages"?

Applications like WhatsApp noticeably improve the standard of living for people in WhatsApp, as they allow them to communicate with people far easier, cheaper, and faster than otherwise would have been possible.

It really is more cruel to say that because you, in a first world country, can pay 1 dollar much easier than they can pay 1 dollar, you should decide that they're not allowed to pay with their data if they desire.

Re: Facebook’s New Message to WhatsApp: Make Money

#69

Post by aylmao »

EduardoBautista wrote: post #61
eitally wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yeah ... but a huge fraction of Whatsapp users (in India & Africa especially) use $100 (or less) phones....

Thousands of corporations have survived without having to worry about markets that don't have disposable income. You don't see Apple hurting because they aren't successful in the poorest areas in the world. It may sound cruel, but is it crueler than saying "Since you can't afford to pay, just give us access to your emails and private messages"?

It's cruel because WhatsApp is already there and people rely on it. Also worth noting, second point applies to Facebook but WhatsApp is encrypted.

Re: Facebook’s New Message to WhatsApp: Make Money

#70

Post by xkjkls »

danirod wrote: post #14

Remember when WhatsApp required a subscription? One of the first changes made by Facebook after purchasing WhatsApp was to make it available for free. And now they're complaining they can't milk it enough? Oh dear. I know that a percentage of WhatsApp users would stop using the app if they started requiring a payment again –because apparently paying $1 per year for using an application on your $999 phone is outrageou…

Because they paid $19 billion for it and need some form of return on that investment? You can't just throw stockholder's equity around like that and then come up with a plan that maxes out at ~$1 billion a year in revenue.
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