Earlier quoted context omitted.
im curious, what do americans use instead?
same old texting.
interesting, i suppose its free? because it isn't here in germany which is why whatsapp is massively popular.
Facebook Buying WhatsApp for $16B in Cash and Stock Plus $3B in RSUs
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Re: Facebook Buying WhatsApp for $16B in Cash and Stock Plus $3B in RSUs
#232I usually don't poo-poo acquisitions but this one surprises me for a) the valuation (Facebook really couldn't convince them to exit for 5 or 10 billion?) and b) Facebook really needs to demonstrate that it can get into these markets itself.
With all the supposed ingenuity, developer talent, money and existing users, why can't Facebook build anything besides a news feed?
Re: Facebook Buying WhatsApp for $16B in Cash and Stock Plus $3B in RSUs
#233Serious question: What is so compelling about whatsapp? There are so many IM protocols out there.
Re: Facebook Buying WhatsApp for $16B in Cash and Stock Plus $3B in RSUs
#234This is just sick. Does at least some tax apply to such transactions in the US?
Or think what the Gates Founation woul dbe able to do with just, say, a quarter of this money.
Re: Facebook Buying WhatsApp for $16B in Cash and Stock Plus $3B in RSUs
#235How did WhatsApp gain traction? Presumably most of their users already use facebook, which offers the same messaging functionality as WhatsApp. So why do people use WhatsApp instead of Facebook for messaging?
It's phone number based, so it's disconnected from your social media presence. You don't have to add anyone or allow them access to whatever you might share with your circle of friends. In my experience it also handles group chats better than Facebook and grew popular before the advent of the Facebook messenger app.
Re: Facebook Buying WhatsApp for $16B in Cash and Stock Plus $3B in RSUs
#236Does anyone know any alternatives (with group chat)?
Where I live, a lot of people use Telegram. It has less cluttered interface and is also much faster than WhatsApp on unreliable connections.
Re: Facebook Buying WhatsApp for $16B in Cash and Stock Plus $3B in RSUs
#237I think I will nominate myself to be the single person on Hacker News, who after an announcement of a huge mega-acquisition, will skip all the high-minded analysis and discussion of business models and ROI, and simply say:
Wow, I wish I had a $19B acquisition -- I'm jealous :-)
Re: Facebook Buying WhatsApp for $16B in Cash and Stock Plus $3B in RSUs
#238Some interesting numbers: WhatsApp raised only $8 million (from Sequoia in 2011 http://www.crunchbase.com/company/whatsapp ). 19B sale price is about 10% of Facebook's 173B valuation. At 400 million, WhatsApp has more users than, the world's third most populous country , the United States has residents.
I never understand the comparison of user bases to populations. Makes no sense to me whatsoever.
Re: Facebook Buying WhatsApp for $16B in Cash and Stock Plus $3B in RSUs
#239My uncle in India runs a construction company, and literally every single aspect of company communication is done over WhatsApp. Each construction site has to constantly post pictures on WhatsApp, and basically all management and payroll decisions are made through WhatsApp discussions. Apparently this is not an uncommon practice, as businesses that were once administered by pen and paper are now using WhatsApp to imp…
That's amazing. It can be easy to write off WhatsApp with an ethnocentric view, but to hear how other people are using it on the other side of the world certainly adds a new perspective
Same thing with the diamond merchants in India. A lot of deals and much of the communication is now done over WhatsApp. People in India get a smartphone for the sole reason to use WhatsApp, whether the individual is a servant or a rich businessman.
Re: Facebook Buying WhatsApp for $16B in Cash and Stock Plus $3B in RSUs
#240Facebook suddenly acquired the world's (if we exclude the US and China) most popular messaging service. I communicate with this app with all my friends, and share stuff that i have no intention of ever putting on Facebook. Everything that once seemed 'private' is now in the hands of a website that forces it users to share as much as possible with marketeers and advertising companies. It's gonna be one tough mission f…
"(if we exclude the US and China)"
That's at least half of the world, if not in users, at least in revenue. What the hell!