WhatsApp co-founder tells everyone to delete Facebook

#1

Post by coloneltcb » Tue, Mar 20, 2018, 11:24 PM UTC

WhatsApp co-founder tells everyone to delete Facebook
theverge.com

Re: WhatsApp co-founder tells everyone to delete Facebook

#2

Post by Sonnol53 » Wed, Mar 21, 2018, 12:03 AM UTC

did he leave after the acquisition? or is he still involved in the company?

Re: WhatsApp co-founder tells everyone to delete Facebook

#3

Post by mistahchris » Wed, Mar 21, 2018, 12:10 AM UTC

Sonnol53 wrote: post #2

did he leave after the acquisition? or is he still involved in the company?

> In 2014, Facebook bought WhatsApp for $16 billion, making its co-founders — Jan Koum and Brian Acton — very wealthy men. Koum continues to lead the company, but Acton quit earlier this year to start his own foundation.

It's in the first two sentences. Action is one of the co-founders of WhatsApp

Re: WhatsApp co-founder tells everyone to delete Facebook

#4

Post by tptacek » Wed, Mar 21, 2018, 1:04 AM UTC

Sonnol53 wrote: post #2

did he leave after the acquisition? or is he still involved in the company?

Acton recently donated $50MM to Open Whisper Systems (Signal) and is now involved with their board.

Re: WhatsApp co-founder tells everyone to delete Facebook

#5

Post by swyx » Wed, Mar 21, 2018, 1:09 AM UTC

technically he did start a Facebook competitor (loosely speaking), he just happened to have been bought by them!

Re: WhatsApp co-founder tells everyone to delete Facebook

#6

Post by walrus01 » Wed, Mar 21, 2018, 1:12 AM UTC

I would be very curious to learn what sort of non-disparagement clauses existed in the Whatsapp/Facebook purchase contract. And how exactly they were worded.

Re: WhatsApp co-founder tells everyone to delete Facebook

#7

Post by hannasanarion » Wed, Mar 21, 2018, 1:13 AM UTC

mistahchris wrote: post #3

Sonnol53 wrote: post #2

did he leave after the acquisition? or is he still involved in the company?

> In 2014, Facebook bought WhatsApp for $16 billion, making its co-founders — Jan Koum and Brian Acton — very wealthy men. Koum continues to lead the company, but Acton quit earlier this year to start his own foundation. It's in the first two sentences. Action is one of the co-founders of WhatsApp

What he was asking is the last sentence. He quit WhatsApp to help make Signal.

Re: WhatsApp co-founder tells everyone to delete Facebook

#8

Post by fancyfacebook » Wed, Mar 21, 2018, 1:13 AM UTC

walrus01 wrote: post #6

I would be very curious to learn what sort of non-disparagement clauses existed in the Whatsapp/Facebook purchase contract. And how exactly they were worded.

I don't think anyone at Facebook has the bandwidth to deal with a mean tweet from an old employee right now. If rumors are to be believed mass resignations are coming.

Re: WhatsApp co-founder tells everyone to delete Facebook

#9

Post by hannasanarion » Wed, Mar 21, 2018, 1:14 AM UTC

swyx wrote: post #5

technically he did start a Facebook competitor (loosely speaking), he just happened to have been bought by them!

And then he quit his company to work on another competitor!

He gave 40 million dollars to and works on Signal, the app that WhatsApp is basically a skin of anyway.

Re: WhatsApp co-founder tells everyone to delete Facebook

#10

Post by walrus01 » Wed, Mar 21, 2018, 1:17 AM UTC

fancyfacebook wrote: post #8

walrus01 wrote: post #6

I would be very curious to learn what sort of non-disparagement clauses existed in the Whatsapp/Facebook purchase contract. And how exactly they were worded.

I don't think anyone at Facebook has the bandwidth to deal with a mean tweet from an old employee right now. If rumors are to be believed mass resignations are coming.

Probably not, but it can mean a great deal if it gets media traction, and Acton would go in the category of "founder made into a billionaire" rather than "employee". It's not like he was some random engineer in a pool of a hundred engineers.