Facebook’s New Message to WhatsApp: Make Money

Post by wolco » Wed, Aug 01, 2018, 9:41 PM UTC

blub wrote: post #143

Rescis wrote: post #68

Earlier quoted context omitted.

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 de…

If someone can't afford to pay $1 per year for something that allows them to communicate faster and cheaper then they are so fucked it's not even funny. We're talking mind-boggling levels of poverty. How are they able to even pay for a phone and mobile subscription? Where do they live? How do they eat? It sounds to me like a made-up sad story used as an excuse for rich corporations. If there are people that poor out…

Post by xkjkls » Wed, Aug 01, 2018, 9:43 PM UTC

citrablue wrote: post #124

xkjkls wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Their stock just took a 20% dive because their main cash flow engine up to this point, the FB app, is showing stagnating engagement. Unless they want to take even great stock hits, which would lead to: greater difficulty to hire, greater difficulty to finance, more employee turnover, decreased ability to fight government regulation, et cetera, then they can't let this investment be wasted.

The acquisition price is a sunk cost. They still have the asset, and I agree its important for them to not waste it.

Post by grawprog » Wed, Aug 01, 2018, 9:45 PM UTC

aetherson wrote: post #156

russellbeattie wrote: post #78

Whatsapp had a great business model: $1 a year. With their current 1.5 billion users, that's nothing to sneeze at. It doesn't cost them $100M a month to provide the service. I wish more companies were like Craigslist - happy to make an great profit and a lasting business by providing basic information services for a reasonable price. Instead, a bunch of MBAs want to rule the world by focusing on growth at all costs,…

If the app cost $1 per year subscription, most people could afford it, but many wouldn't get their shit together and actually do the payment, and then their accounts would be suspended, and the network effect would be reduced. And also, WhatsApp wouldn't be making a ton of money. Payment processors take a huge bite out of $1 payments, the service does cost money to run, and it costs more money to continue to develop.…

Post by xkjkls » Wed, Aug 01, 2018, 9:49 PM UTC

egypturnash wrote: post #110

xkjkls wrote: post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

For whom is that the primary business model, instead of an addition though?

IRC, Line makes absolute pots of money off of stickers, merch of the characters they've made for those stickers, and assorted other things. Wish I could find the article I read on that a while back.

Post by sp527 » Wed, Aug 01, 2018, 9:52 PM UTC

enraged_camel wrote: post #165

Smirnoff wrote: post #115

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Ok, I agree that some MBAs can be full of it but can we already stop this MBA hate on HN? I feel like lots of people here think that if you build something then customers will surely come. I've got a huge surprise for you. You will have to sell your product and some of the MBA's are really great at that. In B2B a single sale can make or break your company when you're low on cash. You do your job and let them do their…

You don't need an MBA to sell something, even when the target customer is an enterprise.