WhatsApp Doc? It turns out Bugs Bunny isn’t the only one interested in WhatsApp. Facebook is acquiring the messaging application for more than $16 billion. That is a huge price tag for an app that is just another messaging platform.
I had to download the app to figure out what the big deal is. Why would you need an app to text when my phone already does with no additional platforms?
I was surprised to find out how many friends are already on it. A couple of my friends explained that they use it to text with friends overseas. I studied in Spain in 2002 and texting was the primary form of communication with friends as voice calls were much more expensive on cell phones and landlines. Texting worked. It has long been a part of European culture.
Buzzfeed wrote an article on the buyout explaining, “Facebook just bought the only app that could truly call itself a Facebook killer.” I don’t know that I would give any app that much credit. But according to the article, the attraction is that you aren’t limited by character limits or messaging limits as you are with some phones and phone plans. You can also share media like videos, photos, location, and contacts. Sounds a lot like iMessage to me. Yet it has a huge following with more than 450 million users.
With the texting culture already prevalent overseas, my theory is that the app with its low cost and added benefits gained popularity as a way to text internationally amongst an internationally mobile population across platforms.
But what is Facebook really getting out of this deal? Likely control and audience. Facebook intends to own mobile and social and all of a sudden it started losing a whole aspect of the game: messaging. The author of the article explains that, “It’s drawing from the same limited pool of attention…” And Facebook doesn’t want to lose its audience to a punk start-up.
I had to download the app to figure out what the big deal is. Why would you need an app to text when my phone already does with no additional platforms?
I was surprised to find out how many friends are already on it. A couple of my friends explained that they use it to text with friends overseas. I studied in Spain in 2002 and texting was the primary form of communication with friends as voice calls were much more expensive on cell phones and landlines. Texting worked. It has long been a part of European culture.
Buzzfeed wrote an article on the buyout explaining, “Facebook just bought the only app that could truly call itself a Facebook killer.” I don’t know that I would give any app that much credit. But according to the article, the attraction is that you aren’t limited by character limits or messaging limits as you are with some phones and phone plans. You can also share media like videos, photos, location, and contacts. Sounds a lot like iMessage to me. Yet it has a huge following with more than 450 million users.
With the texting culture already prevalent overseas, my theory is that the app with its low cost and added benefits gained popularity as a way to text internationally amongst an internationally mobile population across platforms.
But what is Facebook really getting out of this deal? Likely control and audience. Facebook intends to own mobile and social and all of a sudden it started losing a whole aspect of the game: messaging. The author of the article explains that, “It’s drawing from the same limited pool of attention…” And Facebook doesn’t want to lose its audience to a punk start-up.