Facebook buys whatsapp for $16 BILLION!

[funkylogik]

I used whatsapp a long time ago but dont now.
Any thoughts about what this will do to the service?

 

[saptech]

Probably end up a crappy app....I do wish I had something to sell.

 

[Rukbat]

One of 3 things:

Facebook will use some of its innovative thinking to improve Whatsapp.
Facebook will keep their hands to themselves and deposit some of the Whatsapp profits.
Facebook will turn Whatsapp into "what was the name of that app?"

I've worked for all 3 types of companies.

 

[funkylogik]

My wife was telling me that whatsapp now charges a 69p ($1) subscription. Is that true?
Will the subscription stay with fb or will they just merge it into fb messenger to try n draw people into fb for advertising revenue?
Do many people who use whatsapp not use fb?

 

[Rukbat]

You're asking me? Me, who it took years, kicking and screaming, to be dragged from Isis to CP/M 80 to CPM/86 to DOS to Windows?

I do "social media" like you do giving birth - I'm not that species. I do have an account, because sometimes someone wants to show me the problem he's having with his phone, he posted the picture on FB, and I need an account to see it. (My wife, OTOH ... once she got an Android, one of the first tings she installed was FB.)

Whatsapp? I'm not even sure what it is. Picture sharing? Never even been to the site (assuming they have one, which I don't know.)

I do know how internet companies work, having been so deeply into so many of them since DARPA decided to connect a few computers together. And I've seen companies that make FB look like a mom & pop shop (21st largest bank in the world at the moment, but a lot closer to the top when I worked for them)close what most companies would call "their industry" because they wouldn't listen to "this isn't going to work". (It didn't, so they wrote off a few places of billions of US dollars with less thought than they usually gave to the annual department luncheon.) I've also seen a "I wonder if this would work" turn into retirement, except for the boredom of it, before the age of 25. I've been doing electronic communication of one kind or another (started at the age of 5 with a string,, some paper, wax and 2 tins - and wondered why it worked better if the string was waxed) commercially for about 55 years. (No, the string and tins wasn't a commercial venture - couldn't find anyone with 3 cents to invest.) So I've seen some great ideas turned to sewage, and some half-cocked schemes turned into early retirement.

But Whatsapp? FB? I speak Martian better than those languages. About all I can definitely tell you about FB is that if you need tech support from American Movil (Straight Talk, Net 10, Tracfone), that's where you go, because that's where their techs are. (The "people" you get on the phone are text to speech programs in quasi-human form.)

 

[hiredgun]

The good thing about this is that that every time you turn around there are new messaging apps starting up. No matter what they do to it, there will always be FREE alternatives, and as long as you can convince everyone that YOU know to try another one it doesn't matter what the rest of the world is using, lol.

 

[funkylogik]

@rukbat: tl;dr lol. I was asking the community
@Hiredgun: very true mate :beer:

 

[CDPlant]

Whatsapp? I'm not even sure what it is. Picture sharing? Never even been to the site (assuming they have one, which I don't know.)

It's an instant messaging app.

To be honest I don't think they'll really change anything. With the amount of money they paid I don't think they can afford to mess around with it and make it worse so people stop using it. They have effectively paid for 450 million phone numbers and contacts. According to Zuckerberg himself it is going to operate as a standalone app. Instagram is still pretty much the same as it was before Facebook bought them.

 

[Stuntman]

Last time I checked, WhatsApp is still working as well as it did before yesterday. Unless I have issues using it, I'm not worried about it for now.

 

[fdbryant3]

I just stick with SMS messaging, to much trouble to convince anyone to use anything else.

 

[funkylogik]

Yeah sms does the job and its virtually free nowadays

 

[nicka3200]

Yeah sms does the job and its virtually free nowadays

I use whatsapp because I get virtually not signal at home & it will deliver my sms via WiFi.

Also, I work abroad frequently & it allows me to sms while roaming for free if I have a WiFi connection which I do in most places. Picture, video & group messages are also free where as my carrier charges for those.

I am, however, surprised it is as popular as it is considering that for the most part standard sms is, as Funky says, virtually free & universal.

 

[mikedt]

I use whatsapp because I get virtually not signal at home & it will deliver my sms via WiFi.

Also, I work abroad frequently & it allows me to sms while roaming for free if I have a WiFi connection which I do in most places. Picture, video & group messages are also free where as my carrier charges for those.

I am, however, surprised it is as popular as it is considering that for the most part standard sms is, as Funky says, virtually free & universal.

I take you haven't had to visit Saudi Arabia, Syria, Uzbekistan or China, and use WhatsApp then? Unless you got a VPN. Sure FB is blocked in those countries as well, China at least.

 

[funkylogik]

Bloody china!!

 

[nicka3200]

I take you haven't had to visit Saudi Arabia, Syria, Uzbekistan or China, and use WhatsApp then? Unless you got a VPN. Sure FB is blocked in those countries as well, China at least.

Mostly Europe but occasionally just beyond. Facebook was working last time I was in Syria but that was about 3 years ago.

I'm not saying whatsapp is perfect but I do find it useful.

 

[funkylogik]

The wife was telling me facebook have started doing voice calls.
Is this connected to whatsapp tech?

 

[Skyroket]

19 billion is of course overpriced for a simple messaging app. But then again that price was offered by FB because they had to buy it.

 

[LizMac]

I'm simply amazed that they bought it. Instagram purchase made sense, but WhatsApp? I guess they have some sort of plan to go up against hangouts. I stopped using it; I give it a "meh" rating. Hangouts is pretty much all I use now for texting.

 

[LizMac]

The good thing about this is that that every time you turn around there are new messaging apps starting up. No matter what they do to it, there will always be FREE alternatives, and as long as you can convince everyone that YOU know to try another one it doesn't matter what the rest of the world is using, lol.

Yes, this is the problem. I installed WhatsApp to use on a project - all of us could easily chat from various operating systems. Once we were done, I really didn't have much use for it; most of my contacts didn't use it and the ones that did I don't talk to that often. Same thing happened when I downloaded Kik messenger. Not that many of my contacts were found.

 

[funkylogik]

Yeah its hard for one messaging app to hit that critical mass where it explodes and lots of people end up with it on their device. Whatsapp probably did that the best which is why fb bought them

 

[UncleMike]

I just stick with SMS messaging, to much trouble to convince anyone to use anything else.

Yeah sms does the job and its virtually free nowadays

Yes, this is the problem. I installed WhatsApp to use on a project - all of us could easily chat from various operating systems. Once we were done, I really didn't have much use for it; most of my contacts didn't use it and the ones that did I don't talk to that often. Same thing happened when I downloaded Kik messenger. Not that many of my contacts were found.

Yeah its hard for one messaging app to hit that critical mass where it explodes and lots of people end up with it on their device. Whatsapp probably did that the best which is why fb bought them

I've never understood the appeal of closed-system messaging apps; by their very nature they are of limited use. On the other hand, SMS is virtually universal - it doesn't matter what platform you're using, or if you have a smarthphone or a dumb phone. Sure, at one time cost was an issue if you didn't have a plan, but the vast majority of plans offered these days include unlimited (or a ridiculously high cap on) messaging.

For those who prefer something that runs over data, either for cost reasons, or for signal availability reasons, Google Voice (where available) is ideal. It transparently interfaces with the existing SMS system and doesn't require other users to install a specific app, create a new account, or do anything different.

That said, I'm an old fart, and don't quite get the appeal of SMS over actual voice calls either.

 

[LizMac]

UncleMike, I'm also an old fart! Been using technology since 1985. LOL. I agree with you. The advantage, that I found, was that I was able to group chat very easily with WhatsApp (and now with Hangouts), whereas my phones message system was slow and problematic with lots of different users. Sending MMS was even worse. WhatsApp solved that problem.

Gah, I hate voice. Maybe I spent too too many years on corded phones. Send me a text ALWAYS before voice. But that's just me....

 

[funkylogik]

Same

 

[03bluecoupe]

Old fart alert here to UncleMike. I've been dragged kicking and screaming into the SMS world. I still much prefer actually talking to people but that's becoming a lost form of communication. Been in the tech world since 74. Retired 2 years ago.

I just use Google Voice and have Messinging+GV over top of it. No one has to install anything and doesn't cost me anything as long as I have wifi. Plus I like that I can send/receive SMS on my laptop. <gasp> yes, I used the "l" word.