Facebook does not know WhatsApp

[Draconian Guppy]

Now what do we do with it?

 

Facebook, which closed its acquisition of mobile messaging service WhatsApp earlier this week, has said that it has no near-term plan to make money from it.

 

Chief Executive Mark Zuckerberg, who is visiting India to participate in an event to boost Internet usage, refused to say much more, but it does indicate that the company has not worked out a cunning plan yet.

 

Facebook's final WhatsApp acquisition price tag has risen an additional $3 billion to roughly $22 billion because of the increased value of Facebook's stock in recent months. This means that Zuckerberg is under pressure to make a bob or two from the deal.

 

WhatsApp works across different types of phones, across borders, and without advertising. The app only charges a 99 cent annual subscription fee, which is waived for the first year.

 

Sauce:

 

http://www.fudzilla.com/home/item/36005-facebook-does-not-know-whatsapp

[primexx]

ohh clever title. WhatsApp, What's Up. Took me a while.

[Draconian Guppy]

ohh clever title. WhatsApp, What's Up. Took me a while.

seriously? :laugh: 

[hagjohn]

No near-term plan to make money from it.... from a 22 billion purchase. ROFL. Glad I'm not a shareholder.

[User6060]

Lots of people use whatsapp, i just hope they never introduce ads 

[Draconian Guppy]

Lots of people use whatsapp, i just hope they never introduce ads 

I'm guessing that's just a time bomb really, It will eventually happen :/ 

[Skiver Veteran]

I'm guessing that's just a time bomb really, It will eventually happen :/

 

Don't you have to pay for Whatsapp? I don't personally use it, but if I paid an annual sub for something I would like to think it would remain ad free.

[dipsylalapo Supervisor]

Don't you have to pay for Whatsapp? I don't personally use it, but if I paid an annual sub for something I would like to think it would remain ad free.

 

Yep there's a 69p a year charge, but I (and probably millions of others) have a lifetime sub for being an early adopter. 

 

They may even introduce a paid (ad free) and a free (with ads) version.

[Draconian Guppy]

Don't you have to pay for Whatsapp? I don't personally use it, but if I paid an annual sub for something I would like to think it would remain ad free.

I got it free, so I have a "lifetime" membership associated with my phone number...

 

But just watch how easy a "whatsapp pro" with X function with ads X function pay X to remove ads in the form of in app purchases.. From a business point of view, how long will share holders, boards and whatnot, stay happy with maintaining whatsapp as it is to justify is huge price

 

Thought their old motto always quoted fight club

 

Brian and I spent a combined 20 years at Yahoo! working hard to keep the site working. And yes, working hard to sell ads, because that's what Yahoo! did. It gathered data and it served pages and it sold ads. We watched Yahoo! get eclipsed in size by Google..

 

Advertising has us chasing cars and clothes, working jobs we hate so we can buy ###### we dont need. - Tyler Durden, Fight Club

 

[Skiver Veteran]

I got it free, so I have a "lifetime" membership associated with my phone number...

 

But just watch how easy a "whatsapp pro" with X function with ads X function pay X to remove ads in the form of in app purchases.. From a business point of view, how long will share holders, boards and whatnot, stay happy with maintaining whatsapp as it is to justify is huge price

 

Thought their old motto always quoted fight club

 

Then maybe you would be shafted as a user but if its going to happen, Its probably going to fall under the paid option. I swear I was cheated out of the free lifetime sub. When it first came out I installed the app (maybe I was on Blackberry still at the time) and used it a few times but installing it again years later (same mobile number) I was forced onto the 1 year free plan.

[dipsylalapo Supervisor]

Paid functionality is more than likely to appear and then the next free messaging app will become popular. There are already so many alternatives. 

[Draconian Guppy]

Then maybe you would be shafted as a user but if its going to happen, Its probably going to fall under the paid option. I swear I was cheated out of the free lifetime sub. When it first came out I installed the app (maybe I was on Blackberry still at the time) and used it a few times but installing it again years later (same mobile number) I was forced onto the 1 year free plan.

Didn't try contacting customer support? I've had friends who moved their lifetime even to another number :laugh: 

 

Yeah I see what you mean, though old Zuck promised whatsapp would be left alone, for how long? until they get greedy with that huge user base?

Paid functionality is more than likely to appear and then the next free messaging app will become popular. There are already so many alternatives. 

Oh I agree, but whatsapp large user base will get screwed first, then walkaway.

They may even introduce a paid (ad free) and a free (with ads) version.

Well they'd have to change their "no ads motto".

[dipsylalapo Supervisor]

Well they'd have to change their "no ads motto".

 

They'd just be bending that motto.  :shiftyninja: They'd still be ad free, but only on a certain version

[Draconian Guppy]

They'd just be bending that motto.  :shiftyninja: They'd still be ad free, but only on a certain version

Good point.

 

"We still are ad free in whatsapp+"

[DeadEndAccount]

Don't you have to pay for Whatsapp? I don't personally use it, but if I paid an annual sub for something I would like to think it would remain ad free.

 

If you purchased it before the acquisition then it was a one off fee for a lifetime of usage but after it was a free download but in-app purchase of 99cents per year to use the service. Personally if they wanted to do something useful with it then they should replace their existing messaging applications with Whatsapp and then hook in the Facebook website into the WhatsApp service - move it beyond merely being an application just for mobile phones and tablets.