Keys to understanding the purchase of WhatsApp by Facebook

One of the news of the year that has been dropped as an earthquake in the sector of the social networks and the communications: throughout few days ago, Facebook purchased WhatsApp, one of the services of multi-platform mobile messengers more important of the world, by a whopping $16 billion. Now, after a short period of time to absorb the news, Unofficial reflect on this fact by 5 points or clues that will help us understand the purchase of WhatsApp for Facebook:

The empire on all things Mobile

A fact that can not be overlooked is the shift towards products that have been born, and is in the mobile ecosystem. Though Facebook has tried by all means to attack the mobile messaging market, despite having a large number of active users at both the main application and through messenger, which uses the network infrastructure to be a social messaging service, the company has failed or has not been able to achieve the same success in the mobile messaging has achieved in the field of social networks.

WhatsApp instead was born and raised on mobile without interference of external elements that threaten this idea. No client to traditional equipment nor there is for tablets, hence its success in the mobile has been so sharp and hence where Facebook has failed, WhatsApp has succeeded.

With the purchase, Facebook takes over a market that has not gotten in, and makes for the biggest target. In this sense, the main reason is that mobile is the future of social networks, and Facebook it tastes great.

400 million reasons

It is impossible to realize the size of the purchase of WhatsApp regardless of their active users. 400 million, four hundred million. No instant messaging application has the base of active users who have WhatsApp, not even the messenger application from Facebook with its 1000 million users on the platform. This is undoubtedly the most representative event that has sparked interest in the headquarters of Facebook.

And not just the fact of the 400 million active users is the growth of the platform that has grown from 200 million in just 9 months. There is no messaging platform or social network which has shown similar growth. Moreover, each day, over a million people installed the application will become active users of WhatsApp more than any other service.

Difference between business models

For the first time, one of the purchases of Facebook focuses on a company whose business model is not free of charge does not allow the introduction of ads. It is a significant fact that so far many users had refused payment of online content until the arrival WhatsApp and Facebook first buy a company with a business model already defined.

Both companies came at the right time for their sectors The importance of this fact is important from the time when Facebook announced the WhatsApp will continue to operate independently as before, without ads and by paid subscription. This means that not change the perception of the user for the product that is already using the same time limits the intrusion of the practices that consumer less like Facebook messaging service, a service that has become central to the communication for a number of users.

In exchange Facebook buys a service that will monetize only, which has a solid business model and an overwhelming user base that guarantee the success of the investment and significantly reduce the risk of being wrong.

Facebook becomes a de facto communication service

With the purchase of WhatsApp, the portfolio of Facebook becomes even more important. If prior to the purchase of Menlo Park Company already controlled part of social communications in the network, WhatsApp also do the same in the mobile environment. From this moment, the number of users (and data) of the social network soar over 400 million becoming a monster that is becoming the de facto basis for social relationships through internet.

Facebook becomes messaging service provider in this regard, Facebook now controls two major markets: first is still the king of social networks, and the other is left with a stroke of the business operators in the mobile communication. Okay this fact and can be attributed to WhatsApp before buying Facebook, but it certainly will allow the social network to expand its user base in markets where it operates as a social network, but that WhatsApp is a mere anecdote, as the United States, where the presence of the courier is testimonial and may force regional operators to adapt their service offering as has happened in countries like Spain, where the SMS is an anecdote that an alternative communication.

The importance of mobile messaging

WhatsApp arrived in a timely mobile messaging in the same way that Facebook did time in the field of social networks. If, before arrival of both existed more or less similar products but which far reached the popularity of these. One point in which lies its success and makes the difference between the two companies is their evolution over time.

While Facebook managed to reach users through a product that has received literally hundreds of changes over time, WhatsApp has not changed, its essence has been the same from the beginning and that has been one of the success factors has catapulted it to where he is right now, and since then has been one of the attractions that the company’s social network has been in the courier.