Smartphone applications are always bluer. In the chessboard of the apps that count – the most used ones present in almost all mobile phones – Facebook conquers other precious pawns. The latest, in chronological order, is Whatsapp, the service that allows you to send text messages, images and videos for free, using the Internet connection that all mobile phone owners now have. The social network par excellence will pay 19 billion dollars. Of this, $4 billion will be given in cash, $12 billion in Facebook shares and another $3 billion to employees and founder Jan Koum, who will join the board of directors of Mark Zuckerberg's company.
With over 450 million active users per month, Whatsapp is the most used messaging app in the world, undermined only by the dizzying growth of the Chinese of WeChat. Billions of dollars to buy an application that is almost free (it costs a dollar a year), but is growing rapidly in terms of the number of users. A clear sign that the game, rather than on profitability, is played on the diffusion of apps which, among other things, also have direct access to telephone directories. After all, Facebook had already attempted to attack similar applications – from Viber to Snapchat – but without success.
With one billion and 230 million subscribers to Facebook, Zuckerberg said: “WhatsApp is on the way to connect a billion people. A service that reaches that milestone is incredible value.”
The last big purchase – before Whatsapp – was Instagram, the app that allows you to share and edit photos taken using special filters. Also in this case, the game is played with smartphones.
Facebook, which recently turned 10. Geological eras for the very rapid times of the web. And now Zuckerberg's empire is at a crossroads: decline or revival. The answer, perhaps, is in a 4-inch screen.
