It seems to me that Facebook is consistently trying to buy up the next big thing, but if WhatsApp isn't very popular in the United States as of yet, what's the big deal?
Initially, I wondered what Zuckerberg was thinking, seeing as Facebook already has it's own messaging service connected to it. In the CNN video in the referenced article, he was quoted as saying, "WhatsApp is on the path to connect 1 billion people. The services that reach that milestone are all incredibly valuable." Let's recap; how many Facebook users are there? A LOT. And the messaging service is free as well and can be used over 3G networks and WiFi connection. I guess the point I'm getting at is that these types of messaging programs are already around. What makes WhatsApp so much more popular?
It seems like the WhatsApp creators made enough money to last them a lifetime, but time will only tell what Facebook will do with it. It looks like a seriously risky investment, somewhat because we all know how easily apps burn out and we just delete them after a week. Yes, Instagram is still going strong, adding many more users every day, but it is also a somewhat different kind of social networking than texting so it has staying power.
Another note - at least for iPhone users, WhatsApp is only free for the first year. After that, its $.99/year. So it isn't truly free, but hey, if Facebook has $19 billion to buy the whole app's parent company, you should have $.99 to buy the app.
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