Whatsapp is my favorite social network by a country mile. I blogged about it six months back, it’s numbers and growth have been consistently through the roof, and Facebook has now validated it by paying $19 Billion for it.
A few observations/thoughts –
1. Mark Zuckerberg is probably reading “The Innovator’s Dilemma.” I think this is a smart move. There was a time when Facebook was the best social network out there. Now, Whatsapp is the best social network (in my opinion) everywhere outside the US and China – certainly in terms of time spent and overall usage. Ben Evans describes it as Facebook’s attempt to be the “next Facebook.” Sounds about right.
2. Facebook is investing heavily into mobile with Whatsapp and Instagram. I think it is doing the smart thing by not attempting to integrate all these companies into Facebook in an obvious way. Let them be. Let them do their thing. It’s good for everyone.
3. Whatsapp have done a phenomenal job being completely under the radar.
4. Once again, Whatsapp demonstrate the power of the combination of a great product and a bit of luck. Companies like Google got their break because of a killer product while companies like YouTube probably had a healthy slice of luck. In case of Whatsapp, they had a simple product that just worked and even though they had competition from Kik and Viber, the very viral nature of the product ensured they grabbed most of the online mobile user-base globally (except perhaps China and the US – where WeChat and Snapchat/Kik reign).
5. The rate at which Google, Facebook and Amazon go about acquiring companies is truly mind-blowing. It validates the now conventional wisdom of leading venture capitalists who ensure companies are focused on acquiring users and their product before revenue. If you build an outstanding company with 300M users and almost no revenue, you still have a great shot at being bought out by an internet giant who won’t have trouble footing the bills to capture your reach. Granted – 300M users is no easy thing but it probably still makes it easier for entrepreneurs to focus.
And, straying off topic for a moment, enough with the social web already. I’d like to see this sort of innovation in agritech and wellness. There’s a lot of good work waiting to be done.
Congratulations to the Whatsapp team – well deserved. And good job Facebook.
A Learning a Day 