People will bring their prejudices to the table when judging whether Facebook agreeing to pay up to $19bn for messaging app WhatsApp is a smart deal or not.Some will see it as the latest evidence of a froth-fuelled social networking and apps bubble, which won’t end well. Others will hail it as the bold, decisive move of a visionary CEO.
http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/feb/20/facebook-whatsapp-acquisition-apps-messagingAlso see:Facebook Looks to Become Big Fish in Another Big Pond
Facebook is already the world’s biggest social network. Now it wants to be the biggest player in a new global field by buying WhatsApp, the global leader in mobile messaging.”WhatsApp is the biggest guy in town,” said Bertrand Schmitt, chief executive of App Annie, an analytics company that monitors app rankings worldwide. “Facebook is buying into that. It’s about global scale.”
http://www.nytimes.com/2014/02/21/technology/facebook-looks-to-become-big-fish-in-another-big-pond.html