SourceCode: Why WhatsApp shouldn't sell to Facebook

By Gadjo Cardenas Sevilla

iMessage is great, if you're on iOS. BBM is superb, if you use a BlackBerry smartphone. These messaging solutions keep people connected through WiFi or data networks without the high cost associated with SMS messages. WhatsApp is a cross-platform global smartphone solution that works across all major devices  and there were rumours today that Facebook was looking to buy it.

The beauty of WhatsApp is that it does one thing really well but is available as an app on iOS, Android, Windows Phone and even BlackBerry. The app itself is inexpensive but the returns are immense since users can quickly message their friends and family regardless of country, mobile carrier or handset. WhatsApp currently handles 10 billion messages a day and has a reported 100 million daily users on a global scale.

Reports today were saying that Facebook was seriously looking into buying WhatsApp to add to its stable of functions and services that could put boost its user base as well as give it a foothold into mobile, something that Facebook desperately needs.

It turns out that the rumours were speculative and WhatsApp clarified this with All Things D with the following statement: “The TechCrunch article is a rumor and not factually accurate. We have no further information to share at the moment.”

This isn't the first time Facebook has coveted a popular app or service that succeeded in an area where it was doing poorly. Facebook could see the rising popularity of Instagram and it wanted to absorb it, and its loyal user base into their own mega-ecosystem. So Facebook bought Instagram for a whopping US $1billion.

The same thing might be in play for WhatsApp. While Facebook messenger is pretty ubiquitous on smartphones and desktops, it isn't the go-to messaging app that most users think of specially on mobile devices.

Some users, already creeped out by Facebook's ever-shifting content and privacy policies, avoid using the messenger app on purpose.

By buying WhatsApp, a service that's already got a wide and loyal installed user base, Facebook simply has to rejig some aspects of the service (like make it ad supported) to suck it into the larger ecosystem.

The addition of WhatsApp will be a big coup for Facebook specially as it competes with Google for eyeballs and advertising space.

Should WhatsApp sell to Facebook? I personally hope they don't.

After having used WhatsApp on various smartphones and platforms, I realize that it isn't perfect but it has the potential to be a transcendent technology. It can be even bigger than FaceBook. 

WhatsApp already works well independently, users love the service and it is one of those apps that is considered a constant when one moves from phone to phone or from ecosystem to ecosystem.

BlackBerry Messenger users didn't abandon RIM because the BBM service meant more to them than any other aspect of the device. BBM connected them to their BBM friends and family and that's enough to keep users engaged.

Same goes for FaceTime and iMessage on iPhones. These features are some of the biggest reasons users will get an iPhone or an iPad so they can stay in touch with friends and family and save money doing so.

WhatsApp is different since it isn't tied down to hardware or an ecosystem.

Want to ditch your Android for a sexy new Windows Phone, you can at least take WhatsApp with you and your friends will all be accessible. In the ever competitive mobile and smartphone industry, an application like WhatsApp can thrive no matter which smartphone or ecosystem rules, provided they give a constant and satisfying user experience.

This is what makes WhatsApp such a great product and one that I hope can thrive and grow independently.

Sources: TechCrunch

              All Things D