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posted by
Dopefish
on Thursday February 20 2014, @09:00AM
from the when-will-this-darn-bubble-pop-already? dept.
from the when-will-this-darn-bubble-pop-already? dept.
lubricus writes "Facebook announced plans to acquire WhatsApp for four billion cash, plus 12 billion in Facebook shares.
Additionally, WhatsApp employees and founders will receive three billion in restricted stock which will vest in four years. Facebook also agreed to a one billion dollar break up fee.
WhatsApp says they have message volume which approaches the global SMS volume, and hope to have one billion users. Even at those figures, Facebook is paying $16 per user.
I'm guessing WhatsApp will send Snapchat developers a cake."
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Facebook to Buy WhatsApp for 16 Billion
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(Score: 2, Interesting) by lennier on Thursday February 20 2014, @09:30AM
To WhatsApp or to Facebook?
I'd never even heard of WhatsApp, but unfortunately a lot of my friends are on Facebook. I seem to remember Diaspora being only one of many open alternatives a few years back. If the Soylent community can spin up a new Slashcode site in a week, can we get some traction on solving the Twitter/Facebook microblogging duopoly problem?
Delenda est Beta
(Score: 3, Informative) by CowMan on Thursday February 20 2014, @10:38AM
The alternative for microblogging is Status.Net; it's pretty easy to configure (if you have your own server). Similarly, the answer to instant messaging is (still) XMPP. Diaspora is probably the nicest looking social network alternative, Frendica/Friendica Red is out there too, though it seems it hardly matters what is programmed; the problem remains the same - network effect; it'll be a bit of a lonely place unless your friends are all collectively super-techie or paranoid. It used to be pretty easy to link status.net to twitter, and talk to people on Gtalk from your other XMPP servers; but alas that "walled garden" thing marches on.