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I was curious if you could tell me what value WhatsApp is actually providing? or for that matter facebook or twitter? Are they on the bleeding edge of scientific discovery?

I always felt they were like a social outlet for folks to waste time and their only revenue stream was advertising.

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>>I was curious if you could tell me what value WhatsApp is actually providing?

I used to think like this too. Then I went on an overseas trip with a group of thirty baby-boomers (parents' friends). What I saw blew my mind.

Despite the fact that most people on the group could barely use a computer, they were very savvy and frequent WhatsApp users. They had created a group prior to the trip and everyone was a member, and throughout the trip the app was used to coordinate meeting times, share cool finds, joke around and exchange photos taken with the rest of the group. If a sub-group split up from the main group for a few hours, they quickly created their own group within the app, and then discarded it after joining with the main group. All within seconds. Even the several 70+ year olds in the group were using it and having a great time.

Then I realized: WhatsApp is an easier-to-use, more reliable, more secure and free version of SMS. That's why it's a big deal.

Thanks for the write-up!

Outside of the U.S., WhatsApp has replaced text messaging for a massive amount of people.

I'm not quite sure what happened to make this possible, but I think one related factor has to do with prepaid cell phone plans being more normal and less the exception, and very conscious data usage.

Whatsapp is free, SMS is not (especially if texting across borders). Also easier to integrate media and have group chats in whatsapp.

But I would say "like SMS, only doesn't cost money even when sending abroad" is the killer feature in my extended family.

Ah, that's a good point. For the major U.S. providers, sending a text to an international number isn't any different than sending a domestic one.

However, sending a text message internationally — when I'm traveling to another country — is totally different and the rate is insane: $0.25/$0.50 per SMS/MMS sent. So they essentially force you to buy a special 30-day international texting bundle to be able to keep in touch with your friends back home.

The rates for data abroad from U.S. carriers are even worse: $60 for 300MB. I'm anxiously awaiting a "Whatsapp for cell data" style plan. How do you handle that?

It's the first non-sms communication method that I see used everywhere around me, and all the time, and for everything.

Sure, email existed and even my grandmother started using it years ago. But email wasn't as ubiquitous to daily life.

Over here, WhatsApp is used by teachers to communicate with students, my driving instructor to set up appointments and let me know he's at the door, my parents to share random bits of their life in the family group, my friends to just meet up and have an ongoing pointless conversation, my colleagues to figure out who's in the office and when, people my various 'associations' to discuss when to meet and what to do, clients who want to know if I'm available, and so on.

The amazing thing is not WhatsApp as an app or what it's used for. It's the fact that everybody does it.

Folks wasting time is exactly what their value is. It's people seeking amusement.

Actually, this - I believe - is the entire premise why we have no bubble this time around. It's because these companies are indeed on the bleeding edge of scientific discovery. The brightest minds in research work at these companies. The research and development that comes out of these companies, that create new open source work, and spawn out new markets in analysis, intelligence, economics - all of the work from these companies fuels growth for every other business out there who use any part of the technology stack to drive their business model. Just my 2 cents

I'll give you Facebook, and MAYBE Twitter. But WhatsApp is a messenger service, a space where tons of others have come and gone. I'm not sure what bleeding edge they are sitting on in regards to scientific discovery.

Facebook is worth more than all the major auto manufacturers in the world combined. It is worth more than Boeing and Airbus and General Electric combined.

Where do they make the majority of their money? Is it advertising? or is it investments that they have made with public money? I am curious what their profits look like that their valuation is 328 Billion dollars.

That's because the VW stock price crashed because of "Dieselgate". The VW AG's assets alone are worth €381.935 billion and they achieve a far higher revenue of €213.292 billion (VW AG) vs $17.928 billion (facebook).

If you aren't being merely rhetorical just google for Facebook quarterly earnings

There are 1.2-1.5 billion vehicles on the streets worldwide. Roughly 1 billion people use WA and roughly 70% use it daily.

There's clearly value because lots of people use it. You don't need any technical breakthroughs to create value. Possibly to monetize it but not to create it.

Btw. the underlying technology is pretty cool imo but that's besides the point. I mean they had what 30 engineers when they were bought (for about 500 million users)? Erlang yay.

No one is denying their proliferation, we're debating their "bleeding edge scientific discovery". What was the percentage of internet users that were on AOL IM during its peak?

It was the only messenger available for MOST platforms, including the then-dominant BlackBerry. It provided feature parity with BBM, including guaranteed delivery of prompt failure notices, which was a bigger deal then. It's why my friends and I started using it years ago.

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