There’s some food for thought for all those who have been wondering what Facebook intends to do with WhatsApp which it acquired for a mind-numbing sum of $19 billion last year. It has been revealed that the social networking website is considering allowing businesses to send you messages on the app, and monetize this advertizing opportunity.
Since its inception, the makers of WhatsApp have been clear that they have no intensions of infusing the utility with ads. However, its purchase made by Facebook had clear signs that the website had something planned for the future; why else would it spend such a massively high amount on something?
WhatsApp currently has a monthly user base of a whopping 800 million, and is fast approaching the 1 billion mark. As much as this is astonishing, it also makes it irresistible for Facebook to tap into the instant messaging platform for monetization.
According to Bloomberg, David Wehner, who happens to be the social networking giant’s CFO said at the JPMorgan technology conference in Boston that enabling B2C messaging has good business potential for them. He mentioned that such an approach is indeed being considered for WhatsApp, but then also went on to say that it’s ‘more longer-term than the near-term.’
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That should provide some respite for everyday users of the service in question. Surely, WhatsApp cannot afford to anger its massive user base by directly letting business send messages to consumers, and we’re sure both the companies will be aware of this fact. What sort of a middle ground are they hoping to find then?
We’re at our wit’s end on this one, but do let us know what you think about this whole Facebook and WhatsApp situation by posting a comment in the space down below.