Why did Facebook buy WhatsApp? Facebook's purchase of WhatsApp for $16 billion (about £9.5b/AU$17.7b) isn't supposed to change the popular instant messaging app, but it certainly changes the landscape of the real-time messaging services.
That's because the world's No. 1 social network just bought its way into the hands WhatsApp's engaged usersbase, which according to Mark Zuckerberg is on a path to one billion people. But more than the sheer number WhatsApp chatters, Facebook appears to be interested in the fact that many of the active users of this SMS-alternative are from developing countries. "WhatsApp I think is the clear global leader," said Zuckerberg in a conference call following the WhatsApp acquisition announcement.
"There are countries [like] Korea or Japan where another messaging service is bigger, but if you look across the world, WhatsApp - across Europe, Latin America, India, a lot of places in Asia - is the clear leader. " Developing world gets a 'chair' at the table. I will look like this if I fail biology waaaaaah #FaceGoo htt. FaceGoo HD Lite. F8 Developers Conference 2011.