How Whatsapp Earn ???

How Does Whatsapp Generate Revenue?

December 2, 2013

Whatsapp: The leading OTT messaging service. There is always a prominent question baffling every user’s mind - How is Whatsapp able to make money when its services are free of cost?

Whatsapp enables its user to send text messages, images, video and audio media to other users. The said service is available on iOS, android, Symbian, blackberry OS and windows platforms.

On a different note, Facebook has recently bought Whatsapp. Read about our Scanning of Facebook's accession of Whatsapp!

Whatsapp is earning its revenue through two different ways:

1) Subscription Fee: Whatsapp allows it’s user to enjoy the services for free only for first year. However, after that it charges Rs.99 for continued service. But till date, I have not heard of a single person who has paid for this service. Interestingly, it tends to extend the free service period every time a user reaches close to the expiry date.

So this method of revenue generation that seems like the only visible revenue generation scheme is actually not generating the revenue.

2) According to our speculation, the revenue generation for Whatsapp is primarily through databasemanagement. All the conversations on Whatsapp are backed up on Whatsapp servers constantly. Our conversations reflect our interests, likes, dislikes and majorly depicts our preferences. This information is invaluable to big firms where relevant tailor made products can be offered after data sorting.

Let’s take a deeper look into this!

Whatsapp users have been ever increasing since the launch currently numbering out users on any other competitor.

Given such high number of users, the number of messages exchanged per day is also incredibly high in case of Whatsapp- peaking as high as 11 billion. With such extensive information available on Whatsapp backups, the big companies are willing to pay handsome amounts for information extraction.

This data management scheme is merely a speculation. As evident, Whatsapp is not involved in ad marketing. Any user can vouch for the fact that it does not support advertisements. Whatsapp’s CEO Jan Koum clearly states that Whatsapp is meant for instant messaging and forcing advertisements would disrupt the sole meaning of that. There is no way to justify the data management ideology, but then there is no other justified revenue model as well in the store.

Intriguing, isn’t it? If you wish to add anything further to the blog, go ahead and post your thoughts in the comments section below!

Update: WhatsApp is now available on web. You can now access WhatsApp from your laptop and desktops.

Whatsapp goes Online. Available on Web Now.

January 22, 2015

Globally favourite and most active mobile social App goes online. Whatsapp users all over the world can now gain access to their Whatsapp application through their browser, on their desktop. The only catch is that it is supported only through the Google Chrome browser and Android as of now. Whatsapp announced on 21 January 2015, that it has finally instigated the option of using its messaging service on your desktop. Its web client is simply an extension of your phone. The web browser mirrors conversations and messages from your mobile device -- this means all of your messages still live on your phone. WhatsApp has become competently popular all around the world, and the fact that we have been relying very much on the app as much as much as our daily need, we always despised the fact that it can be only accessed on your phone. It is a technological blessing for everyone who find shuffling between mobile and PC at work is a pain to be able to use WhatsApp.

How to use Whatsapp on desktop/laptop?

To get an access to WhatsApp web client , simply open https://web.whatsapp.com on your Google Chrome browser . A QR code will be displayed and you need scan that QR code inside WhatsApp and you are ready to go. You have now paired WhatsApp on your phone with the WhatsApp web client. Make sure your phone stays connected to the internet for the web client to work.

How to find the QR code scanner in Whatsapp

To open the scanner, you need to go to the “menu” on your mobile WhatsApp and select the option of “WhatsApp Web”. To do so, your mobile must have the latest version of WhatsApp messenger.

Scanning of Facebook’s Accession of Whatsapp

February 26, 2014 

The Irrational Rationale behind Facebook’s Accession of WhatsApp:

Defying all the theories of Corporate Finance and principles of equity valuation, Facebook recently announced acquisition of WhatsApp at a whopping valuation of $ 16 bn…yeah…you heard it right…it’s billion and not million. Add to that shares of Facebook worth $ 3 bn to be issued as restrictive share units to the employees of WhatsApp, the valuation hits the rooftop of $ 19 bn. In terms of magnitude, let’s look at the table below to get a hang of the valuation quoted for WhatsApp.

While we are still gasping for breath after going through the table above, let’s try to be rational and figure out what might have led Facebook price WhatsApp so high.

Irrational Rationale behind WhatsApp Acquisition

Even after spending some 10 hours and flipping through almost all the news articles, reports and analysts’ opinions, I could not figure out any rationale behind such a high valuation. However, I could think of various reasons behind this acquisition. Before we get into the shoes of Facebook’s CEO and start thinking (rationally or irrationally) like him, let’s understand a little bit about the two companies involved here. None of them needs any introduction. And almost all of us would have used / continue to use platform offered by one or both of them.

While these are the statistics that place Facebook as a very strong buyer in comparison to the Target, let’s look at the facts below as well to figure out the reasons behind this acquisition:

1. Highly Active Users Base

The users on WhatsApp are highly active given the level of activity reported in the exhibit above. Facebook in comparison, is losing its shine – this is what I feel after interacting with the many around me.

2. Fast Growing User Base

WhatsApp has demonstrated extraordinary growth in its user base probably unparalleled in history.

3. Complementarity offered by WhatsApp users base

WhatsApp user base is exactly what Facebook is looking for:

1. WhatsApp has a strong presence internationally and particularly in Europe, India and Latin America. These are also the regions where Facebook is trying to grow its base of users.
2. WhatsApp and other mobile messaging services are used by all age groups alike. They are widely used by teens and tweens, a group that has recently started dissociating itself from Facebook.
3. WhatsApp offers a very personalized one on one interaction platform which probably users of Facebook never got and always complained about.
4. The success factor behind WhatsApp is probably an early embracing of mobile technology. And this is probably the only factor behind Facebook’s struggle. They went public without any revenue from mobile devices. It is still looking to expand its mobile reach.
5. Although WhatsApp is more limited in its scope and capabilities to Facebook and Twitter, mobile messaging services are becoming competitors to traditional social networks.

4. Threat from Google

Facebook is a relatively new entrant in the internet technology / social media business ecosystem. It needed support / platform to fight the existing and stable players in the ecosystem like Google, Apple, Microsoft and Yahoo. Informal articles on internet suggest that Google attempted acquisition of WhatsApp in the past, even attempted to outbid Facebook after the deal was announced and ultimately even suggested WhatsApp to stay independent as it had been always in the past.

5. Attempt to become a diversified social media player

Facebook may be attempting to emerge as a social media conglomerate. It can aspire to become a dominant player with different tools like Instagram and WhatsApp in its arsenal. Each one does things that the other property can’t.

Intriguing, isn’t it? If you wish to add anything further to the blog, go ahead and post your thoughts in the comments section below!