Whatsapp Will Become Free, Companies Can Pay To Reach Users (nytimes.com)

speedplane writes: The popular messaging service Whatsapp will soon become free (they previously charged $0.99 per year after the first). The troubling news is that to compensate for the lost revenue, companies will now be able to pay to contact users directly. "[Whatsapp founder] Mr. Koum said that his team was still experimenting with how such services could work, and that many companies were already using the messaging service, particularly in developing countries, to connect with mobile-savvy customers." If this smells like advertising, Whatsapp vehemently disagrees. A portion of their statement reads: "...people might wonder how we plan to keep WhatsApp running without subscription fees and if today's announcement means we're introducing third-party ads. The answer is no."

Comments

Of course it's not ad

[Overzeetop]

It's a content delivery option for those who wish to support What's App by leveraging their assets to ensure reliable delivery to the subset of mobile-savvy users which may provide reciprocal interaction to the content initiator.

If you're interested, you can contact them to discuss the operational synergies available and plan a one-time or ongoing messaging strategy.

Re:Of course it's not ad

[Anonymous Coward]

Dammit, I have mod points but there's no "+1 fuck you" option.

first

[Anonymous Coward]

I am the first person to respond to this thread. thought that would never happen.

It's a feature

[IMightB]

Never ssaw this coming after the FaceBook Acquisition.

Nobody expects the Facebook Acquisition

Re:Snowden a "luminary"???

[Anonymous Coward]

Snowden is just one among several people who are considered heroes by the open source community. Some of the others include:

• Aaron Swartz
• Lennart Poettering
• Miguel de Icaza
• Hans Reiser