Is the Glass Half Full or Half Empty this Time for Facebook With Its Purchase of WhatsApp

The last week has been an amazing time as we have all followed the ongoing discussion that surrounds the decision for Facebook to purchase the application: WhatsApp for a staggering US$16 Billion (AUS$19 Billion).

  Predictably this move has polarised opinion with some saying that the almost $20 Billion price tag being ridiculous especially in  light of the fact that Facebook offered to buy WhatsApp main rival: Snap Chat for around $3 Billion but the offer was declined. Maybe so but a year later is paying 6 times more for a similar product the best thing you can do with this money.

Well you'd have to say that many Facebook shareholders think not and instantly many decided to sell their shares causing the stock to go into free fall. Again is this a good or a bad thing for investors. I guess it all depends on how you see the value of the deal and what it may eventually bring to Facebook.

WhatsApp is a platform that lets you send free messages and make free calls to other users regardless of what mobile platform or provider they use. 

So what is the upside? Firstly the product current has around 450 million active users and is growing quickly. It is a quality product that has differentiated itself by not having any advertising on the site which as we all know can be a real announce to everyone.

Instead users pay $0.99 per download instead of generating advertising revenue and this is clearly going to help drive Facebook's top line revenue well above its current 5 Billion dollars a year mark and help position them as a serious contender in the mobile arena as the trend in the increasing use of mobile devices continues to grow as evidenced by Facebook itself confirming that around 80% of online users are now entering Facebook via a mobile device.

So will this deal pay off for Mark Zuckerberg or prove in time to have been a serious lapse in judgement and fiscal sense. Just two years after paying one billion dollars for Instagram and saying that he was not sure if Facebook would ever make a similar purchase again, he signs off on this.
No doubt that in time we will be able to see more clearly if in deed the Facebook glass was half full or half empty. It will certainly be interesting to watch.

And until next time, good luck and good marketing.

Regards,

Daniele.

PS:  And remember to come along to our free, Digital Marketing Program seminars.

Just call VECCI to speak to Maria D'Cunha on: (03) 8662 5126 and find out the next time Trent Rebeiro or I are presenting at a Venue near you.  Hope to see you all there for a good chat.

Pinterest Reveals Its New Secret Boards Planning Feature

Pinterest this week announced that they were adding the extended feature of secret boards which I believe is an innovation that will not fail to be very warmly received by its members.

 Essentially this will be an additional workspace afforded to each user that will allow them to plan out in advance the look and feel of any given board to be able to better optimise both its function and general appeal with the taget audience it is being directed to. This can literally be applied to any topic and include: upcoming events, product launches, forum reviews, product reviews, special sales promotions, and so on. 

Given the great degree of creativity and general uptake pinners have been using these boards, Pinterest have made the wise choice to now provide an unlimited number to users. Did any one say 'win-win'. Obviously such a mechanism is ideal to map out an idea you may come up with and refine it further so that the final product is as impactful as the concept.  


 Now the other thing I really like about these secret boards, is that despite the fact no one can see what you are developing, you do still have the option of inviting your Pinterest friends that then will be able to see and if needed, assist you with the process you're undertaking.

Also interesting is the fact that members in forums have already started asking about boards that they have that predate the secret board feature release and how they may go about converting these boards into secret boards while they review, redesign or simply update them. 

I,m certain the brains trust at Pinterest are already hard at work with this request and don't be surprised if we hear an update in the not to distant future. After all unlike a lot of other Social Media platforms that seen to make change for the sake of change, Pinterest is one group that make positive changes that always seem to extend and enhance their product. The sign of great marketers.

So until next time, Good luck and good marketing.

Regards,
Daniele.

Scial Media's Shame - The Case of the Tragic Suicide of Charlotte Dawson

This week I want to dedicate the Road Scholars Marketing Blog post to the memory of former model and television personality Charlotte Dawson. 

 As many of you would know Charlotte had been suffering depression for some time and had in fact attempted suicide in the past, based on the abysmal behaviour of the lunatic fringe in this country who were involved in a merciless and seemingly unending campaign to humiliate and destroy this woman whose only crime had been that she had had the audacity to have some cosmetic surgery.

It's fair to say that at best this feral behaviors is un-Australian and at worst it is (or rather should be) overtly criminal.

Tragically despite repeated pleas to stop the verbal and emotional barrage, the abusers kept up their tirade which ultimately led to Charlotte taking her own life when she was found dead in her Sydney apartment recently.

Clearly the law has not kept up with the evolving technology and in particular all forms of social and digital media such as these social media platforms that were used to launch these attacks.
Cyber bullying is clearly no more acceptable than school yard bullying, where someone has paid the ultimate price for this display of absolute stupidity and ignorance.

As a marketer I am ashamed that people out there are doing this but also that they are using marketing tools that should be used to connect with and engage with people not damage them.
The right of free speech is one thing but even free speech must have its limits, responsibilities and inevitably accountabilities.

It is now time for the Government to step in and change the laws immediately that will firstly name and shame these villains and then punish them for their savage brutality whose intent can be for no other reason other than to injure, diminish or destroy another individual.


If one good thing comes out of this tragedy it needs to be the birth of such a law that is enacted to protect the welfare of such vulnerable people everywhere. Perhaps it can be called, Charlotte's Law.