Facebook-owned messaging service WhatsApp has now reached 900 million MAUs, CEO and Jan Koum revealed on Facebook this week.
Does this mean it’s time for the app to formulate a business plan? Mark Zuckerberg (who bought the company last year for $19m) said that “there are many clear ways that we can monetize” once a product hits one billion users – which is now just a stone’s throw away.
So, what’s in store? It’s open to debate, but we’re looking at the Facebook Messenger platform. By combining the two, Facebook could extend the Messenger model and its reach, making it appealing to brands and other monetizers.
“There are only so many ways that you can monetize chat while maintaining the user experience”, wrote journalist Jon Russell. As Facebook showed when it launched its Messenger platform, the future is connecting services — such as payments, business-to-consumer communication and more. In Asia, commerce and online-to-offline services are increasingly a focus for messaging apps.”