Welcome to our Social Insider newsletter, a morning email with the top news and analysis on the social media industry, produced by BI Intelligence.
FUTURE OF SOCIAL APPS: When the mainstream media recovered from the initial sticker shock over the $19 billion WhatsApp acquisition, many people were surprised to learn just how popular the app really is:
• 450 million monthly active users
• 500 million photos shared each day
• 16 billion messages sent each day
We could reference a lengthy list of other usage metrics for WhatsApp, but you've probably already heard most of them by now (and if you haven't, read this).
WhatsApp is part of a much larger mobile messaging ecosystem, where there are a number of other hugely popular messaging apps that host a frenzy of global communication. For example, WeChat has 320 million monthly active users, LINE has more than 200 million, and Viber has more than 100 million; Snapchat users send more than 400 million "snaps" each day.
All that usage and content being produced on mobile isn't really being organized for discovery yet, and this may be the next great effort in the social and messaging space. "[mobile] is in a ''pre-pagerank' phase where we lack the right tools and paths to find and discover content and services efficiently," said analyst Benedict Evans in a blog post.
Organizing the content on the Web is what built Google and turned it into a tech giant. When social media rose to prominence on the Web a la Facebook and Twitter, it also helped people discover new content.
Social will likely also play a key role in mobile content discovery, and messaging apps are becoming the engines that power that mill. (John Lily)
MORE ON THE FACEBOOK-WHATSAPP DEAL: Facebook's $19 billion deal with WhatsApp is the largest acquisition of a venture capital-backed company in history, according to our break down of recent tech deals. WhatsApp reportedly turned down a much smaller $10 billion acquisition offer from Google. (Business Insider)
WhatsApp's co-founders have taken a firm stance against ads and also are not proponents of turning their messaging app into a platform that coerces users into buying games, making payments, and other services. But what WhatsApp has been doing is building a platform to promote viral content. Media sites like Buzzfeed and Shazam have incorporated a built-in WhatsApp share button so that users can message content to each other. Messaging begets sharing. (Re/code)
WELCOME, SOCIAL INSIDERS: The Social Insider newsletter covers the day's most important topics in social media, as well as news exclusives of interest to industry insiders. We look forward to the newsletter becoming an important part of your morning routine.
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IS FACEBOOK THE NEXT P&G?: Facebook's new mobile strategy seems to be focused on owning standalone apps that excel in one app category. Its Paper app is for consuming news, WhatsApp is for communicating with friends and family, and Instagram is for sharing photos and videos. Ad Age compares this strategy to Procter & Gamble's "house of brands." (Ad Age)
PEW MAPS TWITTER TOPIC NETWORKS: Pew has released an analysis of how networks form around trending topics on Twitter. The analysis defined six different kinds of "network crowds": polarized, tight, brand, community, broadcast and support. (Pew)
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