Facebook's (FB 1.46%) purchase of WhatsApp may be driving millions to leave the messaging platform for a competitor known as Telegram. Fool contributor Tim Beyers examines the numbers in the following video.
According to reporting by TechCrunch, the Telegram app has seen daily active users soar from as little as 100,000 in October to more than 15 million as of this writing. On a monthly basis, Telegram serves 35 million active users who have sent some 8 billion messages over the last 30 days alone.
WhatsApp has better numbers, of course: 19 billion messages and 600 million photos served each day. And yet Telegram's dramatic gain raises questions about the Facebook deal. Are former WhatsApp users turning to Telegram now that Facebook owns the platform? And if so, what does that mean for just-acquired Oculus?
Tim says it's an important question for Facebook, which is committing billions in shareholder capital to expand its social empire. Fleeing users won't help boost the overall value of the ecosystem, which could depress the value of the entire franchise and the stock price. Yet that seems unlikely, Tim says. Just look at Instagram, which now serves more than 200 million monthly active users -- up sixfold since its April 2012 acquisition by Facebook. The social medial juggernaut has found ways to squeeze value from high-profile deals.
Can it do so again? You tell us. Leave a comment below to let us know how you see Facebook adding value to WhatsApp and Oculus. Or, if you;ve switched to the Telegram app, let us know that, too.
