Facebook just purchased mobile messaging service WhatsApp for a reported $19 billion, which sent Twitter users into a state of apoplectic frenzy. Initial reports were that the deal was for $16 billion, but an additional $3 billion in restricted stock nudged the needle north. What’s $3 billion among friends?
Here are some of the funniest and most confused tweets so far:
Meanwhile, at WhatsApp HQ pic.twitter.com/eUrn67h58O
— Menotti Minutillo (@44) February 19, 2014
Facebook Buys Company, On The Condition They Add That Damn Apostrophe
— Brett LoGiurato (@BrettLoGiurato) February 19, 2014
What the hell is “WhatsApp”?
— Alfie (@AlfieBCC) February 19, 2014
Too soon. RT @mattlanger acquisition twitter might actually be worse than dead celebrity twitter
— Jonathan Shainin (@jonathanshainin) February 19, 2014
First person to use “16 Instagrams” in a headline gets punched in the face https://t.co/b9prsyYvQg
— Anthony Ha (@anthonyha) February 19, 2014
Call me when Facebook spends $16 bajillon dollars on something.
— Jason Diamond (@imjasondiamond) February 19, 2014
Facebook’s WhatsApp acquisition was the most expensive #ThisCouldBeUsButYouPlayin directed at Snapchat
— Todd Olmstead (@toddjolmstead) February 19, 2014
Drinks on WhatsApp forever.
— Mike Hayes (@michaelhayes) February 19, 2014
What’sApp just sent sent a pic of cash stacks to the Snapchat boys.
— Jack Moore (@JackPMoore) February 19, 2014
My refusal to sign up for WhatsApp was prescient: in five billion years, the sun will engulf Mercury, Venus, and Earth, wiping out all life.
— Teju Cole (@tejucole) February 19, 2014
first person up with “Facebook Friends WhatsApp” headline wins. 2nd prize for “WhatsApp Finds 16 Billion Ways To ‘Like’ Facebook”
— E McMorris-Santoro (@EvanMcSan) February 19, 2014
Why We’re Not Covering Whatsapp RT @jaredbkeller: “WhatsApp” vs. “Ukraine” #obligatorychartshaming pic.twitter.com/nKgDDFXNJ8
— Veronica de Souza (@HeyVeronica) February 19, 2014
Dude, for $16bn you could probably end famines worldwide. God.
— Jessica Reed (@GuardianJessica) February 19, 2014
More in Media
Digiday+ Research: Publishers’ growing focus on video doesn’t translate to social platforms
Major publishers have made recent investments in vertical video, but that shift is not carrying over to social media platforms.
Technology x humanity: A conversation with Dayforce’s Amy Capellanti-Wolf
Capellanti-Wolf shared insight on everything from navigating AI adoption and combating burnout to rethinking talent strategies.
How The Arena Group is rewriting its commercial playbook for the zero-click era
The company is testing AI-powered content recommendation models to keep readers moving through its network of sites and, in doing so, bump up revenue per session – its core performance metric.