I’m sure all of you know what Facebook is, and most of you probably have a Facebook account, but have you heard about the WhatsApp Messenger app? This app was developed by Jan Koum and Brian Acton who worked for Yahoo! Inc. before founding WhatsApp Inc., a technology startup created in the Silicon Valley. “We want to build a better SMS alternative,” said the founders, “because we believe we can. Because someday very soon everybody will have a smartphone.”

        Brian Acton, one of the founders, was denied employment by both Twitter and Facebook in 2009, but he remained optimistic and looked forward to what would be the next step for him. Little did he know that he would become one of the co-founders of a messaging service that everyone’s talking about today According to Techcrunch.com, “the deal is being cut for $12 billion in Facebook shares, $4 billion in cash and an additional $3 billion in RSUs for employee retention.” Rumor has it that Mark Zuckerberg, one of the co-founders of Facebook, is willing to pay such a huge price because WhatsApp will attract younger users. Now that Facebook is being used by people of all ages, the social networking site is losing the interest of teenagers, who were its initial target audience.

        The WhatsApp Messenger app is free for the next 12 months, before the price will be raised to $0.99, so download the app now before you have to pay!

If you want to learn more about WhatsApp Inc., here is their website: http://www.whatsapp.com/