I don't have a strong opinion about whether this was a good deal; $16 bil certainly seems like a lot of money, probably too much. But I think you're underestima

I don't have a strong opinion about whether this was a good deal; $16 bil certainly seems like a lot of money, probably too much. But I think you're underestimating their market share, broken down by country here: http://pixel.nymag.com/imgs/daily/intelligencer/2014/02/19/19-messaging-apps.o.png/a_560x0.png http://pixel.nymag.com/imgs/daily/intelligencer/2014/02/19/1... 90% market penetration in Germany, Italy, Spain, and seemingly all of Latin America makes it more than just one popular app among many.