Facebook Snaps Up WhatsApp, But What About Snapchat?

You could almost hear the collective gasp inside and outside the tech community on Wednesday when Facebook announced plans to acquire WhatsApp for $16 billion, with another $3 billion in restricted stock units thrown in for employees for good measure.

In fact, this was the second time in three months that news of a possible Facebook acquisition had caused more than a few jaws to drop. The first came in mid-November after reports surfaced that Snapchat had rejected a $3 billion offer from Facebook. The rumored offer, like an earlier failed attempt from Facebook to kill off Snapchat with a copycat app, led to a spike in interest for the startup. Read more...