Behind the Messy, Expensive Split Between Facebook and WhatsApp’s Founders
I&#x27;ve had a tremendous amount of respect for Mark Zuckerberg as a leader, and have gone out of my way to defend him in the past (<a href="https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=17128369" rel="nofollow">https:&#x2F;&#x2F;news.ycombinator.com&#x2F;item?id=17128369</a>). I always envisioned whatsapp as a defensive purchase that would stay true to its initial vision (perhaps being used to prop up their other products in an unintrusive manner). But this article makes me realize Mark is s a one-trick advertising pony like half the other tech leaders out there.<p>His speil about how he&#x27;s &quot;connecting the world&quot; is undermined by his clear attempts to build a monopoly of social+communication, with an inefficient layer of distracting ads. Imagine a future where every time you want to electronically communicate with someone you have to spend mental energy filtering out ads. It&#x27;s the equivalent of every road having a toll booth, directly paying into a rich person&#x27;s bank account. This is the &quot;connecting the world&quot; Mark Zuckerberg has been trying to hide from those of us who aren&#x27;t paying attention.