WhatsApp From FACEBOOK!

Yesterday, I ran WhatsApp on my phone, and this appeared:

It was only on my screen for a second or so, but it made to think about WhatsApp, and its future. For me, I do not use Facebook (I think I have an account, but I never use it). Having created my own sites, I find the whole software-as-a-service delivery just a bit lacking in any soul. I, too, have major concerns about Facebook tracking my every move, in the same way that Google does. While I appreciate the service that Google provides me (maps and search), I do not think it is worth it for Facebook. Along with this, as a researcher, Facebook perhaps does not give a great platform for sharing research work.

But, what is the future of WhatsApp? I feel secure and protected with it, but now that Facebook owns it, will they move it to integrate tracking and the mining of messages? Will they break the end-to-end tunnel? And, if they aren’t doing these things, why did they buy it in the first place?

The Increasing Dominance of Silicon Valley

Do you worry that our digital world is now being run by run a few companies? Google owns YouTube and Adsense, Facebook owns WhatsApp, Instagram and Microsoft owns LinkedIn and GitHub. And so when companies start to merge the companies that they own into a shared platform, some people start to worry about…