WhatsApp is a Cultural Force. Will it Make More Money?

This Trapital podcast episode interviews Tati Cirisano about WhatsApp's monetization strategies and global adoption. The discussion begins with personal anecdotes illustrating WhatsApp's prevalence, particularly among immigrant communities and for business communication. The conversation then explores WhatsApp's unique growth trajectory, starting in developing countries where SMS costs were high, and its current challenges in monetizing while maintaining end-to-end encryption. A key takeaway is that WhatsApp's value to Meta may lie more in user retention and its role within the Meta ecosystem than in direct revenue generation, similar to how iMessage functions for Apple. The hosts also discuss the challenges of integrating WhatsApp into business models in the US compared to other regions.