Whats App, One Of Facebook’s Biggest Acquisitions

Whats App is one of the most popular applications in use today, but you would be surprised to know that 50% people using this app are not aware of the fact that Whats App application is owned by Facebook.

According to a recent survey, over half of US citizens are unaware that the popular mobile messaging platform is owned by Facebook. Majority of people using Whats App have been using the platform without realizing that all their information including travel time, routes, messages, location and photos, are all privy to Facebook.

Although the companies like Google and Facebook can definitely lean on the products they have picked up to stay ahead in the competition, but even the big fishes in the ocean suffer blowback from privacy crises.

A Sneak Peak At Facebook’s History & Its Acquisitions

Facebook Inc. is one of the most thriving social networking website started by Mark Zuckerberg in 2004. In the year 2010, it became a profitable business and then in 2012, the company sold over 388 million shares for about $38 per share prior to its initial public offering and raised nearly $15 billion for the company founders.

As on today, the company has a market cap of over $460 billion and since its inception, Facebook has purchased many different companies like Instagram and Whats App. To stay innovative and continue developing products that their customers need, the company has acquired many new technologies and companies.

Companies like Karma and Face.com were taken over by Facebook to improve its social networking service. In 2007, it acquired FriendFeed and borrowed new technologies like newsfeed or “like” button. Later, it acquired Nextstop, Drop.io, and Hot Potato and improved its social recommendations, file exchange service and “check-in” option to a place or event.  

In 2012, Facebook paid an astounding amount of $1 billion to acquire Instagram and then it bought over, Whats App for $19 billion in 2014. Today the multi-billion company has completely engrained in our society and our everyday lives.

The 50th Anniversary Limited Edition, Fisher Space Pen

Designed five decades ago by Paul C Fisher, “The Fisher Space Pen” is a retractable, pressurized pen that worked flawlessly in zero gravity during the first manned Apollo Mission in 1968. Today the Fisher Space Pen Company has not only earned NASA as a customer for the revolutionary pen, famously known as Anti-Gravity 7 or #AG7, but the company has also been handcrafting pens that can write under water, over grease, at any angle, in extreme temperatures and have three times longer life than an average pen.

History

During World War II, Paul C. Fisher worked with ball bearings in an airplane propeller factory and after a few years, he started working in pen factory. This is when he established himself as an innovator and opened his own pen company. His idea behind the innovation was to create a pen that would not leak. So, he experimented, invested one million dollars and made his first zero gravity pen, which he patented in 1966.

The innovation in the pen was the pressurized ink cartridge and gel ink that deployed reliably, irrespective of orientation or the presence of gravity. Later, he sent the pen to NASA and his innovation was really appreciated. Russians started using the #AG7 shortly afterwards.

The Limited Edition Pen

Lately, a 50^th anniversary edition pen has been released for all those who love gold stuff. The limited edition pen is priced at $500, is made of gold titanium nitride plated brass and comes with a case.

The beautiful zero-gravity pen has definitely been pop culture for half a century.