Thoughts about my free iphone app - WhatsApp
#136
Join Date: May 2009
Location: EWR
Programs: UA .5M, Vistana 1-Star owner
Posts: 992
+1
Indeed your app has helped so many in so many phases of travel (before, during & after) that we are all highly appreciative. Here's to great adventures ahead, travel & otherwise!
Indeed your app has helped so many in so many phases of travel (before, during & after) that we are all highly appreciative. Here's to great adventures ahead, travel & otherwise!
#137
Join Date: Sep 2005
Location: SIN
Programs: SQ, UA, Delta, BMI(RIP), Marriott Lifetime Titanium, Hilton Diamond (Thanks Amex) Hyatt Discov
Posts: 1,942
Congratulations jkb76, great story and really glad your hard work not only helped many many all around the world communicate with their near and dear ones via WhatsApp messages almost for free, but also resulted in a great deal for you and your staff.
Now just make sure Mark does not force you into pushing ads through WhatsApp!!!
Now just make sure Mark does not force you into pushing ads through WhatsApp!!!
#141
Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: CLE
Programs: UA GS+LT UC, AA EXP+LT PLT, Fairmont LT PLT, Marriott PLT, Hilton DIA, Hyatt Glob, Avis CHM
Posts: 4,652
Actually Google got exactly what they wanted out of Motorola, the patents with which they could defend Android and deter litigation.
Everything else was always intended to be sold off piecemeal just as they did.
Everything else was always intended to be sold off piecemeal just as they did.
#142
Join Date: Jan 2011
Posts: 120
#144
Join Date: Apr 2000
Location: Fort Myers, FL
Programs: Hilton Gold, SPG & IHG Plat, & every airline program that I can join
Posts: 2,279
Wow, that is a story beyond our wildest dreams! Can we all get a trip to an overwater bungalow in the South Pacific? That would be giving back to FT!!!
JudyJFLA
JudyJFLA
#145
Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: DCA
Programs: AA Plat Pro, UA Silver, DL Silver, Marriott Titanium, Hilton Diamond
Posts: 1,851
#146
Join Date: Dec 2002
Location: San Jose, CA
Programs: Hilton Gold; UA 3P; Cattle-Class on everything else.
Posts: 338
Great to know an FT-er has made it BIG!! Well deserved for sure. I love WhatsApp!! it's been more reliable (when I travel) for me, than iMessaging!
Congratulations!
Congratulations!
#149
Suspended
Join Date: Jul 2001
Location: Watchlisted by the prejudiced, en route to purgatory
Programs: Just Say No to Fleecing and Blacklisting
Posts: 102,103
aww thank you so much everybody for your kind words. it is amazing to see how much people here in USA are genuinely happy about and supportive of success of others around them.
i really do love flyertalk and still have those bright yellow flyertalk suitcase tags on my briggs and riley bag. (yeah, the same briggs and riley suitcase i bought after researching it here and getting feedback from you all
i'll tell you all a funny story which has to do with flyertalk: i am actually flying to Barcelona for MWC right now using the M&M miles award ticket (i am posting this from LH455 flight)... i obviously got these tickets many months ago - i prefer to fly using miles when i can to save company money. as you know, award ticket inventory is limited and last minute changes are nearly impossible... and this is where it gets cute:
we announced the deal with Facebook on wednesday after the market closed. during the process, we realized there was a chance we might not be able to get the deal wrapped up and signed on wednesday and it could delay.
when the risk of the delay became real, i said: "if we don't get it done on wednesday, it probably wont get done. i have tickets on thursday to fly out to Barcelona which i bought with miles and they are not easily refundable or even possible to change. this has to be done by wednesday or else!!!"
...and so one of the biggest deals in tech history had to be scheduled around my M&M award ticket
i really do love flyertalk and still have those bright yellow flyertalk suitcase tags on my briggs and riley bag. (yeah, the same briggs and riley suitcase i bought after researching it here and getting feedback from you all
i'll tell you all a funny story which has to do with flyertalk: i am actually flying to Barcelona for MWC right now using the M&M miles award ticket (i am posting this from LH455 flight)... i obviously got these tickets many months ago - i prefer to fly using miles when i can to save company money. as you know, award ticket inventory is limited and last minute changes are nearly impossible... and this is where it gets cute:
we announced the deal with Facebook on wednesday after the market closed. during the process, we realized there was a chance we might not be able to get the deal wrapped up and signed on wednesday and it could delay.
when the risk of the delay became real, i said: "if we don't get it done on wednesday, it probably wont get done. i have tickets on thursday to fly out to Barcelona which i bought with miles and they are not easily refundable or even possible to change. this has to be done by wednesday or else!!!"
...and so one of the biggest deals in tech history had to be scheduled around my M&M award ticket
Your service has really helped out a lot of us and helped to manage communication costs and -- more importantly -- keep in contact with family and friends and others (across multiple mobile phone operating systems) in a way more cost-effective and consumer-friendly way. Thank you for that, as we enjoy the fruits of your labor.
#150
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: LAX
Programs: AA EXP>2m, Alaska MVP, Virgin Gold, Delta Gold, Starwood Gold, Cathay Pacific Silver
Posts: 599
I had never heard of WhatsApp until I visited some friends in Brazil last year. Everyone seemed to be using it there.
One of my Brazilian friends was recently diagnosed with breast cancer and is undergoing chemo. She and her friends set up a WhatsApp chat in which we send her good wishes and bad jokes and she sends us regular updates on how she is doing. She even sends a photo of herself once a week so we can see how she looks in various wigs, scarves, etc. (She lost her hair after a few weeks of chemo). It is a terrific app for that purpose and it's been fun getting to know some of her friends through their posts. I also like the idea of reading her updates without having to repeatedly ask her how she feels. (As it turns out, she is doing very well and is expected to go back to her old life in a few months.)
There may be another app that can do this, but I've been really impressed with WhatsApp.
One of my Brazilian friends was recently diagnosed with breast cancer and is undergoing chemo. She and her friends set up a WhatsApp chat in which we send her good wishes and bad jokes and she sends us regular updates on how she is doing. She even sends a photo of herself once a week so we can see how she looks in various wigs, scarves, etc. (She lost her hair after a few weeks of chemo). It is a terrific app for that purpose and it's been fun getting to know some of her friends through their posts. I also like the idea of reading her updates without having to repeatedly ask her how she feels. (As it turns out, she is doing very well and is expected to go back to her old life in a few months.)
There may be another app that can do this, but I've been really impressed with WhatsApp.