Facebook rejected WhatsApp co-founder Brian Acton for a job in 2009

Facebook is betting huge on mobile with an eye-popping cash-and-stock deal worth up to $19 billionfor Internet Age smartphone messaging service WhatsApp.

The surprise, mega-deal announced on Wednesday bolsters the world's biggest social network - which has more than 1.2 billion members - with the 450-million-strong WhatsApp, which will be operated independently with its own board.

WhatsApp was founded in 2009 by American Brian Acton and Ukrainian Jan Koum. The acquisition represents quite a turnaround for the duo, who both formerly worked at Yahoo. Before deciding to go on their own and start WhatsApp, it seems Acton was rejected for jobs at Facebook and Twitter. 

Koum, who joins Facebook's board under the deal, said: "WhatsApp's extremely high user engagement and rapid growth are driven by the simple, powerful and instantaneous messaging capabilities we provide."

In a blog post, Koum added: "Almost five years ago we started WhatsApp with a simple mission: building a cool product used globally by everybody. Nothing else mattered to us."

The tie-up gives WhatsApp "the flexibility to grow and expand," Koum said.

The acquisition represents likely the biggest-ever price for a tech startup, trumping the $8.5 billion paid for Skype - which allows users to make voice and video calls over the Internet - by Microsoft in 2011.

"The size of this deal is really massive and it will get people talking about a bubble," Greg Sterling at Opus Research told AFP.

Written with inputs from AFP

GENIUS AT SCRABBLE

Someone out there either has too much spare time or is deadly at Scrabble.

1)DILIP VENGSARKAR  When you rearrange the letters: 
SPARKLING DRIVE 
2)PRINCESS DIANA  When you rearrange the letters: 
END IS A CAR SPIN 

3)MONICA LEWINSKY 
When you rearrange the letters: 
NICE SILKY WOMAN  

4)DORMITORY: 
When you rearrange the letters: 
DIRTY ROO M 

5)ASTRONOMER: 
When you rearrange the letters: 
MOON STARER 

6)DESPERATION  When you rearrange the letters: 
A ROPE ENDS IT 

7)THE EYES: 
When you rearrange the letters: 
THEY SEE 

8)A DECIMAL POINT: 
When you rearrange the letters: 
IM A DOT IN PLACE 

AND FOR THE GRAND FINALE: 

9) MOTHER-IN-LAW:  When you rearrange the letters: 
WOMAN HITLER

One liners -- Hidden meanings in Company talk

Today's  Professional Management FUNDAS

1."We will do it" means "You will do it"

2."You have done a great job" means "More work to be given to you"

3."We are working on it" means "We have not yet started working on the same"

4."Tomorrow first thing in the morning" means "Its not getting done "At least not tomorrow!"

5."After discussion we will decide-I am very open to views" means "I have already decided, I will tell you what to do"

6."There was a slight miscommunication" means "We had actually lied"

7."Lets call a meeting and discuss" means "I have no time now, will talk later"

8."We can always do it" means "We actually cannot do the same on time"

9."We are on the right track but there needs to be a slight extension of the deadline" means "The project is screwed up, we cannot deliver on time."

10."We had slight differences of opinion "means "We had actually fought"

11."Make a list of the work that you do and let's see how I can help you" means "Anyway you have to find a way out no help from me"

12."You should have told me earlier" means "Well even if you told me earlier that would have made hardly any difference!"

13."We need to find out the real reason" means "Well I will tell you where your fault is"

14."Well Family is important; your leave is always granted. Just ensure that the work is not affected," means, "Well you know..."

15.."We are a team," means, "I am not the only one to be blamed"

16."That's actually a good question" means "I do not know anything about it"

17."All the Best" means "You are in trouble"

PRICELESS WORDS

A husband wakes up at home with a huge hangover.
He forces himself to open his eyes, and the first thing he sees
is a couple of aspirins and a glass of water on the side table.
He sits down and sees his clothing in front of him, all clean and
pressed. He looks around the room and sees that
it is in perfect order, spotless, clean. So is the rest of the house.
He takes the aspirins and notices a note on the table.
"Honey, breakfast is on the table, I left early to go grocery shopping.
Love You!"

Totally shocked with the note , he goes to the kitchen and
sure enough there is a hot breakfast and the morning newspaper.
His son is also at the table, eating. He asks, "Son, what happened last night?"
His son says, "Well, you came home around 3 AM, drunk and delirious.
Broke some crockery, puked in the hall, and gave yourself a black eye
when you stumbled into the door". Confused, the man asks,
"So, why is everything in order and so clean, and
breakfast is on the table waiting for me?
I should expect a big quarrel with her!"
His son replies, "Oh, that! Mom dragged you to the bedroom,
and when she tried to take your clothes n shoes off,
you said,

"LADY LEAVE ME ALONE! I'M MARRIED!" 

 

Moral
Self-induced hangover - $ 400.00
Broken crockery - $ 800.00
Breakfast - $ 10.00
Saying the Right Thing While Drunk – "PRICELESS "

 
There are truly some things that both money and Mastercard  can't buy

CONFIDENCE - TRUST - HOPE

CONFIDENCE

Once, all village people decided to pray for rain.

On the day of prayer all people gathered and only one boy Came with an Umbrella,

That’s Confidence

TRUST

Trust should be like the feeling of a one year old baby

When you throw him in the air, he laughs...... because he knows you will catch him;

That’s Trust

HOPE

Every night we go to bed,

We have no assurance to get up alive in the next morning but still you have plans for the coming day ;

That’s Hope

HAVE CONFIDENCE, TRUST & NEVER LOSE HOPE

Save Earth....

SAVE Environment!!! SAVE EARTH!!!

It is well-known fact that we, as a generation of Indians are at the threshold of the most humongous threat to our environment. It is imperative that we take as many steps as feasible to reverse this damage. As citizens of the planet, and as Indians, if we don't then who will? 

1.        There is a cute small round press button at the bottom right corner of almost all monitors: Please make use of this,  

 2. Stop printing out Harry Porter, Jeffrey Archer and other e-books. This is a classic example of paper wastage.

 3. If you have forgotten to give double-side prints, make sure you make use of the empty sides as scribbling pads or for your kids' imposition

 4. Take two minutes from your busy schedule before hurrying back home to shut down the computer.

  5. All of us are big time Googlers. Have you heard of the Blackle search engine? Blackle (Google powered) is a search engine designed all in Rich Black so that your system consumes less power. So change your homepage

6. Plastic bags these days indeed come in bright and flamboyant colours and tempt us to take them home with us. But the saying, "Appearances are deceptive" holds true for these plastic things too. Next time, hold back or go prepared to counter temptation with a cloth bag. 

7. Roses, Jasmine, Hibiscus and Peas; All these saplings cost hardly between Rs 10 - 20 each. Can't we afford to plant these in and around our houses? Also, more importantly, caring and maintain them as they grow?

 8. Try to segregate the different kinds of waste into Bio-Degradable (Fruit or vegetable waste), Recyclable (waste Paper, paper products) and Electronics (Floppy disks, CD-ROMS). Once you have segregated your thrash, look for specialized trash cans to throw them away.

9. Try to minimize the use of horns. Honking drastically increased and this adds to the noise pollution and does not provide a conducive environment to live in.

10. Use rechargeable batteries though it's an expensive product, its one-time purchase. Recharge when required. (Same applies to cell-phones, MP3s, iPods and Laptops)

11. The best pens to use would be ink ones. Though if you have to use a ball point pen, buy refills instead of buying new pens. Pencils are much better for rough use! (That's why we used it at school!!!)

12. Remember to close water taps before preening in front of the mirror. Of course you are beautiful, but Water is a precious resource!

13. Let's not just wake up and walk out of finished meetings and conferences with a sigh of relief, let us remember to turn off the lights and projectors too.

14. Take few minutes to learn about topics like 'Global Warming' , 'Air / Noise /Land / Water Pollution ' etc apart from constant surfing of News, Latest Gadgets, Movies and Music. 

15. Spread this message; to your friends and foes. They too can make a difference. 

The Earth has already become a dangerous place to live in for the animals and birds. Soon it might be our turn. So let's pledge to save our beautiful planet so that you and your future generations can live happily and peacefully ever afte

“Heal the World and make it better place to live in”