Pondering Facebook's Future, Zuckerberg More 'Excited' By Messaging Than Photos'There are only so many photos you're going to want to share with friends,' the CEO said during an earnings call. 'There's just a lot more people want to express.'
ByGeoff Weiss•
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For what purposes, precisely, do users typically turn toFacebook? A birthday greeting for an erstwhile friend? A photo album of high-octane shots from a drunken night out? Status updates, viral videos, promotional business efforts?
But the future of the social network, according to CEO Mark Zuckerberg, may lie entirely elsewhere.
In an earnings call discussing the company's second-quarter results, Zuckerberg pointed to a somewhat unexpected Facebook facility as being key to its future:Messaging.
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"I'm so excited about messaging," hesaid. "There are only so many photos you're going to want to share with friends -- there's just a lot more people want to express."
And recent actions would seem to indicate that messaging is top of mind. After making its biggestacquisitionever of mobile messaging platform WhatsApp, the company is also toying withSlingshot-- an ephemeral messaging app not unlike Snapchat. The company also released its ownstandalone Messenger appin 2011.
But perhaps Zuckerberg's vision for the future of messaging is less about expression than it is about cold hard cash. During the call, he confirmed that the company's Payments subsidiary and Messenger tool will eventually "overlap."
Related:Facebook Adds Tap-and-Hold Video Recording Feature to Messenger App
The fact that FacebookpoachedDavid Marcus, the former president of PayPal, to run its messaging products last month would also seem to point to this eventuality.
Either way, Wall Street is collectively rejoicing at the network's latestearnings report, in which pivotal mobile ad revenues posted soaring growth of 151 percent, comprising 62 percent of total ad revenues -- news of which sent Facebook shares to an all-time high.
The company, which says it currently has 1.32 billion monthly users, is now valued at $190 billion.
Related:U.K. to Investigate Facebook's 'Poorly Communicated' Psych Experiment
