What Are You Using Whatsapp For?

Whatsapp is a free Instant messaging app created by Jan Koum and Brian Acton in 2009. The app has succeeded in disrupting the Telecom industry as it has made it very cheap and affordable to send and receive texts and images. It also processes millions of audio and video calls daily. The Instant messaging app has over 1.3 billion users and reportedly adds over a million users everyday.



Acquired by Facebook in 2014 for $19 billion, the platform continues to grow in several countries, it's currently used in over 109 countries and sits as the top messaging app in 55.6% of the world.

Below are important Whatsapp facts and statistics you should know:

• One billion users send over 1 billion videos and 55 billion messages every day.
• The record for the highest number of messages sent in day sits at 64 billion.
• The company is testing for secure ways people can use it to connect with businesses.
• The tool is used to make 100 million voice calls every day.
• WhatsApp's Stories feature now has 250 million daily active users.
• Whatsapp is the number one source of news in several countries; in a Reuters Institute study of 71,803 respondents in 30 countries, 51% of the study's sample in Malaysia say they use whatsapp to get news.
• Whatsapp is the second most used messaging app in the world, Facebook currently sits as the most used messaging app in the world. 
• Whatsapp doesn't store user data; the reason Whatsapp web needs your phone and data services to work is because the company doesn't provide server storage for your messages.
• There are over a billion groups on Whatsapp.

Looking at the above statistics and facts, I believe every whatsapp user needs to have a good answer to the question "What are you using whatsapp for?"

Below is a screenshot of some of the Whatsapp groups I am a currently a member of:

Stay Green and Grow is a book review group, we read and review business, inspirational/motivation  books, we also share links to articles and videos that would interest the members of the platform, I have learnt quite a handful of valuable information from the activities in the group. We are currently reading "15 Invaluable Laws of Growth" by John C Maxwell.

The Entrepreneurial CEO is a business school on Whatsapp, we are schooled by seasoned and experienced entrepreneurs who own and operate different businesses, these individuals share real life experiences so it's pretty easy to understand the message as most of us can relate.

Convest Investment Room founded by Chibueze Gaius aka "The connector" is a Whatsapp group that connects aspiring investors to several investment opportunities, group members are presented various investment opportunities they can collaborate and invest in.

nHub Fellows (not included in the picture above) is a whatsapp group for a fellowship program I currently involved in at nHub Nigeria. We share pdf/doc/ppt materials, links to ariticles/videos that are programming related and a host of other useful information about tech.

It is also important to add that I recently got a job from Terminus.ng, a startup that uses Whatsapp to connect Individuals/Organizations to products/services they need. I wrote about that here.

More individuals/Organizations are beginning to realize the importance of this cost effective tool for communication, as a Whatsapp user in 2017, your goal should be "Learning how can you use this tool to make yourself better", and if you are an entrepreneur like myself, your focus should be "How can I use this tool to improve my business and connect to other individuals."

 If you are a business owner and looking for creative ways to use this tool to improve your business/brand, then you can read the following articles:

5 Creative Ways to Use Whatsapp for Your Business 

10 Ways to Use Whatsapp for Business 

What other way creative ways are you using Whatsapp? Please share In the comment section below. Thank You.

A copy of this article first appeared on Dahab's Blog and has been posted here by the permission of the author.