Facebook's acquisition of everything: Does it all make sense?

That is, unfortunately, the length any man would go through just to get a glimpse of a celebrity’s forbidden skin.

A year later in 2006, Google acquired YouTube for US$1.65 billion (Bt53 billion). It made perfect business sense, because now every YouTube user is forced (or not) to watch a paid-for clip before viewing their content under his own volition. And of course Google makes loads of money off those pre-roll views.

During a span of three years, Facebook has aggressively acquired three tech companies, Instagram, WhatsApp and, recently, Oculus – all for a cool $22 billion combined.

For those of you who don’t know Oculus, it is a company that makes virtual-reality (VR) headsets for gaming purposes.

The acquisition of Instagram and WhatsApp was understandable because both platforms are social in nature, so naturally, Facebook needed to conquer whoever stood in its way of social businesses and find a way to integrate it into its platform. It has yet to find a way to do that with WhatsApp.

Acquiring Oculus, however, raised a lot of eyebrows, because it was a territory that Facebook wasn’t too familiar with but had plenty of potential for integrating into its social platforms. I must emphasise the word "potential", which leads me to its explanation in the following paragraph.

There is one thing in common for these three mega-purchases. Facebook has yet to monetise these subsidiary audiences systematically and their financial contributions to the social-network giant are still minimal. Unlike Facebook’s concrete advertising revenue stream generated by 2 million active advertisers that support it, including me for example, these acquisitions have yet to take off.

Facebook claims to be developing a VR app for content to be produced by its users and celebrities, which could fully enhance viewing experiences and take social engagement into a whole different level.

We have already reached a point where the integration of the offline and online world has become virtually seamless. We already know day-to-day where are friends are, what they are doing and how they are feeling. Do we really need literally to be in their shoes as well?

Every business has a maturity phase and will somehow eventually go into a state of decline. That is why Facebook is making these bold and speculative acquisitions in the hope that at least one of them will take social media to that next big level.

Instagram’s total number of followers has already surpassed Twitter’s and according to fortune.com, by the end of 2015, Instagram will have 420 million users to Twitter’s 319 million.

According to a Wall Street analyst, its valuation could reach $35 billion by year’s end. With its 15-second ad finally being launched officially last year, Instagram will finally break new ground and create opportunities for brands to communicate with users and of course generate off-Facebook revenue streams.

Facebook and YouTube have already revolutionised the way advertisers are interacting with their customers and always evolving their offerings. Only time will tell how a VR device will seamlessly integrate into a mobile solution, because the technology is not there yet.

Furthermore, smartphones and tablets are growing at incredible rates, surpassing that of their much bigger neighbours such as personal computers and notebooks, so the latter two will play less of a role in the lives of consumers in the future.

There are exciting times ahead in the world of social media, so brands should be quick to anticipate and utilise those changes whenever the transition comes. So be prepared.

Paradon Sirakovit is group head for strategy and innovation, IPG Mediabrands Thailand.