The disruption of Facebook's services and the company's other apps led to a mass displacement of millions of users, but that's not all. Here's what happened.
It lasted six hours the down that in the day of Monday, October 4 saw completely blocked the functionality of Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp. Six hours that have had their weight not only on the trio of companies under the wing of Mark Zuckerberg, but also on global users who have moved elsewhere to stay in touch with their neighbors.
To pay the costs of the block of the systems of the two social networks and the instant messaging app were not only users, unable to access their platforms, but also the companies connected to the frozen apps, at least according to the first rumors emerged a few hours after the restoration of operation. In fact, as communicated by Telegram's CEO, the app has witnessed the growth of its audience with 70 million new subscribers, all in a single day. A high and unusual figure, daughter of the complex situation experienced in those problematic moments.
Telegram, a lucky down
According to what TechCrunch reported, Telegram's daddy would have sent a communication through his channel stressing that the app has "welcomed over 70 million refugees from other platforms in one day". In addition to the signups, the platform also had to keep up with the increase in traffic, related to the exponential increase in users.
"I am proud of how our team handled the unprecedented growth as Telegram continued to work flawlessly for the vast majority of our users," Pavel Durov wrote in the message. "That said - the CEO added - some in the Americas may have experienced a slower-than-usual speed as millions of users on those continents rushed to sign up for Telegram."
Telegram and WhatsApp, the fight continues
The rivalry between the two platforms has been a known fact for some time now. WhatsApp has been and remains one of the most popular messaging apps on the globe, reaching the status of most used in some countries of the world including Brazil. As happened in the past, service interruptions push users to the competitors on the market, that is Telegram, Signal and iMessage, dedicated to users with Apple devices.
What we rarely see is the migration of such huge masses of users. These are rarer phenomena but, in this case, they could find an explanation in the block of three of the main channels in the world, Facebook (with its rib Messenger) and WhatsApp in the lead. Not being able to fall back on one or the other application, subscribers were forced to opt for different realities, finding in Telegram a quick and already well spread solution.
Facebook down, even on Wall Street
Of course the issue has provided a boost of considerable magnitude to the undecided who, in light of the different features present on Telegram, could decide in the long run to stay on the platform of the paper airplane. It's not good news for Zuckerberg who, during the misdeed, has seen his wealth plummet by $6 billion, so much so that he's been demoted to #5 on Bloomberg's list of the world's richest millionaires.
The group's shares, down 4.9% on Monday alone, give a further blow to the 15% drop that has been going on since mid-September. What's behind it? Certainly not only technical problems, but also some facts related to the leak of private documents recently brought under the spotlight by a whistleblower.
Not only the technological bugs for the products of the magnate would be to fight, but issues such as the negative influence of Instagram on the mental health of teenagers and the fake news about the clashes occurred on January 6 at the Capitol in Washington, information contained in the reports released by the whistleblower that would have attracted the attention of the U.S. government.
What will happen in the future? We'll see. For now, what most makes the experts raise their antennae is to know how many in the coming days will leave the shores of Telegram to return to the old shores. It remains, therefore, only to wait.