Snapchat thinks it can do a lot better than Facebook’s $3 billion

If you want to know how hot social networks are right now, no need to look farther than self-destructing messaging app Snapchat. The Wall Street Journal reports the company recently got a buyout offer from Facebook for $3 billion. Snapchat’s owners — a couple of dudes in their 20s — apparently turned down the social network because they think they can do better. And, according to Julie Ask, principal analyst at Forrester, they may have made the right choice. She says social media and messaging apps are all the rage right now with investors.

“If we look at something like WeChat, which went from zero to more than 400 million users in China in less than 2 years, that’s mind blowing,” Ask says.

Ask says there is another side to that coin – popularity doesn’t mean you’ve got a money maker. But right now that might not matter.