Facebook , a “ disruptor ” in the classic sense , has always been about rewriting the prescript . Today it decided that earnings reports — usually a time to show of respectable metrics to shareowner and investor — is actually a really good time to accept you made your own product unfit .
Rounding out what chief executive officer Mark Zuckerberg described as “ a strong year ” in the Q4 2017 report Facebook released today was a startling entrance money : “ we made changes that reduced time spent on Facebook by roughly 50 million hours every day . ” Do that math and that ’s slimly more than two fewer minutes spend on the internet site for each of its 1.4 billion daily drug user .
The identification number of minute user micturate away on the website is reported on an irregular basis , and the most recent appraisal we could find wasreportedby the New York Times in mid-2016 to be 50 minutes daily . Since then , Facebook has dumbfound bigger and stickier , so on its face Zuckerberg has two minutes to spare . But that free fall did n’t happen in a vacuum : growth in two cardinal metric — daily- and monthly - active substance abuser — is down to levels not seensince 2015 . Still , the intention is clear : Facebook is making an attempt at plea , while spin around bad metric function into good PR .
What ’s causing mass to spend less clock time on Facebook ? grant to Zuckerberg , in part it ’s hinged on a modification made last quarter “ to show few viral videos to ensure hoi polloi ’s prison term is well expend . ” If a portion of that 50 million hour is directly related to video , we have every reason to doubt the metric unit behind Zuckerberg ’s altruistic number of responsible stewardship . Recall , if you will , Facebook ’s realization that it had over - report its video statistic in 2016,only to find extra errorsin its computing two months later .
Zuckerberg would like everyone to bang that the dip in time spent on Facebook is all part of the new plan—“focusing on meaningful connections”—which he look at “ secure over the prospicient term . ” It ’s loose to spin spoiled news as focusing on quality rather than quantity when you own an 60 minutes of 1.4 billion peoples ’ day , each of which you made an average of $ 6.18 onin the last three months alone . Whether there can be “ meaningful ” human value found at all on a site design to be maximally addictive , at least in this earnings theme , stay on unexplored .
FacebookMark Zuckerberg
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