Facebook loses users for the first time • Hacker News Board

Re: Facebook loses users for the first time

#881

Post by alex504 » Thu, Feb 03, 2022, 5:25 PM UTC

citizenpaul wrote: post #672

Melkman wrote: post #556

Earlier quoted context omitted.

As much as I like VR I have to agree it will stay a niche product. The need to wear something on your head is a major hurdle. Like 3D TV's that have mostly disappeared. Also when you are in a VR environment you want to interact with it. You need free physical space to do that which is an other hurdle. There are more niches than gaming only though. Like education and product design and demonstration.

The main problem with 3D tv was the content. 3D really only works with bad movies like resident evil. You are not going to have need or want 3d in a movie that is an oscar contender. (Avatar as the single exception)

This reminds me of a joke Norm MacDonald did on his podcast:

Did you see the Great Gatsby? Did you see it in 3D? It was almost like the sober examination of the unrestrained materialism and absent moral center of the roaring 20s jumped right out at you.

Re: Facebook loses users for the first time

#882

Post by wikfwikf » Thu, Feb 03, 2022, 5:29 PM UTC

netcan wrote: post #578

randomsearch wrote: post #504

This is how the narrative of Facebook looks to me: Zuckerberg got lucky and then executed brilliantly, transitioned from nerd hacker to CEO amazingly well. He deserves a lot of credit for that. Since then, Facebook have innovated very little. Zuckerberg recognised this, and bought Instagram and Whatsapp in lieu of building an innovative company. The latter is clearly really difficult to do. Without a stream of new id…

Microsoft, for all its flaws, has strengths. They're grittier than most and ultimately, know how to deliver software products and build businesses around them... very different products and very different businesses. Leadership was a lever to these, but there was something to lever FB have never built a successful product besides Zuck's original. They have never created a good business besides the FB and program. The…

Making WhatsApp into a payments app is going to lead to the most difficult content moderation problems ever known. Everything from content by casual OF performers to extremely illegal and damaging content would be on that platform if it was easy to make payments and still fairly easy to send pictures and video privately.

Re: Facebook loses users for the first time

#883

Post by MichaelRazum » Thu, Feb 03, 2022, 5:31 PM UTC

randomsearch wrote: post #504

This is how the narrative of Facebook looks to me: Zuckerberg got lucky and then executed brilliantly, transitioned from nerd hacker to CEO amazingly well. He deserves a lot of credit for that. Since then, Facebook have innovated very little. Zuckerberg recognised this, and bought Instagram and Whatsapp in lieu of building an innovative company. The latter is clearly really difficult to do. Without a stream of new id…

"Zuckerberg got lucky", that could be said about nearly every start-up. I don't like him (based on his public behavior), but have to admit he was already brilliant before facebook.

You are kind of right about innovation force at facebook. Although, really not sure, why they didn't do more of it. Like getting into cloud similar to google. Especially pytorch kind of feels better then tensorflow. Really strange.

On the other hand google innovated like hell, but in the end it's still google search which makes most of the profits. So maybe there is just not much potential in innovating and holding it's position is more important (which they are doing).

Re: Facebook loses users for the first time

#884

Post by simmanian » Thu, Feb 03, 2022, 5:31 PM UTC

llampx wrote: post #822

tallanvor wrote: post #798

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not sure this is right. I think the problem with Facebook is that long ago it shifted to a content graph in terms of use. I have less than 60 people friended because I limit it to people I actually know and want to know what they're up to, and by and large they're people that aren't constantly sharing memes, videos, or other crap. Of course, this means that I can check it out once a week and that's enough to keep…

In terms of monetization, isn't it more profitable to sell ads to decision-makers aka older people, than to kids and teens?

Ads targeting kids and teens actually tend to do very well. There's an entire side of youtube where kids review their new (sponsored) toys. Parents get immensely pressured when they feel their kids are getting left out.

Re: Facebook loses users for the first time

#885

Post by elliekelly » Thu, Feb 03, 2022, 5:31 PM UTC

AussieWog93 wrote: post #631

busymom0 wrote: post #617

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think Microsoft is also almost an essential product company. You can either get a PC or a Mac. Or Linux but even that requires getting a PC anyway. Chromebook market is still tiny.

Apparently Chromebooks outsold Macbooks in 2020, and their market share only seems to be increasing: https://www.geekwire.com/2021/chromebooks-outsold-macs-world... (That said, ChromeOS still makes up a much smaller percentage of active installations, as Google don't have the legacy hardware base that Apple and Microsoft do)

I suspect that has a lot to do with how “disposable” Chromebooks are. What’s the average lifespan for a Chromebook given to middle school students? I can’t imagine it’s very long.

Re: Facebook loses users for the first time

#886

Post by sseagull » Thu, Feb 03, 2022, 5:41 PM UTC

oezi wrote: post #874

peckrob wrote: post #831

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yup, Facebook has their tentacles in so many places that walking away from it is difficult, especially if you are involved in local community activities. My neighborhood exclusively uses Facebook for neighborhood communication. My kid's school PTA exclusively uses Facebook. Most of the local food trucks only post their schedules on Facebook. Since the pandemic started I have been taking the opportunity to go through…

I am from Europe so I may not get it, but what communication does a neighborhood do that is important? Yard sales? Do people really participate in something like school PTA and eat often at food trucks? I guess electronic platforms are more fragmented here in Europe. Google Maps owns business hours, various classified sites (such as Ebay's) own selling stuff locally. But everything might be different in each country…

Our neighborhood uses an FB group. There are typically 2-3 posts a week.

* lost and found (including pets)

* HOA announcements

* changes to the trash pickup schedule, special trash collections, etc

* other events (Santa parade)

* new neighbor introductions

* recommendations (repairs, babysitting, dog sitting)

* free stuff or stuff for sale

* general advice on house construction (many houses are similar)

It’s not important per se, and not everyone is in the group. But it does come in handy.

Re: Facebook loses users for the first time

#887

Post by adlorger » Thu, Feb 03, 2022, 5:42 PM UTC

FB lost US about 2M users in summer 2020, but has been pretty flat since then.

See FB's slide 13: https://s21.q4cdn.com/399680738/files/doc_financials/2021/q4...

The drop this round is in the rest of the world and not US, Asia, or Europe which are flat or even up

The hot takes of Peak Facebook are unfounded, or at least premature.

Re: Facebook loses users for the first time

#888

Post by adlorger » Thu, Feb 03, 2022, 5:43 PM UTC

jmacd wrote: post #774

There is something else going on around FB. Almost all activity online has shifted away from the Social Graph to a Content Graph. Almost nobody wants to see what their friends are doing online anymore. In a lot of ways it can be cringey. People just want the latest, catchiest content. TikTok and Youtube are the OGs here, but it's everywhere when you start to look. Twitter timeline changes being an awkward but working…

i believe this is true but it is not reflected in the public earnings at all.

User growth in the US may be flat but earnings per US/CA active user is up which implies that the value is here and growing for users in the US/CA

Re: Facebook loses users for the first time

#889

Post by barbazoo » Thu, Feb 03, 2022, 5:44 PM UTC

feupan wrote: post #344

barbazoo wrote: post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Personally, I applaud decline in engagement with any of the social networks, not just Facebook.

The decline is only one-sided. Facebook down, TikTok up. The mean amount of social network users is not declining at all.

Fair point. I do agree with others though, the damage other apps like TikTok do is less for me to be happy about it overall. It's like Transitioning people from an alcohol addiction to a weed addiction, one is much more dangerous than the other, either might not be great for you.

Re: Facebook loses users for the first time

#890

Post by ubermonkey » Thu, Feb 03, 2022, 5:44 PM UTC

oezi wrote: post #874

peckrob wrote: post #831

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Yup, Facebook has their tentacles in so many places that walking away from it is difficult, especially if you are involved in local community activities. My neighborhood exclusively uses Facebook for neighborhood communication. My kid's school PTA exclusively uses Facebook. Most of the local food trucks only post their schedules on Facebook. Since the pandemic started I have been taking the opportunity to go through…

I am from Europe so I may not get it, but what communication does a neighborhood do that is important? Yard sales? Do people really participate in something like school PTA and eat often at food trucks? I guess electronic platforms are more fragmented here in Europe. Google Maps owns business hours, various classified sites (such as Ebay's) own selling stuff locally. But everything might be different in each country…

Is it so weird to imagine that having a shared communication space for one's neighborhood is desirable? There's a group for my neighborhood in Houston that's great for referrals (e.g., electricians), or notes about neighborhood businesses, etc. I can't imagine this idea is uniquely American, but maybe it is.

Yes, parents often participate in PTAs. Parent engagement is a big deal in education.

Yes, in many places in the US there are food trucks. People often enjoy them. Finding out where a given truck will be on Tuesday is useful!

Businesses generally keep Facebook pages in the US, usually as a supplement to a real web site, but also because Facebook has traditionally been where everyone is already.