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Facebook eroding
Wow. Facebook eroding much faster than anyone expected. Pivotal’s analysis of Nielsen data shows core app dropped 11% in time spent per person in November. Without Instagram/WhatsApp, a complete cliff dive in share of time. pic.twitter.com/tEd5UclZ3p
— Jason Kint (@jason_kint) February 20, 2018
The tweet about Facebook eroding is part of a greater issue of what Facebook is calling internally ‘context collapse‘. Facebook recognised the issue back in 2015. There are several likely reasons for Facebook eroding:
- Negative network effects
- Societal norming on social media content
- Lack of trust in the facebook brand
- People just don’t like Facebook as a platform that much
Business
After Anbang Takeover, China’s Deal Money, Already Ebbing, Could Slow Further – The New York Times
Hello, mobile operators? This is your age of disruption calling | McKinsey & Company – lots of buzz words, diagnosis but not a glimpse of a way forward
Edelman Revenue Up 2.1% In 2018 To $894m | Holmes Report – given that all the global PR groups have had exceptionally low growth or even declines
How Douyin became China’s top short-video App in 500 days – WalktheChat
Wireless
Nokia on 5G at MWC, what struck me is the sales pitch was more like an enterprise software company like IBM or Oracle than a telecoms vendor. There is lots of tech in the networks but there isn’t a recognisable killer app. His warnings about 5G upgradeable products ring true though.
Consumer behaviour
Asian Boss do some really nice street interviews in different Asian cities and this one about Apple iPhones in Korea is particularly instructive. Samsung is seen as the default phone as they assemble phones (mostly for Asian markets) in Korea. Whereas in Europe all of the are made in China. When I lived in Hong Kong, both Samsung and LG emphasised that they made their phones in Korea with an implicit quality guarantee.
The iPhone seems to have won out on product design amongst younger people. but one shouldn’t ignore the desire to support the national brand.