Facebook defends drop in users, predicts rising revenue

The social media giant reported its first ever decline in user numbers but told investors not to worry. Here’s how the platform’s executives got their message out there.

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Facebook is defending its first ever drop in usership.

The news that people are leaving the platform can spook investors and other business partners, calling into question the longevity of the platform.

Officials at Facebook contend that the decline in use is a healthy sign for the company, spinning their efforts to change the network for the better.

TechCrunch wrote:

In Facebook’s Q4 2017 earnings report today CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that “Already last quarter, we made changes to show fewer viral videos to make sure people’s time is well spent. In total, we made changes that reduced time spent on Facebook by roughly 50 million hours every day.”

That’s a reduction of roughly 2.14 minutes per day per user, given that Facebook has 1.4 billion users now. Zuckerberg later said that’s a reduction of total time spent on Facebook by 5 percent.

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