Mindset 4.0

Facebook amended its public offering prospectus on Wednesday to note that it is showing fewer ads per user on the site because of its lack of vibrant mobile applications.

ANALYSIS:

Here’s why FB is lowering expectations.  There is no “call to action” for mobile users.  Here’s an example or two: people use FB to keep up with friends, and to not be sold something.  Also, data for events on FB is convoluted, incomplete, and not universally available.  Here is what I mean: Let’s say you are looking for crawfish events within a 10-mile radius from you in Houston.  Well, there may likely be 5-10 events that meet these criteria.  But one may not know about these culinary options because you are not “friends” with the publisher or know this organization.

Facebook is like a “closed loop”.  If one is NOT in the loop, they are shut out, which in effect makes FB exclusionary.  

Here’s another example, sticking with the city of Houston.  Let’s say you just experienced a hurricane, and power is down.  Can a store or restaurant inform ALL people their location is open for business?  Or update their hours with a few simple keystrokes.  The answer is NO.  You see, Facebook is like a giant extended family, with everyone talking about the same issues.  But if all the members in your family are jobless, and that is your circle, how do you tap into people with jobs and access to opportunities?  

Facebook is simply a tool to push people to buy stuff they don’t need.  Rather, it could also be a tool to transform people when they need help or to improve their quality of life.  I “LIKE” the Wall Street Journal, but I don’t subscribe.  I love the NY Times, and do subscribe.  The point is, FB could very well become Yahoo in 5-7 years with an architecture that is simply not valuable to members and eventually have minimal return on investment for advertisers.