While some users and companies have vowed to abandon Facebook, those actually doing so are in the minority. Try as you might, there is no escaping the behemoth.
Judging by Facebook’s first-quarter results, released yesterday, usage and revenue continue to soar. A few highlights:
Users are more active than ever
- Almost 1.28 billion people use Facebook on a monthly basis, up 15 percent from last year.
- 802 million people use Facebook everyday, an increase of 21 percent year-over-year.
Mobile is super hot
- 609 million users on average checked Facebook on their mobile devices everyday, an increase of 43 percent year-over-year
- 59 percent of advertising revenue comes from mobile
Revenue is up
- Total revenue for the first quarter is up 72 percent from the first quarter in 2013 ($2.5 billion versus $1.5 billion). Profit rose to $642 million, from $219 million a year ago.
- Advertising revenue was $2.27 billion, up 82 percent from the same quarter last year, with most being generated by mobile.
Instagram to remain (mostly) ad-free for now
During the earnings call, chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg said that, in terms of Instagram, the company is “very focused on consumer growth and we move slowly and deliberately in monetization. So we don't see the need or the urge to ramp this as quickly as we possibly could.”
Facebook does not appear to be going to the way of Friendster or Myspace, much to Mark Zuckerberg’s surprise. Facebook’s founder said, “I've actually predicted for a long time that eventually that will flatten out and I thought it would decrease, but actually it continues to increase much to our surprise and joy.”
