An
Inside Facebook report on declining active Facebook users has attracted
considerable media attention as it pointed to lower numbers in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. While Facebook has
disputed the report, it should be noted that the Canadian data suggests a far more significant decline in Canada as compared to the other countries. The Inside Facebook report says the U.S. decline of 6 million active users is the most prominent, but it represents roughly 3.8% of its user base. By comparison, the Canadian decline of 1.5 million users is roughly 8.2%, far larger than the U.S. or any of the other countries posting declines.
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The answer is “no”
This appears to be a non-story. Facebook themselves pretty much denied it. From the BBC article you linked to:
“From time to time, we see stories about Facebook losing users in some regions. Some of these reports use data extracted from our advertising tool, which provides broad estimates on the reach of Facebook ads and isn’t designed to be a source for tracking the overall growth of Facebook,”
And they would know. They have the REAL numbers. An analyst without any real data is just looking for some attention.
Why did you post this?
@Dan – you’re right. We can completely trust that Facebook will publish accurate ‘active user’ statistics. They would never, ever, lie to the media.
(In case you’re missing the obvious sarcasm, Facebook has an utterly abysmal record when it comes to sharing *anything* publicly…)
…
Herald: I understand that (believe me), but when it comes to believing the group that has the actual number, versus the group that has simply made an estimation of some kind, knowing that they both have vested interests, you must choose either the source with access to the most accurate information (in this case Facebook), or neither of them.
In either case this is still a non-story.
This happens every year
It seems to me we go through this every spring! Facebook usage is down, it’s the end of the world!!! Come fall, it picks up again and by January Facebook is getting accolades for their impressive growth.
I wonder why? What could possibly incite people to use less Facebook in the spring? Summer, possibly?
…
schultzter said: “What could possibly incite people to use less Facebook in the spring? Summer, possibly?”
LOL Well said.
Geez, Facebook fanboys?
Not much substance here… I’ll add some.
If the Web 2.0 is of any importance to you, go read “What is the federated social web” by Prodromou, Montreal CEO of Status.net
http://status.net/2010/07/13/what-is-the-federated-social-web
RE: Geez, Facebook fanboys?
I don’t use Facebook and have been considering canceling my account for months.