By Yasmin Pascual Khalil
Second to hit the 100 million user mark, India may possibly soon overtake the United States as the largest market for Facebook. This landmark was confirmed by Javier Olivan, the company official in charge of global growth on March 31. He shared Facebook’s next target for India, “Now, we look forward to 1 billion in India — that’s a different focus and challenge.” Olivan also explained the 10-year expansion plan for India encompassing three steps: One, increase internet penetration via collaboration with telecom and technology companies. Two, offer free basic Internet services to mobile users. Three, supply product development with a mobile-first orientation.
India is Facebook’s great hope; not only does it have a very fast growth pace in comparison to the States and a chance at being the leading country this year itself, it can boost the numbers, which is exactly what Facebook needs right now. Globally, the number of active users has been in decline due to the numerous social media platforms available with a variety of capabilities.
The once fun platform is now turning into a dull social network with many young people turning away from it because of privacy concerns, the presence of older users like parents, teachers, community leaders, and constant modification of features. Facebook isn’t “cool” anymore according to a 22-year old, who said, “Facebook is starting to become a place where people post about their daily lives to seek attention, and gather as many likes as possible rather than have meaningful conversations.”
On the bright side, Facebook for mobile is attracting new users in India every day. According to company figures, 84 million of its 100 million users access the social networking site from their mobile devices. Facebook to many Indians is a good match to the country’s cultural diversity with the service being available in several Indian languages including Hindi, Tamil, and Telugu. Rural India has also been benefiting from the platform ever since it first tied with Vodafone to get locals on board.
Jessie Paul, CEO of Paul Writer Strategic Advisory, is concerned that Facebook for mobile still has to secure itself on mobile. She believes “Facebook is a desktop story. It was not created for mobile first and that’s where new internet users are.” What goes in its favor, Paul adds, is that “there’s no alternative as yet with the same kind of heft as Facebook.”
