This is why Facebook is running scared

Rumors of that  Facebook is about to launch an ephemeral app surfaced late this week end. While it could be surprising for some, especially after the company’s failure in that space emphasised by the recent closure of Poke,  it is actually the least they could do.

Here is why it makes perfect sense, and this simple chart shows why :

Find more statistics at Statista

On a daily basis, Snapchat is leading the race in the most uploaded photos in a  day. Not by much, but certainly enough to threaten the supremacy of Facebook. Mark Zuckerberg is very much aware that the core success of Facebook is based on image sharing and that if he loses that, he loses everything else. Instagram’s acquisition was a great boost in that field but, as the numbers show, certainly not enough to give Facebook a comforting supremacy, which it’s what it needs to remain number one of the social media site. It is also key to capturing the teen age, young adult market that Facebook seems to be losing. Snapchat is ramping to become the next big platform in that age group as Facebook is starting to look more and more the parent’s social media. To stay relevant and survive the generation hump, the social media giant needs to stay current.

Obviously, it is not because they built and an app that they will succeed. It will take much more than a pretty interface to take over Snapchat’s dominance in that space. It is also a sign that Facebook is no longer innovating but playing catch up, a role previously held by Microsoft. While a large treasure chest and big teams certainly help, it can become financially exhausting very quickly and lead to catastrophic mistakes.

Photo sharing remains the dominant attribute of the social media space and while some companies have successfully taken advantage of the ride, they have come to realize that it is not an advantage that is easy to keep. Users are very unfaithful and seem to be willing to jump platforms without much hesitation as long as they see traction from their friends/family. Will Facebook be able to continue to dominate the space  and kill its competitors ? If Micrososft  history is any indication, we know the answer.

Author: Paul Melcher

Paul Melcher is a highly influential and visionary leader in visual tech, with 20+ years of experience in licensing, tech innovation, and entrepreneurship. He is the Managing Director of MelcherSystem and has held executive roles at Corbis, Stipple, and more. Melcher received a Digital Media Licensing Association Award and is a board member of Plus Coalition, Clippn, and Anthology, and has been named among the “100 most influential individuals in American photography”

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