Facebook Chief Tries to Soothe Wall Street Over Changes to Site's News Feed

pulse

February 1, 2018 2:57 AM

Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook’s chief executive, has embarked on an overhaul of what people see and consume on the social network. The changes have left investors wondering whether people will still spend as much time on the site and whether brands will continue placing as many digital ads there.

On Wednesday, Facebook sought to soothe Wall Street’s worries over those questions. No, people will not spend as much time on the site, the company said as it reported quarterly financial results. But don’t worry, Facebook added, because the changes will ultimately benefit its business.

With the adjustments to what it shows on its site, “I believe that the time spent on Facebook will be more valuable,” Zuckerberg said in a conference call with analysts. “If people interact more, it should lead to stronger community. When you care about something, you’re willing to see ads to experience it.”

The scrutiny followed changes that Facebook announced in January to its News Feed, the scrolling screen of content that the social network’s more than 2 billion members see when they log in to the site. After months of criticism over the harmful effects of the social network, Zuckerberg said Facebook wanted to emphasize more “meaningful” content, such as photos and posts that friends and family have interacted with, and would play down articles from publishers. At the time, Zuckerberg acknowledged that the shift might cause people to spend less time on Facebook, at least in the short run.

The company made other changes last year as a precursor to the latest moves, including cutting down on viral videos. In response, Facebook users overall reduced the time they spent on the platform by roughly 50 million hours a day, Zuckerberg said, which translates to about two minutes a day for each of the company’s 1.4 billion daily users.

“We have a responsibility to fully understand how our services are used and amplify the good,” Zuckerberg said.

His comments came as Facebook reported another set of blockbuster financial results. The company said its revenue surged by 47 percent to nearly $13 billion in the fourth quarter from a year earlier, while profit rose 56 percent to $4.3 billion. The social network also said it had taken a $2.3 billion charge to cover the repatriation of foreign earnings under the new tax code that was signed into law last month.

The New York Times

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