If anyone isn’t sure whether or not the success or failure of social networks is driven by younger users, just ask MySpace (and possibly Google +). This may be why Mark Zuckerburg, Facebook CEO, is so adamantly denying that they have a problem with the user satisfaction of their younger visitors.
Zuckerberg reported during the Q2 earnings conference call that “There’s been a lot of speculation reporting that fewer teens are using Facebook, but based on our data, that just isn’t true.” This is just the latest comment from Facebook executives trying to ensure everyone, especially investors, that they don’t have an issue in this are.
A Pew Internet & American Life report, however, found that while most consumers do have a Facebook account (94%), many of them are also using other networks which offer a more focused user experience. Sites like Vine and Instagram, for example, are quickly growing in popularity. Even Tumblr, Pinterest and Google+ are slowly gaining younger users.
The American Consumer Satisfaction Index also released a report earlier this week which found that consumer satisfaction currently sits at 62 (out of 100). This is up one point from last year at this time, but still isn’t an impressive number. In comparison, Google+ scored a 78, Twitter got a 65 and Pinterest scored a 72 on the same report.
Whether happy or not, however, people do still use Facebook more than any other social network, and by big numbers. Hopefully Facebook won’t let them get over confident though. The history of the Internet is full of once dominant companies now struggling just to survive.
The Pew report can be seen HERE.
