Yes, and every new user they add makes the cash flow just a little faster in the NEGATIVE direction. More users is more overhead, more storage, more bandwidth, etc.
Many of these new users are using Facebook basically as webpage builder and storage medium. They're not there to click ads and "interact" marketing-wise the way Facebook needs them too in order for those users to pay their own way through ads, etc.
The other thing that I think a lot of people are not paying enough attention to is the real trend-setting users. The "cool kids", the ones who built up the Facebook user community aren't generally very excited about having their parents and every housewife in the same "club" they are in.
My personal prediction is that Facebook WILL get stale. The "cool kids" will get sick of the non-cool people coming in, and the increasing trends in ads and attempts to monetize the system and they WILL go some place else. This basic trend dates all the way back to the days of Studio 54 and prior clubs.
Facebook is basically trying a business model that has been around forever and never really worked... "We lose money on each unit, but we make it up in VOLUME".
Some of us have seen this movie before, others haven't...
That Facebook will appear stodgy and lose the young crowd even as it conquers everyone else is one of their greatest risks.
One way they're combating it is to make sure everyone sees a different Facebook -- tuned for just your desired perspective. It could become number 1 in nursing homes and retirement communities without "cool kids" ever noticing that fact because there's no overlap of "feeds".
They may need to go further, though -- perhaps even launching a separate brand/subnetwork for HS/College/twentysomethings/etc. (It would draw on the full technology/membership base, but offer a clearly separate friend list and profile/persona -- moreso than the current visibility controls and filters.)
The market is still theirs to lose; they know the risks and have lots of options.
Many of these new users are using Facebook basically as webpage builder and storage medium. They're not there to click ads and "interact" marketing-wise the way Facebook needs them too in order for those users to pay their own way through ads, etc.
The other thing that I think a lot of people are not paying enough attention to is the real trend-setting users. The "cool kids", the ones who built up the Facebook user community aren't generally very excited about having their parents and every housewife in the same "club" they are in.
My personal prediction is that Facebook WILL get stale. The "cool kids" will get sick of the non-cool people coming in, and the increasing trends in ads and attempts to monetize the system and they WILL go some place else. This basic trend dates all the way back to the days of Studio 54 and prior clubs.
Facebook is basically trying a business model that has been around forever and never really worked... "We lose money on each unit, but we make it up in VOLUME".
Some of us have seen this movie before, others haven't...