Introducing Analytics at Meta

The Facebook company is now Meta, and we couldn’t be more excited about the vision Mark laid out in his keynote at Connect. While our company name may have changed, our company mission remains the same: to give people the power to build community and connect the world. We are the Analytics Team at Meta, and we’re excited to play a role in seeing that mission realized.

In this blog, we’ll share stories from our analytics colleagues, offering insight into our function and providing more clarity about our work. We’ll start by sharing the mission and principles that guide us.

The mission that unites the Analytics team at Meta is to “drive better outcomes using data as a voice for our communities.”

The following principles guide the work we do:

• Responsibility: We understand that data does not answer every question. But used responsibly, data can be an essential input into holistic decision-making. As data professionals, we believe in using data when it is appropriate to the situation. We take our responsibilities as caretakers of data seriously, and we prioritize user privacy in everything we do. We always strive to do the right thing.
• Leading with Data: An essential part of our role is to bring an independent voice and analytical perspective into decision-making. Sometimes, this means we have to tell our colleagues what they may not want to hear, such as when the data doesn’t support their viewpoint. We are product leaders who care deeply about the value our products bring to people and communities, as well as the long-term strength of our company. To optimize our path to achieving those outcomes, it’s our job to help determine how and when data is the correct input to use in decision-making.
• Representing Communities: Building community is part of our company mission. With billions of users and a global presence, our communities are diverse and have a wide variety of needs. We help provide a voice for these communities through data, and we use that voice to build empathy within the company, leading to better, safer products.
• Rigor: We are scientists and engineers. We care deeply about adherence to the scientific process, and we are obsessive about engineering excellence. We employ rigor in what we do, whether building data systems at scale or doing deep-dive analysis to unlock insights.

As a company that provides services that billions of people use every day, we have always faced a healthy level of scrutiny. Of course, we welcome that scrutiny and use it to continuously improve. But, sometimes, ​​that scrutiny misrepresents how we make decisions, specifically with regard to the role data and research play in making those decisions. As Mark posted, a lot of the recent coverage reflects a company that people who work here don’t recognize. Given the misconceptions and misrepresentations about how Analytics works here, we’re excited to pull back the curtain.

In this blog, we’ll share perspectives from our Analytics colleagues and offer insights about what it means to have a career in Analytics at Meta. Building on recent posts from our colleagues, we’ll provide real-world examples of projects and products we’ve helped to drive, and we’ll share some of the technical innovations that have underpinned that work. Finally, we hope to provide insight into what it means to work in Analytics at Meta, what we do, and how our work helps make better products for billions of people worldwide.

Authors: Gayatree G., Justin G., Mel F.