Why Facebook is Dominating Despite Media Coverage

2018 was the year that Mark Zuckerburg got tested as a CEO. It’s fair to say that last year Facebook got raked over the coals by politicians and the media alike. It seemed (and to be honest, seems) like every week there was and is a story bashing Facebook. From the Cambridge Analytica scandal, to the security breach and Sheryl Sandberg controversy. Most recently Facebook was reported to be selling user’s messaging information to large companies, although they technically did nothing illegal, according to FB. Facebook has been getting a lot of negative publicity recently. Not to mention some revenue slow down. Over the summer in 2018, Facebook showed signs of slowing down user growth, and lost 24% of it’s stock value in 2 hours. Employees are feeling the pressure as well with the constant news coverage.

It certainly has been looking bleak for Facebook recently.

But how much of this is over exaggerated media outrage, and how much of it actually affects their bottom line? What is their future is going to look like in terms of the products and services they are developing? Are they headed in the right direction in terms of the vision Zuckerberg has set for the company?

It’s important to take note of the fact that Facebook is still the top social media website in the world. In October 2018, they had 2.28 billion active users, outranking YouTube and WhatsApp (which Facebook owns).

The second fact to take note of is that Facebook isn’t just Facebook.com. Facebook has several important subsidiaries that show real promise and no signs of slowdown. These subsidiaries are Instagram, WhatsApp, and Oculus VR (been redefining their products). All three of these subsidiaries are serious players when it comes to their respective sectors. Without these subsidiaries, you could argue that FB is having a hiccup right now. With these subsidiaries taken as a whole though, there is no denying Facebook has a solid ground in the social media and tech markets and will continue to be making a mark until all of those subsidiaries stop growing at the rate that they are.

According to Statista.com, in October 2018, Facebook owned 4 out of the top 6 social media companies in the world by Active Users. (Facebook, WhatsApp, Facebook Messenger, and Instagram)