Google dominated the Internet — and the ad spending on it, in the desktop and laptop era of computing, While it’s largely responsible for the proliferation of mobile devices by licensing the Android OS, Google doesn’t dominate the mobile Internet. Facebook is the dominant service on mobile and says it accounts for 20% of time spent on mobile devices. That wasn’t always the case, and Facebook’s initial efforts in mobile were eventually scrapped for native apps.The willingness to admit failure and the ability to understand and recognize disruption before it takes hold are what make Mark Zuckerberg an excellent CEO.
Facebook isn’t afraid of admitting when it’s wrong or losing. Management even admitted to investors during Facebook’s 2013 third-quarter earnings call that it was seeing a decline in teen engagement. Investors panicked at the admission, but Facebook knew it had Instagram and a growing number of teens engaging on that platform. A couple of weeks later, Instagram introduced its first set of ads. The point here is that Facebook isn’t just focused on its existing businesses, it’s focused on the big picture of how people are using the Internet. If Facebook sees a new trend emerging, its first reaction is to buy the company, try to replicate it, or both.
Mark Zuckerberg 10-year goal includes developing the next computing platform. Zuckerberg recently made a big bet that this would be virtual reality. Facebook purchased Oculus for $2 billion last year to spearhead its VR development. Oculus may end up being to Facebook what Android is to Google. It could be a means to stay relevant in the next computing platform even if its software isn’t as popular on it. But by working on virtual reality now, and applications for the platform, Facebook is setting the stage to play a much bigger role if and when VR gains popularity. Of course, there’s always the chance that VR won’t be the next big computing platform. If that’s the case, Zuckerberg is expected to stay true to form: admit when he’s wrong, and pivot to take full advantage of the next big thing……..
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