Facebookâs Mark ZuckerÂberg has come out fightÂing after a three-month silence in which the social netÂworkÂing giantâs share valÂue has tumÂbled alarmingly.
SpeakÂing at the Techcrunch DisÂrupt conÂferÂence on WednesÂday, ZuckerÂberg canÂdidÂly addressed the fraught issue of his companyâs falÂterÂing efforts to grasp the mobile nettle.
A mobile-proÂpelled freefall
Recent reports have highÂlightÂed the nerve-shredÂding $157 milÂlion loss FaceÂbook sufÂfered since its IPO in May; durÂing the same periÂod, the net worth of the comÂpaÂny plunged by $50 bilÂlion. These knuckÂle-whitenÂing declines are at least in part conÂnectÂed to Facebookâs failÂure to develÂop a robust mobile platÂform â a shortÂcomÂing that has cost the comÂpaÂny dearÂly givÂen that 955 milÂlion of its users rouÂtineÂly access their FaceÂbook pages through mobile devices.
FaceÂbook wants to emuÂlate the specÂtacÂuÂlar growth rate shown by social news site RedÂdit, but ZuckerÂberg is shrewd enough to know that heâs got a lot of conÂvincÂing and reasÂsurÂing to do. NeedÂless to say, every conÂtent manÂagÂer, comÂmuÂniÂty manÂagÂer and social media manÂagÂer will be intrigued about his views on the way forÂward with regard to mobile technology.
While he didnât pull any rabÂbits out of the hat, he didnât disÂapÂpoint either, openÂly statÂing that Facebookâs top priÂorÂiÂty was optiÂmizÂing its serÂvice for mobile gadÂgets. GraspÂing the bull by the horns, ZuckerÂberg canÂdidÂly acknowlÂedged that his comÂpaÂny had âburned two yearsâ experÂiÂmentÂing with the HTML5 codÂing proÂtoÂcol to litÂtle effect â but itâs clear that he now conÂsidÂers this a FaceÂbook turkey.
A conÂfiÂdent performance
Unlike some of his more hesÂiÂtant pubÂlic perÂforÂmances in the past, ZuckerÂberg manÂaged to sound plauÂsiÂbly optiÂmistic when he said, âI think it is realÂly easy for folks to underÂesÂtiÂmate how realÂly funÂdaÂmenÂtalÂly good mobile is for us.â ScotchÂing rumors that FaceÂbook was about to develÂop its own smartÂphone, which wouldnât âmove the neeÂdleâ even if it attractÂed 10 â 20 milÂlion peoÂple, he affirmed his comÂmitÂment to buildÂing a sysÂtem that could be inteÂgratÂed into every mobile device whether the platÂform was Android, iOS or Mobile Web.
GivÂen that Facebookâs shares surged by 8 perÂcent directÂly after his appearÂance, the young CEO appears to have calmed some agiÂtatÂed nerves. Wall Street anaÂlyst Ben Schechter praised Zuckerbergâs perÂforÂmance, adding that it was critÂiÂcal for investors to hear directÂly from him.