Facebook could expand or replace their customer base.
Currently their major (only?) customers are companies paying Facebook to place ads in front of people who don't want to see them and may in fact try hard not to see them.
Although ads has worked for radio and television, it seems shaky to me. It reminds me of the early days of television and radio, where shows on TV were largely plays adopted to TV, because that's what people did with the preceding medium, and news programming was an announcer reading the newspaper, because the newspaper was where news came from prior to radio and TV.
Ads worked for the preceding media, but that's no reason not to innovate monetization on the web.
Facebook could, instead or in addition, charge money to its users for access to Facebook. They could sell their mobile app. They could ... well, they're smarter than me, they can do their own innovation. :)
If your uses don't commit to use by spending money, then they're essentially transient, waiting for the next free thing. Make Facebook a service that people don't complain about at every changed policy and implementation, make it so good that people will pay to use it, and I'll be impressed. (Not to take away at all from the accomplishment so far.)
Currently their major (only?) customers are companies paying Facebook to place ads in front of people who don't want to see them and may in fact try hard not to see them.
Although ads has worked for radio and television, it seems shaky to me. It reminds me of the early days of television and radio, where shows on TV were largely plays adopted to TV, because that's what people did with the preceding medium, and news programming was an announcer reading the newspaper, because the newspaper was where news came from prior to radio and TV.
Ads worked for the preceding media, but that's no reason not to innovate monetization on the web.
Facebook could, instead or in addition, charge money to its users for access to Facebook. They could sell their mobile app. They could ... well, they're smarter than me, they can do their own innovation. :)
If your uses don't commit to use by spending money, then they're essentially transient, waiting for the next free thing. Make Facebook a service that people don't complain about at every changed policy and implementation, make it so good that people will pay to use it, and I'll be impressed. (Not to take away at all from the accomplishment so far.)