In May, the Pew Internet & American Life Project released a report asserting that while teens were on Facebook in large numbers they were losing enthusiasm.
Josh Leichtung's insight:
Lies, damn lies, and statistics. Then there is just sloppy reporting.
This is an interesting case because an independent research organization (Pew Internet & American Life Project from the Pew Research Center) is reporting data indicating teen dissatisfaction with Facebook; while Facebook itself is reporting using their data to deny those claims.
If I had the kind of data that Facebook has, I'd say my statistics would be far better than research and focus groups. HOWEVER, at the risk of being redundant, there are lies, damn lies, and statistics. Let's look at this a little closer.
Enthusiasm ≠ Usage
Mark Zuckeberg's counterclaim is "the number of teens using Facebook on both a daily and monthly basis has been steady over the past year and half." Zuckerberg is equating steady usage with enthusiasm. It is not the same.
Zuckerberg and Facebook shareholders want to make sure Facebook's ad space inventory isn't taking a hit. Therefore, usage trumps sentiment. However, I'm sure Facebook is very concerned behind the scenes with sentiment. After all, sentiment has the potential to be turned into action.
Bad reporting?
I find it fascinating that in all the reports that I read on this subject, I didn't find ANY that pointed out the difference in what Pew and Zuckerberg were saying. Is that just sloppy, or is it indicitive of the "report it before anyone else does" mentality that pervades the internet?
What do you think? Comments please!