Just Another MySpace: The Death of Facebook

Facebook. Still thriving or just short of collapse? Yes, more than 150 million people actively use Facebook (have returned to the site in the last 30 days). Stats, like looks however, can be deceiving. Facebook, as a business, is in the maturity phase of its life cycle. What comes after maturity? You guessed it… death. Let me explain.

The focus, the core business of Facebook from its inception in 2004 was college students. The company began offering profiles to only those enrolled in what we call “higher education” (i.e. the young, energetic, and not always sober). In short, college students loved it. Since then, the Facebook network began including high school students, adults, companies, old people, etc. Thus, Facebook ventured away from its core business.

Whenever executives try to grow their company, they must not loose their focus. Because (according to one very smart marketing professor)…

“If You Lose Your Focus, You Lose Your Shirt”

The only way to be successful long term in business is to stay true to your focus. For example, when you hear “Nike,” what do you think? Sports. Therefore, it would be ridiculous for Nike to produce ballet shoes. Similarly, Facebook has sacrificed its brand image (as the fun, college network) for growth (by allowing non-college students to participate). In other words, Facebook has started gathering oranges when it should have continued to cherry-pick.