Facebook’s First Job, Post IPO? Fix Its Mobile App

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Facebook’s First Job, Post IPO? Fix Its Mobile App

Posted by admin on May 12, 2012 | Leave a Comment

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Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is telling would-be investors that mobile is Facebook’s number one priority.

Zuckerberg addressed about 200 investors during the Palo Alto leg of Facebook’s IPO roadshow, answering questions and laying out plans for 2012 and beyond. According to Reuters, the CEO put his focus squarely on improving Facebook’s mobile app.

This is an important pronouncement, and it aligns with what Facebook has said its in various S-1 filings. Since Facebook filed for its IPO back in February, the issue of mobile — and more specifically, mobile monetization — has come up time and again.

Although Facebook has a strong mobile presence, its app is not monetized the same way as its main platform. The advertising just isn’t there.

This has been a major problem for the social network, especially when it comes to competing in mobile-first areas such as location and photo sharing.

SEE ALSO: Why Instagram Was Worth $1 Billion to Facebook

Just days before Facebook bought Instagram for $1 billion, Facebook’s head of mobile developer relations told a group of reporters that “had Facebook been built today, it would be mobile.”

The challenges that Facebook faces with mobile go beyond just mobile ads and competing with other mobile-first social networks, it becomes intrinsic with the platform itself.

Facebook sends nearly 60 million people to other mobile apps each month, thanks to its newly revamped mobile platform. Still, Facebook has to be concerned about sending users out of the ecosystem.

To fix that, the company needs to make it easy for developers to build mobile-friendly or mobile-first experiences that can run in tandem with Facebook apps — or for users who access Facebook from mobile and tablet browsers.

Despite Questions, Facebook IPO Already a Hit

It wouldn’t be an IPO season without conflicting rumors and reports of the “success” of a roadshow. Just yesterday, we wrote about a report from Bloomberg that suggested that demand for the Facebook IPO is weaker than expected.

Today, Reuters is reporting the exact opposite, instead saying that the IPO is already oversubscribed.

According to Reuters, institutional investors don’t care about slowing growth, the issues with mobile or Zuckerberg’s hoodie — they want as much stock as they can get, to the point that Facebook won’t have enough to go around.

We’re sure promises of a strong commitment to fixing mobile will leave investors even more interested.

What would you most like to see changed about Facebook’s mobile apps? Let us know in the comments.

Image courtesy of iStockphoto, ymgerman

More About: Facebook, facebook ipo, facebook mobile, Mobile

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