According to a report by Inside Facebook, Facebook user growth – while still increasing – is beginning to slow. The significance of this data has been debated; as Portfolio.com points out, “One month does not make a trend, and such hiccups aren’t unheard of for Facebook. ‘Short-term factors’ like college graduations can affect Facebook’s numbers.” Still, this new information has led some to question the future of Facebook, as Portfolio.com also added, “there is some cause for caution. The social network’s overall growth, driven by its march into newer geographic markets, has slowed down.”
Specifically, user numbers dropped in the US and Canada, two of Facebook’s largest countries. As Econsultancy commented, “Facebook is no spring chicken, and its days of staggering growth will not last forever. The possibility that the company has already plateaued, or is in slight decline, in the markets that it first entered, would seem real.” Portfolio.com added that “the numbers could… show Facebook hitting a saturation point in key markets.”
Of course, even if Facebook growth suddenly halts, it will remain a huge and influential market. For now, it will take more time to see if these recently reported numbers are meaningful.
