Thematic visits
Written by: Kuang Yueting
2020-06-08 08:00
Last update date: 2020-06-08 08:00Since the beginning of this year, New Coronary Pneumonia has invaded the world and changed people's way of life. After reducing the number of people going out, they have also turned to work from home. Correspondingly, enterprises have shifted their fronts to online platforms to form a so-called "house economy".
The epidemic has given the public more time to stay at home. In a special interview with "Hong Kong 01", the CEO of Facebook Greater China, Liang Youbing, revealed that the total consumption of Facebook, WhatsApp, and Messenger (instant messaging) increased by 50% year-on-year in the first quarter, of which WhatsApp and Messenger The number of voice and video calls soared more than twice. "Everyone doesn't know how to meet their family members, they will make multiple calls to their relatives and friends who are far away from each other, and want to keep in touch with each other. In countries with more severe epidemics, this trend is more obvious."
Facebook has more than 5 million monthly active users in Hong Kong, accounting for more than 90% of the Internet users in Hong Kong.
"House economy" rises, Facebook is one of the big winners! In the first quarter of this year, the company's advertising revenue surged 17% year-on-year to US$17.4 billion, and monthly active users (MAU) also increased by 10% to 2.6 billion. And Facebook has more than 5 million monthly active users in Hong Kong, which is naturally one of the goals of corporate advertising.
Liang Youbing said that Facebook can display related advertisements according to user interests and daily usage habits, so that many advertisers can use the platform to find potential customers. She took Fusion Lens, a startup that specializes in 360° mobile phone external lenses, as an example. The company resold goggles in response to the epidemic in February this year, and contacted local and overseas potential customers through Facebook to release product information and promote new products. More than 10,000 goggles have been sold in mid-May.
She continued that under the epidemic, no matter large enterprises or small and medium-sized enterprises are affected, but the advertising budgets of various enterprises are different, it is difficult to comment on whether the expenditure they put in is reduced, but she found that online shopping, takeaway platforms, insurance, Advertising of personal care and household goods customers is relatively active.
In the early days of the epidemic, it was reported that factories in the mainland had ceased to produce tissues, which caused a wave of panic buying. Other foods and daily necessities were also out of stock. Many supermarket shelves were sold out. (Profile picture)
Three tricks to fight fake information without points "camp"
During the epidemic, the amount of information on the Internet surged, and fake information naturally rose, and some people "crazed" for daily necessities such as toilet paper, rice, and sanitary napkins. As an influential social platform, how does Facebook deal with fake information? Liang Youbing said that there are three main points: the platform will use AI (artificial intelligence) technology to review all posts, if any of the content violates the user code, it will be removed; if false information is found, but the content does not violate the user code, the platform It will try to minimize the amount of delivery; if after verification by a third-party organization, it is confirmed that the content of the information is not true, it will be marked as false information, and the user will be notified. "We will do a lot of promotion to let users know that they need to pay special attention to fake information, and even identify the fake information."
For the posts of the user "Report", the platform has a dedicated team to review each post one by one. If it is found to violate the user code, it will also remove the post. When asked about this move, are they afraid of being accused of "censorship"? Liang Youbing emphasized that Facebook has a clear set of user rules that are open and transparent. Users can check it on the platform. The company hopes that different communities can use the platform to share and connect with each other, but users are also responsible for complying with the platform rules. "If you violate the platform code, no matter what camp you are in, we will take action!"
Users can create Messenger Rooms directly from Messenger or Facebook, even if some participants do not have a Facebook account, they can also invite to join through the shared meeting room link. (webpage Screenshot)
Newly launched "Messenger Rooms" to attack the video conference market
In addition to the rise of fake information, along with the "home economy" is the sharp rise in demand for video conferencing software. The obvious example is the rise of ZOOM. Facebook also joined the war group in the middle of last month and launched "Messenger Rooms", which can support up to 50 people. Like meetings, and unlimited talk time. Liang Youbing thinks that the most special selling point of Messenger Rooms is that "homeowners" can invite friends to participate in meetings through News Feed. "Facebook users mostly browse content in News Feed. When they read News Feed, if they find that their friends have opened You can enter the room and say hello."
In terms of privacy protection, Messenger Rooms gives the host full control, including deciding the number of participants, restricting whether the room link can be shared with others, and opening or locking the room. These meeting rooms cannot be found on the platform. Facebook has also strengthened the security of the Rooms link, making it difficult to crack. "We will send all the data to data centers around the world. All the centers have passed the security requirements, including Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, etc., and their privacy and security are all top. of the market."
Liang Youbing admits that AI (artificial intelligence) is an important and core technology of all the company's platforms, helping advertisers find the most suitable potential consumers, so they will continue to develop AI. (Photo provided by the interviewee)
Ji open up various social platforms
Social platforms are constantly innovating and the market is fiercely competitive. How to maintain user popularity is the biggest task of each company. Liang Youbing feels that the future of social media will develop from one to many (one-to-many) to one to few (one-to-many), one to One (one-to-one) high-privacy platform, and Facebook also respects users using different social communication software, so I hope that no matter the user chooses to use different types of products, the communication process is smooth and unobstructed. The department hopes to get through all platforms. Even if user A wants to use WhatsApp, but user B wants to use Facebook, but the respective platforms can communicate with each other, making communication smoother for everyone." She continued that Facebook hopes to provide value to users for a long time. Users will establish connections with the community, and the platform will increase the development of communication software products in the future, and will launch new tools and enhance user experience.
The Sino-US trade war, the New Crown Pneumonia, and social movements have made Hong Kong’s prospects more uncertain. However, Liang Youberry believes that Hong Kong can still serve as an information and communication technology hub in the Asia-Pacific region, because Hong Kong is an international city with a simple tax system and talents with international The vision has attracted many businesses to do business, so Facebook set up Greater China headquarters in Hong Kong. "There will always be a day in the face of adversity. Eventually, we will finally see the twilight. No matter how many major adversities Hong Kong people encounter, they will get up again and survive the difficulties!"
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