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Facebook Resilient, Friends Reunited Fragile

Posted in Media, Digital, Branwell Johnson, Latest reporters' blogs February 22nd, 2008 by Branwell Johnson

So Facebook has taken its first monthly dip in UK visitor numbers, according to Nielsen. I wouldn’t be too worried if I was Zuckerberg. There’s still a year on year growth of a staggering 712 per cent. But if I was Friends Reunited….

… I’d be wondering what strategy I could develop to reverse a dramatic drop of 47 per cent year on year. And if I was ITV, which bought FR for £175 million in 2005, I’d be wondering if it would’ve been better to put my money into Banksy originals.

Piczo is down 56 per cent but FR was, of course, the pioneer of social networking and has had huge investment as a brand. For a while it was a phenomenon – and in 2003 there was even a TV documentary on how FR had led couples to split up when teen crushes began to surface (The Curse Of Friends Reunited). The brand has also been stretched over genealogy, dating and jobs.

But ITV doesn’t seem to know what to do with its online property. Not even a big television campaign a year ago by Kitkatt Nohr featuring whales (and everyone loves whales) has helped.

The job site I believe has now been punted out to be white labelled and the subscription barrier has now been dropped. I guess the real future of FR will become apparent in the next couple of months as ITV tracks the effect on visitors and revenues of dropping the subs.