Zuckerberg: Mobile Users More Likely To Be Daily Active Users

In his first post-IPO public appearance, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg addressed a packed house at the TechCrunch Disrupt SF conference where he was interviewed by TechCrunch founder Michael Arrington. The interview touched on the post-IPO stock drop, but first Zuckerberg talked about the advantages of the mobile platform – referencing one of the most critical concerns being lobbied at the social network today. “A lot more people have phones than computers,” Zuckerberg said. “And mobile users are more likely to be daily active users,” he added.

He said that mobile users are more than twice as likely to use Facebook more than 6 or 7 times per week. Following the launch of the new iOS app, the number of stories consumed doubled, he added. Mobile users spend more time on Facebook, and per time they spend more money than those on desktop. And mobile ads, although they have to be integrated more deeply into the mobile experience, do better than the right-side ads on Facebook. The problem, of course, is getting there, he admitted. Zuckerberg also addressed the challenges of mobile development, admitting that Facebook’s 2-year long bet on HTML5 was one of its biggest mistakes.

As for the mythical Facebook Phone? Zuckerberg again shot down the rumors, saying that it wouldn’t make sense. Instead, he described Facebook’s strategy on mobile as having three focus areas: mobile web, iOS and Android. Mobile web is “huge for us,” he said, but more limited. The iOS app was another key piece to the strategy, and 8 out 10 of the top iOS apps are integrated with Facebook, said Zuckerberg. The forthcoming iOS 6 integration will also offer Facebook more opportunities on that platform. On Android, you can integrate more deeply with the OS, thanks to the way it’s been designed, which also benefits Facebook.

“I basically live on my mobile device,” said Zuckerberg, implying that he took mobile seriously. “Want to know something sort of funny?” he told Arrington, “You know the Founder’s Letter in the S-1, well, I wrote that on my phone.”

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