Why #DeleteFacebook Will Not Work

Facebook's appalling lack of protection of its users' data has sent shock waves around the world. At one end of the spectrum, many people are still processing the impact of this data breach for users as individuals, of communities and citizens of nation states and to the other extreme end where there have been calls to ditch Facebook with the #DeleteFacebook campaign; not less from Brian Acton a co-founder of Facebook owned WhatsApp.

As of the writing of this post, the #DeleteFacebook movement is trending globally on Google; accelerating on the back of the Russian hacking and Cambridge Analytica scandals. The stock price of Facebook has taken a significant dent; while Mark Zuckerberg is facing calls to appear to explain his company's sloppy handling of detailed Facebook users' data.

While the situation may appear really grim for Facebook, it is highly unlikely that it's existence is seriously under threat. The key reason for this is Facebook's incredibly deep product moat. Here are some of the factors at play:

1. Massive Network Effects

Facebook is deeply embedded in our lives. It's network effect is the compelling reason for most users to stay. It's the greatest online community in the world that connects family members, friends, communities and provides details about local events, job vacancies and news.

2. Many People Use Facebook to Login to Other Sites

Millions of people all over the world use Facebook to login to online stores, communities, membership accounts and fitness apps. In fact, 61% of social logins are made with Facebook authorisations. It is highly unlikely that many users will take the effort to create individual login credentials for all the online and mobile resources that they currently access.

3. Facebook Has a Massive Product Portfolio That You Currently Use

Many users currently access apps like Instagram, Messenger, WhatsApp, Oculus Rift - all owned by Facebook. It is unlikely that many will leave this convenient product mix that they use on a regular basis. If your reason to quit Facebook is to deny them access to your detailed data and interactions, you need to be prepared to also exit from their entire product ecosystem.

4. Facebook is HUGE - a 1% Dent will require 22 Million to #DeleteFacebook

Although the calls to leave Facebook have been intensifying, the social media giant is 'too big to fail'. The current departure levels are probably too low to make a significant dent. Advertisers are unlikely to leave the Facebook ad platform, since the platform provides granular details of users for them to target with their highly calibrated ad campaigns.

Based on Zuckerberg's recent promises to the media, I believe that Facebook will take adequate measures to block general access to detailed users' data. However, it does not mean that they will not trade / sell the data with more stringent criteria.

What does this mean for alternative social media platforms like Steemit? Is there an opportunity to offer the global marketplace a more secure platform that does not rely on ad dollars to sustain itself? What do you think? I look forward to your feedback!

Image Credit: Photo by Tim Bennett on Unsplash