1 00:00:06,120 --> 00:00:09,920 Speaker 1: Welcome to another episode of Strictly Business, the podcast in 2 00:00:09,960 --> 00:00:12,280 Speaker 1: which we talked with some of the brightest minds working 3 00:00:12,280 --> 00:00:16,759 Speaker 1: in media today. I'm Variety co editor in chief Andrew Wallenstein. 4 00:00:17,560 --> 00:00:20,759 Speaker 1: There's been no shortage of turbulence at Facebook given the 5 00:00:20,840 --> 00:00:24,800 Speaker 1: myriad issue the company faces. But to meet those challenges 6 00:00:24,840 --> 00:00:28,639 Speaker 1: head on, CEO Mark Zuckerberg has turned to Fiji Simo, 7 00:00:29,040 --> 00:00:31,680 Speaker 1: who was charged with charting the course for a very 8 00:00:31,760 --> 00:00:35,559 Speaker 1: different future for the app. We recorded this interview, her 9 00:00:35,680 --> 00:00:38,519 Speaker 1: first since taking the job from the stage at Variety 10 00:00:38,640 --> 00:00:46,040 Speaker 1: Silicon Valley would event on April. Let's start with the 11 00:00:46,080 --> 00:00:49,800 Speaker 1: elephant in the room. Frankly, I mean, you're coming into 12 00:00:49,880 --> 00:00:54,200 Speaker 1: a leadership role at Facebook at a time of, let's 13 00:00:54,240 --> 00:00:57,920 Speaker 1: be honest, incredible turbulence as the company deals with some 14 00:00:58,040 --> 00:01:06,440 Speaker 1: pretty major issues including data privacy, hate speech, misinformation. Is 15 00:01:06,520 --> 00:01:09,000 Speaker 1: this job one for you now? I can't imagine that 16 00:01:09,080 --> 00:01:11,800 Speaker 1: there's anything but dealing with all these issues in your 17 00:01:11,800 --> 00:01:15,680 Speaker 1: new capacity, so as you can't imagine this is priority 18 00:01:15,800 --> 00:01:20,120 Speaker 1: number one, folk sure, and nothing else that we want 19 00:01:20,160 --> 00:01:22,840 Speaker 1: to do, like providing more value for people who use 20 00:01:22,920 --> 00:01:26,120 Speaker 1: the service, is going to matter until we solve all 21 00:01:26,120 --> 00:01:28,880 Speaker 1: of these issues. So It's definitely not the only thing 22 00:01:28,920 --> 00:01:32,120 Speaker 1: I'm doing, but it's folk sure as the number one priority. UM. 23 00:01:32,280 --> 00:01:34,920 Speaker 1: The thing that's important to understand, though, is that we 24 00:01:35,000 --> 00:01:37,360 Speaker 1: have already made a lot of progress in how we've 25 00:01:37,400 --> 00:01:41,399 Speaker 1: transformed the company to address these issues. So well, we 26 00:01:41,400 --> 00:01:44,600 Speaker 1: were fundamentally not the same company we were a year ago, 27 00:01:44,680 --> 00:01:47,440 Speaker 1: because first, we've hired a lot more people to tackle 28 00:01:47,560 --> 00:01:50,280 Speaker 1: these issues, and that's important not only in terms of skill, 29 00:01:50,680 --> 00:01:53,320 Speaker 1: but also in terms of the expertise that these people bring. 30 00:01:53,840 --> 00:01:56,600 Speaker 1: And we've also transformed a lot of the processes by 31 00:01:56,600 --> 00:01:59,160 Speaker 1: which we build products. So, you know, I've been at 32 00:01:59,200 --> 00:02:02,760 Speaker 1: Facebook a years and what I'm seeing in the special 33 00:02:02,800 --> 00:02:06,520 Speaker 1: in the last year is a lot more rigor in 34 00:02:06,600 --> 00:02:10,120 Speaker 1: anticipating the bad and really getting with a little bit 35 00:02:10,160 --> 00:02:13,520 Speaker 1: of you know, overall optimisms that that we used to 36 00:02:13,600 --> 00:02:16,120 Speaker 1: have when we build products. And so now if you 37 00:02:16,160 --> 00:02:19,840 Speaker 1: look at something like these big issues like elections integrity, 38 00:02:20,080 --> 00:02:22,639 Speaker 1: if you look at what happened in twenty sixteen, we 39 00:02:22,639 --> 00:02:26,160 Speaker 1: were very prepped for traditional types of home you know, 40 00:02:26,280 --> 00:02:31,240 Speaker 1: like scams and spam and like um account hackings, like 41 00:02:31,320 --> 00:02:33,920 Speaker 1: these kinds of things. We weren't prepped at all for 42 00:02:34,120 --> 00:02:37,519 Speaker 1: new types of arms like you know, um uh nation 43 00:02:37,560 --> 00:02:40,680 Speaker 1: States meddling with with elections, and no one was, honestly, 44 00:02:40,840 --> 00:02:43,200 Speaker 1: and so right now, when you compare that with what 45 00:02:43,240 --> 00:02:46,200 Speaker 1: we did in with the election, it was a completely 46 00:02:46,200 --> 00:02:51,160 Speaker 1: different process. We partnered upfront with law enforcement. We had 47 00:02:51,240 --> 00:02:55,440 Speaker 1: specialists inside the team's, inside war rooms, really anticipating all 48 00:02:55,520 --> 00:02:58,959 Speaker 1: the ways in which the adversaries, who were very sophisticated, 49 00:02:59,200 --> 00:03:02,639 Speaker 1: could attack our systems. And so while I really won't 50 00:03:02,680 --> 00:03:05,320 Speaker 1: see that he's you know done and we figured it 51 00:03:05,360 --> 00:03:08,000 Speaker 1: out because he's going to be a year long fight, 52 00:03:08,520 --> 00:03:11,840 Speaker 1: we have fundamentally really changed the company to be much 53 00:03:11,880 --> 00:03:14,239 Speaker 1: more prepelled for these kinds of things. When you say 54 00:03:14,320 --> 00:03:16,200 Speaker 1: your long fight, you do you mean? Do you mean 55 00:03:16,200 --> 00:03:18,280 Speaker 1: that literally like you're gonna be able to solve everything 56 00:03:18,360 --> 00:03:22,720 Speaker 1: or you're a long story? He doesn't. Just wanted to 57 00:03:22,720 --> 00:03:26,800 Speaker 1: clarify that, I mean, because as Mark Zuckerberg has talked about, 58 00:03:27,000 --> 00:03:29,960 Speaker 1: it seems like there's a pretty fundamental pivot going on 59 00:03:30,360 --> 00:03:33,520 Speaker 1: in terms of reorienting away from what he called the 60 00:03:33,560 --> 00:03:37,920 Speaker 1: town square into more of a private approach, more focused 61 00:03:37,920 --> 00:03:42,080 Speaker 1: on you know, data encryption, messaging. That's not the world 62 00:03:42,120 --> 00:03:45,280 Speaker 1: you came up when in Facebook you've been instrumental in 63 00:03:45,440 --> 00:03:48,520 Speaker 1: driving some great growth across video and advertising, and so 64 00:03:48,560 --> 00:03:51,560 Speaker 1: I'm wondering, like, how does that all come together. How 65 00:03:51,640 --> 00:03:55,880 Speaker 1: does pivoting not impact the monetization engines that you've put 66 00:03:55,880 --> 00:03:58,920 Speaker 1: in place. So the things that's important to understand is 67 00:03:59,120 --> 00:04:01,200 Speaker 1: in one market stock about it is that both the 68 00:04:01,240 --> 00:04:03,920 Speaker 1: town square and the living room are important, and we 69 00:04:04,000 --> 00:04:06,960 Speaker 1: have both within the Facebook family. But what we've seen 70 00:04:07,000 --> 00:04:09,360 Speaker 1: over the last couple of years is that the living 71 00:04:09,440 --> 00:04:12,760 Speaker 1: room use cases are growing incredibly fast. And what we 72 00:04:12,800 --> 00:04:14,920 Speaker 1: mean by living room, just to be clear, is all 73 00:04:14,960 --> 00:04:17,920 Speaker 1: of these very private ways of sharing. And so it's 74 00:04:17,960 --> 00:04:20,680 Speaker 1: really important for us to make sure that the since 75 00:04:20,720 --> 00:04:23,479 Speaker 1: of mission is really allowing you to share in all 76 00:04:23,520 --> 00:04:26,120 Speaker 1: the ways that you want to make sure that you 77 00:04:26,160 --> 00:04:29,240 Speaker 1: have all the possible ways that are adapted to how 78 00:04:29,279 --> 00:04:31,800 Speaker 1: you want to share in the future. And the Facebook 79 00:04:31,880 --> 00:04:34,400 Speaker 1: up has a big role to play there because first, 80 00:04:34,520 --> 00:04:37,039 Speaker 1: like when you have such a vibrant town square, it 81 00:04:37,080 --> 00:04:39,960 Speaker 1: can be a good jumping off point for private one 82 00:04:40,000 --> 00:04:42,400 Speaker 1: on one communication, and we see that all the time 83 00:04:42,400 --> 00:04:45,560 Speaker 1: with video, where we share like you shall videos publicly 84 00:04:45,600 --> 00:04:47,880 Speaker 1: as a page, but then people find them and start 85 00:04:47,920 --> 00:04:50,719 Speaker 1: watch parties with just their five friends or just we 86 00:04:50,760 --> 00:04:54,039 Speaker 1: share them on messenger, and so there's a big role 87 00:04:54,080 --> 00:04:56,960 Speaker 1: to play there. And in addition, there's also another role 88 00:04:57,000 --> 00:05:00,080 Speaker 1: to play with groups which are really taking off on 89 00:05:00,080 --> 00:05:04,160 Speaker 1: Facebook and allowing for more private species, including on things 90 00:05:04,160 --> 00:05:06,080 Speaker 1: that you wouldn't even share with your friends, Like we 91 00:05:06,120 --> 00:05:09,120 Speaker 1: see a lot of groups around else conditions and very 92 00:05:10,200 --> 00:05:13,080 Speaker 1: very private things. And so that's also something that I'm 93 00:05:13,080 --> 00:05:15,240 Speaker 1: going to be investing a lot on because that is 94 00:05:15,279 --> 00:05:18,080 Speaker 1: part of this trend towards the living room. But both 95 00:05:18,120 --> 00:05:21,920 Speaker 1: cases are really important. So in part of your year's 96 00:05:22,000 --> 00:05:25,719 Speaker 1: long fight, I'm curious when are we going to see 97 00:05:26,160 --> 00:05:30,800 Speaker 1: a new Facebook experience and and how different would the 98 00:05:30,880 --> 00:05:34,320 Speaker 1: experience be when when all is said and done, because 99 00:05:34,520 --> 00:05:37,120 Speaker 1: I think there's people wondering about even the most basic 100 00:05:37,279 --> 00:05:40,120 Speaker 1: parts of the experience, the news feed being for instance. 101 00:05:40,160 --> 00:05:44,719 Speaker 1: The central piece of this is everything under uh does everything? 102 00:05:44,760 --> 00:05:48,760 Speaker 1: Is there potential for change everywhere so that we're always 103 00:05:48,880 --> 00:05:51,600 Speaker 1: changing and evolving the products and we always react to 104 00:05:51,640 --> 00:05:54,360 Speaker 1: what our community tells us. Let's say want so like 105 00:05:55,040 --> 00:05:57,040 Speaker 1: a lot of changes on the table. What I can 106 00:05:57,080 --> 00:05:59,320 Speaker 1: tell you though, is that for the Facebook apps, the 107 00:05:59,360 --> 00:06:01,960 Speaker 1: thing where will you focused on is making sure that 108 00:06:02,040 --> 00:06:03,680 Speaker 1: you can share in all the ways you want. So 109 00:06:03,839 --> 00:06:06,600 Speaker 1: stories is a very was a very big change for us, 110 00:06:06,640 --> 00:06:09,039 Speaker 1: Like it occupies the top of new feed, and that's 111 00:06:09,040 --> 00:06:12,719 Speaker 1: something we continue to invest heavily on groups I just mentioned. 112 00:06:12,720 --> 00:06:14,919 Speaker 1: That's also something you're going to see take on a 113 00:06:15,080 --> 00:06:18,520 Speaker 1: much bigger space inside yapp because we think that everywhere 114 00:06:18,560 --> 00:06:21,039 Speaker 1: that are friends, that should also be groups. Uh. And 115 00:06:21,080 --> 00:06:23,080 Speaker 1: so that's something that that you're going to see being 116 00:06:23,120 --> 00:06:25,960 Speaker 1: more prominent. And then the other thing is that once 117 00:06:26,000 --> 00:06:28,840 Speaker 1: you have a full network of everyone you know and 118 00:06:28,880 --> 00:06:32,280 Speaker 1: everyone you will shelled your interests on Facebook, we can 119 00:06:32,360 --> 00:06:35,480 Speaker 1: build a lot of really interesting services on top of that. 120 00:06:35,600 --> 00:06:40,080 Speaker 1: We've seen Marketplace, we've seen watched very recently dating uh 121 00:06:40,120 --> 00:06:42,279 Speaker 1: and so what we want to do is really give 122 00:06:42,320 --> 00:06:45,680 Speaker 1: people access to these new ways of finding value for them. 123 00:06:46,320 --> 00:06:48,839 Speaker 1: So it's not just a news feed and your passively 124 00:06:48,839 --> 00:06:52,000 Speaker 1: consuming information, but new fee can you're jumping off point 125 00:06:52,000 --> 00:06:54,320 Speaker 1: to these new services or even with our new tub 126 00:06:54,440 --> 00:06:57,440 Speaker 1: system you know at the at the top of the app, 127 00:06:57,520 --> 00:07:00,640 Speaker 1: or you can navigate to different experiences. We are introducing 128 00:07:00,680 --> 00:07:03,080 Speaker 1: you to more services and more always for you to 129 00:07:03,120 --> 00:07:06,440 Speaker 1: find value out of this full network. So talk about 130 00:07:06,440 --> 00:07:09,520 Speaker 1: what it's like now leading Facebook. I mean, obviously we're 131 00:07:09,520 --> 00:07:13,320 Speaker 1: in no small role before, but you know, there were 132 00:07:13,320 --> 00:07:18,560 Speaker 1: some pretty major executive departures in terms of the people 133 00:07:18,600 --> 00:07:22,080 Speaker 1: that were there before Chris Cox, Will cat Card this 134 00:07:22,160 --> 00:07:26,560 Speaker 1: is now your show talk about how operationally things may 135 00:07:26,600 --> 00:07:28,720 Speaker 1: have changed now that it sounds like you've got pretty 136 00:07:28,760 --> 00:07:33,120 Speaker 1: different strategic priorities. So I think a lot a lot 137 00:07:33,160 --> 00:07:35,800 Speaker 1: of what I talked about is a continuity to a 138 00:07:35,800 --> 00:07:38,120 Speaker 1: lot of the things that were in the works for 139 00:07:38,120 --> 00:07:41,160 Speaker 1: for many months. Mark has talked about his vision towards 140 00:07:41,200 --> 00:07:46,040 Speaker 1: more more private messaging recently. Uh, and you really wanted 141 00:07:46,080 --> 00:07:48,680 Speaker 1: to open up the dialogue early so that we would 142 00:07:48,720 --> 00:07:50,920 Speaker 1: be able to work with we sell parties to really 143 00:07:50,960 --> 00:07:54,440 Speaker 1: develop that vision together. But a lot of these concepts 144 00:07:55,360 --> 00:07:57,440 Speaker 1: I've been in the works for a long time, and 145 00:07:57,480 --> 00:08:00,480 Speaker 1: so a lot of what I think about is actually 146 00:08:00,480 --> 00:08:03,520 Speaker 1: coming from more of an entertainment background, working on video 147 00:08:03,600 --> 00:08:06,400 Speaker 1: and games. Is really how we can make this stand 148 00:08:06,400 --> 00:08:09,920 Speaker 1: square even more vibrant. And I think entertainment as a 149 00:08:10,000 --> 00:08:13,040 Speaker 1: huge role to play that. I think, Um, yeah, I mean, 150 00:08:13,080 --> 00:08:14,640 Speaker 1: like you know, you don't depend on all of your 151 00:08:14,720 --> 00:08:18,520 Speaker 1: video and gaming roots that fast, uh, And so you know, 152 00:08:18,600 --> 00:08:22,320 Speaker 1: I think the things that's really magical about Facebook is 153 00:08:22,320 --> 00:08:25,679 Speaker 1: that you can have these moments where everybody comes together 154 00:08:26,040 --> 00:08:29,240 Speaker 1: around something that's happening in the world. And I think 155 00:08:29,400 --> 00:08:32,760 Speaker 1: entertainment is uniquely positioned to do that in a way 156 00:08:32,840 --> 00:08:36,400 Speaker 1: that is positive, lightweight, fun. Uh. And we saw it 157 00:08:36,480 --> 00:08:40,959 Speaker 1: recently with Red Table Talk and Sir Jordan Wood's episode 158 00:08:41,040 --> 00:08:44,000 Speaker 1: where she explained all the drama with the Kardashians. Well, 159 00:08:44,040 --> 00:08:46,680 Speaker 1: that created a lot of us on our platforms, lots 160 00:08:46,679 --> 00:08:50,800 Speaker 1: of reshares, people talking about it, both publicly and privately. Um. 161 00:08:50,920 --> 00:08:53,480 Speaker 1: And so this is a kind of thing that entertainment 162 00:08:53,520 --> 00:08:56,719 Speaker 1: can really offer to the platform, and the things that 163 00:08:56,920 --> 00:08:59,760 Speaker 1: I've always said when I was leading video and games, 164 00:09:00,440 --> 00:09:03,520 Speaker 1: we fundamentally have a different approach to entertainment and most 165 00:09:03,520 --> 00:09:06,160 Speaker 1: players because we are a social network. So for us, 166 00:09:06,200 --> 00:09:10,280 Speaker 1: it's not about passive consumption for hours on your Friday night. 167 00:09:10,559 --> 00:09:13,160 Speaker 1: It's much more like, what are these content with these 168 00:09:13,200 --> 00:09:16,280 Speaker 1: types of contents that are going to trigger conversations and 169 00:09:16,360 --> 00:09:19,960 Speaker 1: be at the center of discussions amongst the community. And 170 00:09:19,960 --> 00:09:21,960 Speaker 1: now that I'm in this new role, I see that 171 00:09:22,040 --> 00:09:24,880 Speaker 1: as even more critical because that's really at the center 172 00:09:24,960 --> 00:09:27,200 Speaker 1: of making these sound square, vibrant, but I still want 173 00:09:27,240 --> 00:09:30,360 Speaker 1: to hear more about what operationally is different. What if 174 00:09:30,400 --> 00:09:32,800 Speaker 1: I spoke to employees that work under you would say 175 00:09:32,880 --> 00:09:36,480 Speaker 1: is different now versus say that Chris Cox era that 176 00:09:36,480 --> 00:09:39,240 Speaker 1: that you're doing, because I think you're not facing just 177 00:09:39,320 --> 00:09:42,480 Speaker 1: a consumer issue right now. I think even within Facebook, 178 00:09:42,520 --> 00:09:45,559 Speaker 1: people want to hear that they're working for a product 179 00:09:45,640 --> 00:09:47,959 Speaker 1: that is on the end and is going to restore 180 00:09:48,040 --> 00:09:51,880 Speaker 1: Facebook to its stature for sure. So a lot if 181 00:09:51,920 --> 00:09:54,440 Speaker 1: you're talking about all of the all of the issues 182 00:09:54,440 --> 00:09:57,480 Speaker 1: that we touched on at the beginning, a lot of 183 00:09:57,520 --> 00:10:01,439 Speaker 1: that is like I started before I was save, and 184 00:10:01,480 --> 00:10:03,160 Speaker 1: I really don't want to take credit for all the 185 00:10:03,200 --> 00:10:06,000 Speaker 1: work that has happened. I am putting a lot more 186 00:10:06,040 --> 00:10:09,839 Speaker 1: emphasis on that as as I take on this new role, because, 187 00:10:09,840 --> 00:10:12,199 Speaker 1: like I said, you know, everything else I've talked about, 188 00:10:12,200 --> 00:10:14,400 Speaker 1: which sounds really fun and awesome in terms of giving 189 00:10:14,440 --> 00:10:17,240 Speaker 1: people more value, just won't matter if we don't fix 190 00:10:17,280 --> 00:10:20,040 Speaker 1: this so operationally, you know, I'm spending a lot of 191 00:10:20,080 --> 00:10:22,160 Speaker 1: time with all the teams in charge of all of 192 00:10:22,160 --> 00:10:25,680 Speaker 1: these different types of issues, whether it's election integrity, all 193 00:10:25,679 --> 00:10:30,720 Speaker 1: of our content UH problems, all of like privacy and 194 00:10:30,880 --> 00:10:33,600 Speaker 1: UM and really setting the tone that this is what 195 00:10:33,720 --> 00:10:36,720 Speaker 1: we need to address first, but also not losing sight 196 00:10:36,960 --> 00:10:39,080 Speaker 1: of all the goods that Facebook does. And you know, 197 00:10:39,120 --> 00:10:41,960 Speaker 1: the reason I'm so excited about this role is because 198 00:10:42,040 --> 00:10:45,920 Speaker 1: I've seen firsthand that like Facebook creates so much good 199 00:10:45,920 --> 00:10:47,920 Speaker 1: in the world, so much of it that we take 200 00:10:47,960 --> 00:10:51,520 Speaker 1: for granted sometimes, but it's always so heartwarming to have 201 00:10:51,600 --> 00:10:54,280 Speaker 1: people telling me, like we've met my wife. I put 202 00:10:54,320 --> 00:10:56,360 Speaker 1: my wife on Facebook. I found a group that's so 203 00:10:56,440 --> 00:10:59,319 Speaker 1: meaningful and provided me with support, and so I don't 204 00:10:59,360 --> 00:11:01,840 Speaker 1: I also don't want to lose sight of that and 205 00:11:01,880 --> 00:11:05,319 Speaker 1: making sure that we continue to make that better. And 206 00:11:05,760 --> 00:11:07,800 Speaker 1: when you came into the role, that was part of 207 00:11:07,800 --> 00:11:13,120 Speaker 1: a broader reorganization with Mark Zuckerberg getting direct reports at Instagram, 208 00:11:13,360 --> 00:11:18,440 Speaker 1: a new also at What'sapp Messenger. How is the sort 209 00:11:18,480 --> 00:11:21,480 Speaker 1: of coordinated effort going on, because I assume it's not 210 00:11:21,520 --> 00:11:24,560 Speaker 1: as simple as you're sitting in your silo waving everyone 211 00:11:24,559 --> 00:11:28,080 Speaker 1: in the distance. Definitely not. So the good news is 212 00:11:28,120 --> 00:11:30,480 Speaker 1: that if you look at all of the heads of 213 00:11:30,520 --> 00:11:34,480 Speaker 1: the app Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp Messenger, we've all worked together 214 00:11:34,600 --> 00:11:37,360 Speaker 1: for a very long time. So world call scout runs 215 00:11:37,400 --> 00:11:39,680 Speaker 1: What's Up. I've worked for him for years. I've worked 216 00:11:39,679 --> 00:11:41,800 Speaker 1: with that ms Seri for many, many years, and so 217 00:11:41,840 --> 00:11:44,560 Speaker 1: we've sort of grown up together in the organization and 218 00:11:44,600 --> 00:11:48,440 Speaker 1: I've already used to really working together. So obviously Mark 219 00:11:48,480 --> 00:11:51,439 Speaker 1: helps a lot with making this coordination happens, but it's 220 00:11:51,480 --> 00:11:54,360 Speaker 1: also very natural for us to spend a lot of 221 00:11:54,400 --> 00:11:56,439 Speaker 1: time together to figure out where we want to take 222 00:11:56,480 --> 00:11:58,840 Speaker 1: the company. And a lot of the issues that we 223 00:11:58,920 --> 00:12:01,679 Speaker 1: talked about really cut costs. They're not specific to one 224 00:12:01,720 --> 00:12:05,200 Speaker 1: specific platform, and so really when we talk about these issues, 225 00:12:05,240 --> 00:12:07,880 Speaker 1: we talk about them as like Facebook Inc. And making 226 00:12:07,920 --> 00:12:10,600 Speaker 1: sure that we can really address them acrost the bar. 227 00:12:10,840 --> 00:12:13,360 Speaker 1: And that's actually a very big advantage to be able 228 00:12:13,440 --> 00:12:16,640 Speaker 1: to look at these adversarial actors and look at all 229 00:12:16,640 --> 00:12:19,199 Speaker 1: of these problems and really make sure that we're addressing 230 00:12:19,200 --> 00:12:22,600 Speaker 1: them holistically across all of our fops. Let's move on 231 00:12:22,640 --> 00:12:26,760 Speaker 1: to Facebook Watch product you've been instrumental in the development of. 232 00:12:27,360 --> 00:12:29,559 Speaker 1: It's been two years now. I kind of want to 233 00:12:29,559 --> 00:12:31,840 Speaker 1: ask you the same question I asked Jim land Zone 234 00:12:31,840 --> 00:12:34,240 Speaker 1: from CBS, who was sitting out here about an hour ago. 235 00:12:35,000 --> 00:12:41,120 Speaker 1: You guys are in a very crowded, very consolidated streaming 236 00:12:41,240 --> 00:12:45,720 Speaker 1: category with tons of programmers out there spending a lot 237 00:12:45,760 --> 00:12:48,600 Speaker 1: of money, and frankly, I think there's been some criticism 238 00:12:48,640 --> 00:12:53,000 Speaker 1: that Facebook Watch is certainly leaps and bounds in terms 239 00:12:53,040 --> 00:12:55,680 Speaker 1: of where video was, say a year or two ago 240 00:12:55,760 --> 00:12:58,600 Speaker 1: on Facebook. But I can't make a comparison to say 241 00:12:58,640 --> 00:13:04,000 Speaker 1: YouTuber Netflix. So what is Facebook Watch now? Give us 242 00:13:04,000 --> 00:13:07,280 Speaker 1: a sense of how it's evolved and where it's going. Yeah, absolutely, 243 00:13:07,600 --> 00:13:11,720 Speaker 1: so it's really taken off recently. We we really start 244 00:13:12,360 --> 00:13:15,319 Speaker 1: that we had seventy five million people a day uh 245 00:13:15,400 --> 00:13:18,360 Speaker 1: spending time on Facebook on Facebook Watch at least one 246 00:13:18,360 --> 00:13:21,560 Speaker 1: minute and on average twenty minutes, uh and four million 247 00:13:21,600 --> 00:13:25,320 Speaker 1: people months. That has increased since and we are really 248 00:13:25,320 --> 00:13:28,760 Speaker 1: seeing people love going to the product and spend more 249 00:13:28,800 --> 00:13:31,920 Speaker 1: time there. The things that's really special about our approach 250 00:13:32,120 --> 00:13:36,240 Speaker 1: is that it's really not about you know, um, focusing 251 00:13:36,400 --> 00:13:40,320 Speaker 1: just on the content or focusing really just on on 252 00:13:40,480 --> 00:13:43,079 Speaker 1: competing with all of the players that you mentioned. It's 253 00:13:43,080 --> 00:13:45,880 Speaker 1: really about taking an approach that is in line with 254 00:13:45,960 --> 00:13:47,920 Speaker 1: what the rest of the app is about, which is 255 00:13:48,000 --> 00:13:51,240 Speaker 1: social connections. So that's why you see us invest heavily 256 00:13:51,240 --> 00:13:54,360 Speaker 1: in products like watch Party, which is also really taking off, 257 00:13:55,160 --> 00:13:59,680 Speaker 1: because fundamentally these types of products are the root of 258 00:13:59,760 --> 00:14:03,240 Speaker 1: what makes us special. It's about connecting with others and 259 00:14:03,320 --> 00:14:05,800 Speaker 1: connecting with the community as well. We see a lot 260 00:14:05,880 --> 00:14:10,640 Speaker 1: of groups attached to specific shows like Red Table Talk, um, 261 00:14:10,920 --> 00:14:13,839 Speaker 1: and we see this fan community is really light up 262 00:14:13,920 --> 00:14:17,000 Speaker 1: when when the content is available at the same place 263 00:14:17,080 --> 00:14:20,040 Speaker 1: as a conversation about the content. Uh, And so I 264 00:14:20,040 --> 00:14:22,720 Speaker 1: think that's what makes us really special. It's still earlier, 265 00:14:22,720 --> 00:14:25,520 Speaker 1: I mean, work two years in so, like you said, 266 00:14:25,560 --> 00:14:28,920 Speaker 1: we're in a very competitive market, but we're fundamentally taking 267 00:14:28,960 --> 00:14:31,280 Speaker 1: a very different approach to the rest of the players 268 00:14:31,280 --> 00:14:33,720 Speaker 1: in this space. You've taken some interesting steps in terms 269 00:14:33,720 --> 00:14:37,800 Speaker 1: of bringing some sort of licensed content from TV from 270 00:14:37,840 --> 00:14:41,720 Speaker 1: you know, fifteen twenty years ago. Yes, that's really cool 271 00:14:42,320 --> 00:14:45,200 Speaker 1: and I'm curious how did that go? And how come 272 00:14:45,240 --> 00:14:47,440 Speaker 1: we're not seeing you guys take like, I know you're 273 00:14:47,440 --> 00:14:50,080 Speaker 1: doing some scripted but nowadays it's like if you're not 274 00:14:50,120 --> 00:14:53,280 Speaker 1: spending ten million an episode, it's like are you even there? 275 00:14:55,720 --> 00:14:57,920 Speaker 1: So again it goes back to what are we trying 276 00:14:58,000 --> 00:15:00,800 Speaker 1: to optimize for, you know, uh, of us sort of 277 00:15:00,840 --> 00:15:04,480 Speaker 1: like the ideal type of content is the episode of 278 00:15:04,480 --> 00:15:07,120 Speaker 1: Red Table Talk with Jodan Woods. It's like It's something 279 00:15:07,200 --> 00:15:10,880 Speaker 1: that everybody was talking about in fan groups across like 280 00:15:11,240 --> 00:15:14,120 Speaker 1: Kardashian groups like j I think it's miss groups like 281 00:15:14,160 --> 00:15:17,040 Speaker 1: you could see like these conversations light up, and so 282 00:15:17,080 --> 00:15:19,960 Speaker 1: that's really what we're focused on. Scripted content can do 283 00:15:20,000 --> 00:15:24,160 Speaker 1: that sometimes, but it's pretty damn expensive, like you said, uh, 284 00:15:24,160 --> 00:15:26,640 Speaker 1: and so we're very careful when we go into scripted 285 00:15:26,760 --> 00:15:29,920 Speaker 1: to really focus on things that do drive that conversation. 286 00:15:30,200 --> 00:15:32,440 Speaker 1: We did Sorry for your us with the best all send, 287 00:15:32,480 --> 00:15:35,280 Speaker 1: we did secret lize, and we did see us. This 288 00:15:35,440 --> 00:15:40,280 Speaker 1: community is being really really excited about this content. But 289 00:15:40,400 --> 00:15:43,520 Speaker 1: what we're really trying to do is not just rely 290 00:15:43,600 --> 00:15:46,800 Speaker 1: on our funded content, but applies that across the rest 291 00:15:46,840 --> 00:15:49,720 Speaker 1: of our ecosystems so that any type of content can 292 00:15:49,760 --> 00:15:52,720 Speaker 1: benefit from these tools and have a conversation emerge around 293 00:15:52,760 --> 00:15:56,800 Speaker 1: this content. Speaking of conversations, I can imagine conversations with 294 00:15:57,000 --> 00:16:00,040 Speaker 1: marketers have evolved. You're going into the upfront season and 295 00:16:00,720 --> 00:16:02,800 Speaker 1: are you singing a different song in terms of what 296 00:16:02,880 --> 00:16:06,240 Speaker 1: monetization is going to look like in terms of how 297 00:16:06,280 --> 00:16:09,760 Speaker 1: advertising plays and all this. Yes. So the fact that 298 00:16:09,800 --> 00:16:12,360 Speaker 1: we have a lot more video of viewing on Facebook 299 00:16:12,480 --> 00:16:15,520 Speaker 1: and that it's also in longer videos has enabled us 300 00:16:15,520 --> 00:16:20,120 Speaker 1: to really kick starts the instream business. And one of 301 00:16:20,160 --> 00:16:22,720 Speaker 1: the things that we've done recently and announced in February 302 00:16:22,920 --> 00:16:26,480 Speaker 1: is announced for Showcase suite of products, which is really 303 00:16:26,560 --> 00:16:30,840 Speaker 1: meant for TV and digital bios to buy in the 304 00:16:30,920 --> 00:16:33,640 Speaker 1: way that they are used to with, you know, reserve 305 00:16:33,760 --> 00:16:37,800 Speaker 1: buying in specific categories, et cetera. Uh, and even all 306 00:16:37,840 --> 00:16:40,200 Speaker 1: the way to sponsorships. And that's the way to really 307 00:16:40,240 --> 00:16:44,000 Speaker 1: involve the conversation with different types of bios to really 308 00:16:44,000 --> 00:16:46,720 Speaker 1: make them understand what our platform can do to make 309 00:16:46,800 --> 00:16:49,520 Speaker 1: them more comfortable with our content as well. Uh, and 310 00:16:49,560 --> 00:16:52,560 Speaker 1: we're seeing really good feedback so far. Let's talk about 311 00:16:52,560 --> 00:16:58,200 Speaker 1: another element of Facebook video strategy, Live, which again some 312 00:16:58,200 --> 00:17:01,000 Speaker 1: some degree of controversy. I think it's kind of overshadowed 313 00:17:01,000 --> 00:17:05,320 Speaker 1: whatever growth you've gotten their last month. The New Zealand 314 00:17:05,359 --> 00:17:08,880 Speaker 1: massacre put a spotlight on a subject that affects other 315 00:17:08,920 --> 00:17:14,439 Speaker 1: platforms as well. But how to properly identify objectionable content 316 00:17:14,480 --> 00:17:17,440 Speaker 1: as quickly as possible. You know, Mark Zuckerberg has talked 317 00:17:17,480 --> 00:17:21,400 Speaker 1: about this improving I assume you're involved in this. What 318 00:17:21,400 --> 00:17:23,120 Speaker 1: what can we what can you tell us that will 319 00:17:23,160 --> 00:17:25,719 Speaker 1: give some comfort that this is something Facebook is going 320 00:17:25,720 --> 00:17:29,200 Speaker 1: to be able to sort of really take control of. Yes, So, 321 00:17:29,520 --> 00:17:33,159 Speaker 1: especially in light of the crisis massacre, we we know 322 00:17:33,320 --> 00:17:36,080 Speaker 1: that we need to do more to protect people on 323 00:17:36,160 --> 00:17:38,239 Speaker 1: life and while looking at which to do that in 324 00:17:38,320 --> 00:17:42,399 Speaker 1: terms of restricting access to large for people who have 325 00:17:42,840 --> 00:17:46,639 Speaker 1: violations in the past. So that's something we're actively looking at. Uh. 326 00:17:46,800 --> 00:17:48,920 Speaker 1: The issue when we do things like that is that 327 00:17:49,000 --> 00:17:52,160 Speaker 1: you have to balance, like trying to prevent that type 328 00:17:52,160 --> 00:17:56,280 Speaker 1: of home, we're also not limiting some really good use cases. 329 00:17:56,600 --> 00:17:59,360 Speaker 1: And I hear every day our Live is used by 330 00:17:59,359 --> 00:18:02,920 Speaker 1: minority is to make sure that's like it will limit 331 00:18:03,000 --> 00:18:05,840 Speaker 1: policy brutality. They go live whenever they get pulled out 332 00:18:06,520 --> 00:18:10,280 Speaker 1: by a coup. We have seen cases in Kerala during 333 00:18:10,320 --> 00:18:12,800 Speaker 1: the flood where a man went live because he couldn't 334 00:18:12,800 --> 00:18:17,560 Speaker 1: reach any like any support system, uh, and he got 335 00:18:17,600 --> 00:18:20,480 Speaker 1: rescued thanks to being on Facebook Life. And these are 336 00:18:20,520 --> 00:18:23,960 Speaker 1: just regular people going live every days. These are not celebrities. 337 00:18:24,200 --> 00:18:28,320 Speaker 1: And so if we limit access to these types of people, uh, 338 00:18:28,440 --> 00:18:31,760 Speaker 1: that would actually cause someone so UM, I know that 339 00:18:31,920 --> 00:18:34,600 Speaker 1: sometimes you know, it's easy to say, well, we should 340 00:18:34,640 --> 00:18:37,480 Speaker 1: just do like the most drastic thing ever, but in 341 00:18:37,600 --> 00:18:41,040 Speaker 1: reality All of these decisions are incredibly nuanced because these 342 00:18:41,040 --> 00:18:44,560 Speaker 1: products are used mostly for good and sometimes for bad, 343 00:18:44,920 --> 00:18:47,719 Speaker 1: and we have to be incredibly careful where we draw 344 00:18:47,760 --> 00:18:50,040 Speaker 1: was aligned so that we limit most of the bad 345 00:18:50,080 --> 00:18:51,919 Speaker 1: but don't get rid of the good. But are you 346 00:18:52,000 --> 00:18:54,880 Speaker 1: drawing a line? And one's asking for the most drassed solution. 347 00:18:54,960 --> 00:18:56,919 Speaker 1: They want to just get a sense that Facebook is 348 00:18:57,240 --> 00:19:01,040 Speaker 1: evolving here and can do better, Absolutely volving and absolutely 349 00:19:01,119 --> 00:19:03,879 Speaker 1: can do better. Um. You know, one of the things 350 00:19:03,920 --> 00:19:06,399 Speaker 1: that is uh that where we've made a lot of 351 00:19:06,400 --> 00:19:10,200 Speaker 1: progresses artificial intelligence to detect a lot of these things, 352 00:19:10,760 --> 00:19:14,800 Speaker 1: uh proactively in the case of something like the Crisis massacre. 353 00:19:15,040 --> 00:19:18,760 Speaker 1: It's incredibly hard for artificial intelligence to detect something like 354 00:19:18,840 --> 00:19:22,160 Speaker 1: that for obvious reasons. You know, artificial intelligence needs thousands 355 00:19:22,160 --> 00:19:24,359 Speaker 1: of videos to detect the pattern, and thank god, we 356 00:19:24,440 --> 00:19:27,120 Speaker 1: do not have thousands of these types of videos. And 357 00:19:27,200 --> 00:19:30,879 Speaker 1: so while we're making progress, these issues are incredibly hard 358 00:19:30,960 --> 00:19:33,719 Speaker 1: and the solutions are not obvious. So what we do 359 00:19:33,760 --> 00:19:36,919 Speaker 1: in these cases is that we're very thoughtful. We partner 360 00:19:37,040 --> 00:19:40,040 Speaker 1: with external parties to make sure that whatever we're gonna 361 00:19:40,080 --> 00:19:43,000 Speaker 1: do is not gonna hurt any part of the ecosystems 362 00:19:43,000 --> 00:19:46,440 Speaker 1: that is actually worth preserving. But this is constantly evolving. 363 00:19:46,480 --> 00:19:49,360 Speaker 1: So to your question, absolutely, we can do better, and 364 00:19:49,400 --> 00:19:52,119 Speaker 1: in fact, you see that in the evolution of our policies. 365 00:19:52,200 --> 00:19:55,800 Speaker 1: There's plenty of times where we change our policies, you know, 366 00:19:55,880 --> 00:19:58,560 Speaker 1: on a very regular basis because we realized are not 367 00:19:58,680 --> 00:20:02,360 Speaker 1: appropriate for the types of threats that we face anymore. 368 00:20:02,440 --> 00:20:04,760 Speaker 1: You know. A good example of that is the hate 369 00:20:04,760 --> 00:20:07,840 Speaker 1: speech policy. A couple of years ago, hate speech towards 370 00:20:07,920 --> 00:20:11,280 Speaker 1: refugee wasn't like a massive saying, so we didn't have 371 00:20:11,400 --> 00:20:13,840 Speaker 1: that as a specific category. We had, like, you know, 372 00:20:13,920 --> 00:20:17,119 Speaker 1: typical racism and things like that, but not not that, 373 00:20:17,400 --> 00:20:19,479 Speaker 1: And when we saw that it became a thing, we 374 00:20:19,520 --> 00:20:21,920 Speaker 1: had to change our policies to evolve. And that's something 375 00:20:22,280 --> 00:20:25,400 Speaker 1: we do in partnerships with local communities, will understand better 376 00:20:25,440 --> 00:20:27,840 Speaker 1: of what's going on on the ground. But it's something 377 00:20:27,880 --> 00:20:30,680 Speaker 1: we constantly evolve. But that's kind of a recurring theme 378 00:20:30,720 --> 00:20:35,680 Speaker 1: in this conversation in terms of Facebook's responsiveness to new crises. 379 00:20:35,760 --> 00:20:38,560 Speaker 1: You are now leading this app are you building into 380 00:20:38,600 --> 00:20:42,520 Speaker 1: Facebook's culture the ability to evolve faster than you used to? 381 00:20:42,640 --> 00:20:44,880 Speaker 1: Because I think there's no arguing the fact that this 382 00:20:44,960 --> 00:20:48,080 Speaker 1: was not this was a weakness of Facebook as a company. 383 00:20:48,240 --> 00:20:51,680 Speaker 1: I agree, Um, I think I think it's not just 384 00:20:52,160 --> 00:20:55,320 Speaker 1: like react faster, but it's also be proactive. I think 385 00:20:55,400 --> 00:20:58,800 Speaker 1: the problem has been that we have been reactive in 386 00:20:58,840 --> 00:21:01,119 Speaker 1: the last few years to a lot of these uh 387 00:21:01,200 --> 00:21:03,919 Speaker 1: these things being brought to our attention. And now I 388 00:21:03,960 --> 00:21:06,439 Speaker 1: think the biggest change in the culture that we're making 389 00:21:06,600 --> 00:21:10,760 Speaker 1: is actually when we build product before launching them, consulting 390 00:21:10,800 --> 00:21:14,880 Speaker 1: with experts, consulting both internally and externally. It's really understand 391 00:21:14,960 --> 00:21:17,520 Speaker 1: how the products can get misused. And you're right that 392 00:21:17,640 --> 00:21:20,840 Speaker 1: it's absolutely a drastic change, but I think it's going 393 00:21:20,920 --> 00:21:24,480 Speaker 1: to help us actually deliver a much better product for people. 394 00:21:24,640 --> 00:21:26,480 Speaker 1: All Right. One last subject I want to touch on 395 00:21:26,640 --> 00:21:30,400 Speaker 1: is Facebook's relations with publishers. You know, for instance, Mark 396 00:21:30,480 --> 00:21:34,320 Speaker 1: Zuckerberg very recently, i think, floated the idea that there 397 00:21:34,359 --> 00:21:37,399 Speaker 1: could be a separate tab where there would be uh, 398 00:21:37,520 --> 00:21:40,640 Speaker 1: perhaps the curation of news partners who would actually get 399 00:21:40,680 --> 00:21:44,600 Speaker 1: paid to be there. I mean when you look across 400 00:21:44,800 --> 00:21:48,560 Speaker 1: you know, video and live and and everything. I think 401 00:21:48,560 --> 00:21:51,879 Speaker 1: there has been this sort of push pull, you know, 402 00:21:52,119 --> 00:21:55,440 Speaker 1: forward failure relationship with publishers that I don't think has 403 00:21:55,440 --> 00:21:58,199 Speaker 1: really endured Facebook, and you've been in the middle of 404 00:21:58,200 --> 00:22:01,840 Speaker 1: those conversations. So say something here that's going to give 405 00:22:01,880 --> 00:22:06,000 Speaker 1: publishers an idea of what e g. C MOS or 406 00:22:06,119 --> 00:22:11,240 Speaker 1: secret recipe is to get a harmonious, mutually beneficial relationship 407 00:22:11,320 --> 00:22:15,840 Speaker 1: going not to put me on the spot. So you know, 408 00:22:15,880 --> 00:22:18,639 Speaker 1: the thing that's really important to understand is that news 409 00:22:18,760 --> 00:22:21,679 Speaker 1: is critical to us, not just because we want to 410 00:22:21,720 --> 00:22:24,840 Speaker 1: have a good relationship with publishers, but because when you 411 00:22:24,960 --> 00:22:27,960 Speaker 1: ask people who come to Facebook, why did you open 412 00:22:28,040 --> 00:22:30,879 Speaker 1: the up? A large number of them say that they 413 00:22:30,960 --> 00:22:33,600 Speaker 1: opened the up to consume you. So in terms of 414 00:22:33,600 --> 00:22:36,040 Speaker 1: trying to figure out a model, we are on both 415 00:22:36,080 --> 00:22:39,800 Speaker 1: sides very committed to trying to to selve this need. 416 00:22:40,520 --> 00:22:43,680 Speaker 1: Uh Now, to your point, like, there's been a lot 417 00:22:43,720 --> 00:22:45,880 Speaker 1: of ups and down in this relationship, in big part 418 00:22:46,000 --> 00:22:49,199 Speaker 1: because we we do really focus on the needs of 419 00:22:49,240 --> 00:22:52,440 Speaker 1: consumers and like especially in the last year, we really 420 00:22:52,480 --> 00:22:57,720 Speaker 1: focused on meaningful social interactions between between people and and 421 00:22:57,760 --> 00:23:01,199 Speaker 1: that's also always creates some tension with published. However, we 422 00:23:01,280 --> 00:23:05,080 Speaker 1: are really invested in building a better relationship and since 423 00:23:05,119 --> 00:23:07,119 Speaker 1: I gave up a new STAB is a way to 424 00:23:07,200 --> 00:23:09,840 Speaker 1: figure out like, is there a space we can create 425 00:23:09,960 --> 00:23:12,960 Speaker 1: where we can really work with publishers to set more 426 00:23:13,000 --> 00:23:16,840 Speaker 1: of the rules that would create an environment where UM 427 00:23:16,880 --> 00:23:20,439 Speaker 1: publishers and Facebook have incentives that are more aligned. And 428 00:23:20,480 --> 00:23:23,520 Speaker 1: I'm really excited about that. And there's also more that 429 00:23:23,560 --> 00:23:26,000 Speaker 1: we can do. You know, we are very invested in 430 00:23:26,040 --> 00:23:29,000 Speaker 1: local news because we think it's very critical and and 431 00:23:29,040 --> 00:23:31,119 Speaker 1: in fact, a lot of people on Facebook tell us 432 00:23:31,160 --> 00:23:33,280 Speaker 1: they want to see more local news, and so we're 433 00:23:33,359 --> 00:23:36,840 Speaker 1: investing in an accelerator to help a lot of local 434 00:23:36,880 --> 00:23:40,800 Speaker 1: news publishers develop subscription models, which we think are going 435 00:23:40,840 --> 00:23:44,040 Speaker 1: to be really critical, and also in general developing new 436 00:23:44,240 --> 00:23:48,199 Speaker 1: models for journalism. And uh, if Facebook and help with that, 437 00:23:48,359 --> 00:23:50,919 Speaker 1: because you know, you can't undo the Internet, so a 438 00:23:50,920 --> 00:23:52,960 Speaker 1: lot of things have changed. But if Facebook can be 439 00:23:53,040 --> 00:23:56,800 Speaker 1: part of the solution and really help publishers with figuring 440 00:23:56,840 --> 00:24:00,520 Speaker 1: out how to adapt and offer them some tools from mantization, 441 00:24:00,840 --> 00:24:02,600 Speaker 1: I think will be in a better place. And there's 442 00:24:02,600 --> 00:24:04,680 Speaker 1: no doubts that we need to do some walk do. 443 00:24:04,960 --> 00:24:07,840 Speaker 1: So is that news tab thing that that's definitely happening. 444 00:24:08,280 --> 00:24:11,960 Speaker 1: We're very early. We we think it has promised, but 445 00:24:12,119 --> 00:24:15,320 Speaker 1: we are really just taking a step back and trying 446 00:24:15,359 --> 00:24:17,280 Speaker 1: to talk to pomers to figure out how to build 447 00:24:17,320 --> 00:24:19,840 Speaker 1: it the right way if it makes sense um and 448 00:24:19,920 --> 00:24:22,800 Speaker 1: so that that's going to be a very collaborative experience 449 00:24:22,840 --> 00:24:26,000 Speaker 1: and something that we really haven't done before. So we 450 00:24:26,000 --> 00:24:27,920 Speaker 1: don't want to commit to early, but that's something we'll 451 00:24:27,920 --> 00:24:30,440 Speaker 1: definitely exploring. Well, Fiji, it sounds like you've got a 452 00:24:30,520 --> 00:24:33,680 Speaker 1: lot on your plane. We'll let you get back to work. 453 00:24:33,760 --> 00:24:40,480 Speaker 1: There's a lot to be done that sounds This has 454 00:24:40,520 --> 00:24:43,840 Speaker 1: been another episode of Strictly Business. Tune in next week 455 00:24:43,880 --> 00:24:48,119 Speaker 1: for another helping a scintillating conversation with media movers and shakers, 456 00:24:48,280 --> 00:24:51,080 Speaker 1: and please make sure you subscribe to the podcast to 457 00:24:51,240 --> 00:24:55,080 Speaker 1: hear future episodes. Also leave a review in Apple Podcast 458 00:24:55,200 --> 00:24:56,240 Speaker 1: let us know how we're doing