Facebook's Wild Revenue Run, Snapchat's IPO And More On This Week's CTRL ALT Delete Segment On CHOM 97.7 FM

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Every Monday morning at 7:10 am, I am a guest contributor on CHOM 97.7 FM radio out of Montreal (home base). It’s not a long segment – about 5 to 10 minutes every week – about everything that is happening in the world of technology and digital media. The good folks at CHOM 97.7 FM are posting these segments weekly on iHeart Radio, if you’re interested in hearing more of me blathering away about what’s going on in the digital world. I’m really excited about this opportunity, because this is the radio station that I grew up on listening to, and it really is a fun treat to be invited to the Mornings Rock with Terry DiMonte morning show. The segment is called, CTRL ALT Delete with Mitch Joel.

This week we discussed: 

  • Very sad to report that Heather B. is no longer with CHOM FM. Wishing my buddy all the best. She’s a star.
  • This week, Terry was feeling under the weather and Pierre Landry stepped in.
  • Facebook had their quarterly earnings call… and HOLY WOW! The company generated more than $10 billion in net income in 2016. Its Q4 2016 earnings report showed that the company generated $8.8 billion in revenue during the last three months of the past year, compared to $5.8 billion during the same quarter in 2015. Here’s the big news: mobile advertising accounted for 84% of its 2016 fourth-quarter revenue (up from 80% last year). Plus, Facebook now reaches 1.86 billion monthly active users – they added 70 million users in the last quarter. That’s an 18% increase from the year prior. It makes their $500 million cheque to cover damages from its VR subsidiary Oculus seem like not that big of a deal!
  • So, will Snapchat be the next Facebook? The company filed for IPO last Thursday. Some are thinking this could be a $25 billon company out of gate, and one of the biggest tech IPOs we have seen in years (not bad a for a company that crazily said “no” to Facebook back in 2013 for a $3 billion acquisition). Snap made $404.5 million in revenue during 2016, up from $58.7 million in 2015. They have 158 million daily users. More than 2.5 billion “snaps” are created and sent every day through the app, and the average daily user opens Snapchat more than 18 times every day. With that, they also posted a net loss of $514.6 million in 2016, and went on to say that it “may never achieve or maintain profitability,” as it plans to continue investing heavily in its business. 
  • So, if Facebook and Snapchat can be successful with a social network, why can’t LEGO? Last week the toy brick manufacturer and one of the most powerful brands in the world launched LEGO Life – a safe social network for kids under the age of 13. This is currently a mobile-only experience that is image and video driven. Kids can do everything from LEGO building challenges and games (make your own LEGO figurine) to sharing their work and connecting to other enthusiasts.        
  • App of the week: Viable.

Take a listen right here.