Why Doesn't Twitter Disclose DAU Figures?
Twitter has long relied upon daily active user (DAU) growth as an indicator of the platform's performance, releasing DAU percentage increases (hopefully) each quarter. The reasoning as to why they use DAU growth rather than monthly active users is that while monthly usage may drop or remain constant from one quarter to the next, daily figures are considered a better indicator of user engagement. I can see the sense in that, but people have long been baffled as to why the company only ever release this information as a percentage of increase as compared to past metrics, and opt not to release an actual number for DAUs.
Well, the company have finally broken their silence on the matter in a tweet posted on the 27th of July.
The news follows correspondence between Twitter and the SEC, in which their rationale for not releasing any actual numbers was questioned. In response, Twitter insist that they do not release such numbers as they are viewed as "competitively sensitive".
The post continues to say, "The absolute number of DAUs is less important than the percentage change in DAUs because the key factor is whether engagement is increasing or decreasing on a relative basis.
"The Company also focuses investors on percentage change rather than absolute DAU numbers to avoid confusion when comparing the Company with other companies that disclose information regarding DAUs, but use different definitions of DAUs that may include different segments of their respective user bases."
In short, Twitter feel that revealing an exact figure for DAUs would draw unfair and unnecessary comparisons between themselves and global giants like Facebook, who report around 1.32 billion DAUs. They also point out that the various platforms have different definitions of daily users, further rendering the comparison invalid.
All in all it does seem to make sense, and hopefully the fact that Twitter have finally commented on the matter will help to improve their image in the eyes of shareholders and potential investors.
Sam
is an aspiring novelist with a passion for fantasy and crime thrillers.
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Why Doesn't Twitter Disclose DAU Figures?
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Wednesday, August 02, 2017
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Reviewed by Unknown
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Wednesday, August 02, 2017
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