It was a routine earnings call on October 27 at the Twitter India office in Gurugram. Jack Dorsey, the chief executive officer of the company had just informed his shareholders that Twitter had grown its user base to 317 million, adding 4 million users, or 3% over the previous quarter. Dorsey also announced a restructuring, or as Twitter called it, a “headcount reduction of 9% of global workforce”. The mood was bittersweet. Twitter had just announced its third consecutive quarter where revenue grew and while the cheers were on, there was also concern about the restructuring that was to follow.
#ToughTimes
Has Twitter India given up on India?
Deciphering the exodus in the microblogging site
In its tenth year, Twitter faces an acute identity crisis as rivals Facebook, Instagram and Snapchat race ahead and find more cultural relevance with the users
Twitter wanted an India product story (ZipDial) which it could use in other growth/emerging markets like Brazil and Indonesia
Several users, especially those between 18 and 25 years of age, migrated to newer, more engagement-driven platforms like Snapchat and Instagram
The rethink: The company’s focus in India is towards increasing engagement through video and achieving profitability
