Facebook 2014 Annual Report Download - page 15

products and services, and we believe that some of our users have reduced their engagement with Facebook in favor of increased engagement with these
other products and services. In the event that our users increasingly engage with other products and services, we may experience a decline in user
engagement in key user demographics or more broadly, in which our business would likely be harmed.
Our competitors may develop products, features, or services that are similar to ours or that achieve greater acceptance, may undertake more far-
reaching and successful product development efforts or marketing campaigns, or may adopt more aggressive pricing policies. In addition, developers
whose mobile and web applications are integrated with Facebook may use information shared by our users through Facebook in order to develop
products or features that compete with us. Certain competitors, including Google, could use strong or dominant positions in one or more markets to gain
competitive advantage against us in areas where we operate, including: by integrating competing social networking platforms or features into products
they control such as mobile device operating systems, search engines, or web browsers; by making acquisitions; by limiting or denying our access to
advertising measurement or delivery systems; by limiting our ability to deliver, target, or measure the effectiveness of ads; by imposing fees or other
charges related to our delivery of ads; or by making access to our products more difficult. As a result, our competitors may acquire and engage users or
generate advertising or other revenue at the expense of our own efforts, which may negatively affect our business and financial results.
We believe that our ability to compete effectively depends upon many factors both within and beyond our control, including:
If we are not able to compete effectively, our user base and level of user engagement may decrease, we may become less attractive to developers
and marketers, and our revenue and results of operations may be materially and adversely affected.
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the popularity, usefulness, ease of use, performance, and reliability of our products compared to our competitors' products, particularly
with respect to mobile products;
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the size and composition of our user base;
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the engagement of our users with our products and competing products;
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the timing and market acceptance of products, including developments and enhancements to our or our competitors' products;
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our ability to monetize our products;
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the frequency, size, quality, and relative prominence of the ads displayed by us or our competitors;
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customer service and support efforts;
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marketing and selling efforts, including our ability to measure the effectiveness of our ads and to provide marketers with a compelling
return on their investments;
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our ability to establish and maintain developers' interest in building mobile and web applications that integrate with Facebook;
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changes mandated by legislation, regulatory authorities, or litigation, including settlements and consent decrees, some of which may have a
disproportionate effect on us;
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acquisitions or consolidation within our industry, which may result in more formidable competitors;
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our ability to attract, retain, and motivate talented employees, particularly software engineers, designers, and product managers;
• our ability to cost-
effectively manage and grow our operations; and
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our reputation and brand strength relative to those of our competitors.