Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) is now planning to take over as Russia’s No. 1 social network, and for the same is developing a whole army of applications to conquer the market. Recently, in an interview with Business Insider, Facebook European head Julien Codorniou, explained that the company has been working with Russian developers along with convincing them to bring their applications to the Facebook platform.
Games, apps vital for success
Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) believe that by alluring developers it will be able to break into their long-list users. Russia is always been a big market, but it is not easy to break into. The country is highly dominated by two sites: VKontakte and LiveJournal.
Russia’s most popular social networking site VKontakte is often called “the Russian Facebook.” Its founder Pavel Durov was forced to flee Russia in April 2014 after he boycotted the government attempts to spy on users through the site. Now, the VKontakte is controlled by two investors having close relations with the Russian government.
Explaining Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB)’s strategy of winning in Russia, Codorniou told that the games and apps are crucial for the continued success.
Facebook could help developers go global
He added Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB) is relatively a new gaming platform in Russia. A year ago, when the CEO Mark Zuckerberg visited Russia there was only one Russian company on the platform, but things are different now. Twelve months after the trip, numerous Russian companies have joined Facebook.
Talking of developers, Codorniou explained that his team is promoting Facebook as a key with which the developers can go global. Russian sites can get them users only in Russia, but with Facebook they can earn in dollars.
According to Codorniou, more and more new generation of Russian developers are getting attracted towards Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB). The executive said that Russian developers develop apps for Android first as the platform commands a greater audience, and also it is relatively easier to develop an Android app.
Talking about the quality, Codorniou says that Eastern Europe is very good, and gives an example of Wargaming based in Minsk, which is the most profitable gaming company. “If you have one trip to make, go to Eastern Europe and Israel. This is where the next billion dollar companies will come from, I can tell you,” Codorniou said.
