Facebook users are rapidly shifting to video: India MD

Facebook India MD Kirthiga Reddy says its users are rapidly shifting to video-based communication, and so the social network is innovating around that space. In an interaction with TOI at Kstart, an event for women entrepreneurs organized by venture capital firm Kalaari Capital and inspirational talk platform, INK, Reddy talks about video trend and how to improve the position of women in India's entrepreneurial ecosystem. Excerpts:

Facebook has in recent times been focussing a lot on videos, particularly on mobile videos ...

Consumers, including in India, are shifting to visual communication. They are going from text to photos to videos to virtual reality and artificial reality. Globally, we see 8 billion videos being streamed daily on Facebook, and over 500 million users watching videos. That's over 100 million hours of videos a day. And when the consumer evolves in this direction, so does the platform evolve. We have done a number of innovations in this area over recent months. We have done live videos, 360 degree videos, we have introduced formats that work on low-bandwidth phones. We launched a format called slide show ad unit, which lets you take a series of pictures and play it like a video.

Are you able to monetize this format?

We are seeing adoption of this format by large advertisers in India like Hindustan Unilever, as also small and medium businesses who use Facebook to reach people. We are helping brands use mobile videos to connect with their customers in a relevant way. Two of the brands that we worked with could see that the video platform was instrumental in increasing their reach; it was greater than what even television could do.

You are here now for a startup event focussed on women. What prompted you to participate?

In India, unfortunately, only 10% of entrepreneurs are women. It should get to a 50:50 ratio. For this shift to happen, women must have role models. Even more important is the need for a community that can be in touch with them and inspire them and be their mentors. Events like the Kstart programme can play a big role.

Is Facebook playing a role in this?

We are committed to creating a vibrant ecosystem in the country. The product partnership team at Facebook has an initiative called FbStart, which is a new programme to encourage startups in the mobile space. Kstart will select five women entrepreneurs to be a part of the FbStart programme. FbStart will provide them with coaching and mentoring from Facebook executives and $80,000 in terms of tools and services from Facebook.

You said in February that you will step down as Facebook India head and return to the US to take on another role. Does that plan still stand?

We were very clear about it from the beginning. I will be moving to the US in the next 6-12 months and we are looking for a successor right now for Facebook India