In this letter, Id like to share my vision for our flagship BuzzFeed brand.
Over the past 15 years, weve been part of this medium emerging, maturing and becoming ubiquitous.
Our unique approach to media has inspired outlets as diverse as TheNew YorkTimes and Mr. Over this period, BuzzFeed emerged as a leader in data-driven storytelling and a defining force inpop cultureand entertainment.
As everyone adopted the conventions of social media that our teams pioneered, it became harder to stand out.
This is why Im convinced the platforms are making a strategic mistake by not supporting media companies like ours.
Theyre missing out on the chance to build sustainable, positive and socially-beneficial media ecosystems.
This is a societal issue far beyond the scope of what BuzzFeed alone can fix.
Instead, we will look for opportunities in the silver linings and make our own sustainable models.
The truth is, people arent happy with infinite scrolling through algorithmically recommended short-form content.
The experience is addictive and engagement numbers are strong, but that doesnt mean people are satisfied.
This is our competitive opening, to offer the more so many crave.
I havent been this excited since our early days developing social content as a new medium.
I see a tremendous opportunity in front of us tobuild the defining media company for the AI era.
In 2020, Facebook-referred traffic to BuzzFeed was six times higher than direct traffic to our site.
Today, Facebook is no longer a material source of referral traffic.
From 2020 to 2023 Facebook traffic has declined 74%.
Over that same period, our direct traffic has grown by 12%.
And time spent per pageview with our AI-powered content has significantly outperformed static content.
Looking ahead, our focus on our owned platforms will be the key to continuing these positive trends.
When TV first arrived, media companies used it to broadcast radio programs or pre-recorded theatrical plays.
The same mistake is being made with AI right now.
We are starting with a deeper understanding of how a new medium is born on the internet.
We did this before when we helped pioneer social content so we have a proven playbook.
These types of collaborative, cross-disciplinary teams are lacking at the big tech companies and the traditional media companies.
We are off to a great start with these explorations.
To date, weve built a bunch of experiences that are very difficult or impossible without AI.
I cant wait to show our audience what we are building next.
To be clear, we are not satisfied with this performance.
And, earlier this year, we made key strategic and organizational changes to address this.
Specifically, we:
Before I wrap up, I want to share a final thought.
We had a choice when we reset BuzzFeeds strategic direction earlier this year.
We chose to move in the opposite direction to become more of a tech company.
There is a reason TikTok beat Quibi.
Or Netflix outcompeted all the big media companies.
We are an ambitious company, and we arent satisfied with simply making commodity content for the platforms.
Weve always been as obsessed with the medium as we are with the message.
We are determined to build the future of media and we are adjusting our strategy accordingly.
I cant wait for whats next.you’re free to read BuzzFeed, Inc’s full 2023 Annual Reporthere.
