Because no one is really prepared for mobile, even now. The problem isn't that no one saw the rise of mobile coming, but rather that no one really knows what to do about it in response. Most people still don't.
This is particularly true for advertising-based companies. Mobile users are less engaged to your ads, have less intent, and are more loathe to tap on ads, so even if you can maintain the dominance of your product into the mobile space you're still looking at a bad revenue situation.
Mobile is here now, in full force, but revenue on mobile platforms is still largely an unanswered question. We started out selling apps, then we started down microtransactions, and ads, but none of these are particularly great.
So I guess what you're saying is that zynga staffed as if mobile was going to be as profitable as online but it turned out that it was an entirely different beast. They scrambled to adjust, but nothing worked. Too many people; time for tough love. Fair enough. The overstaffing may still be excessive -- the reaction delayed, hard to tell -- but I can easily imagine swinging for a land grab and ending up surprised in the dirt. Thanks for explaining. I guess I'd make a crappy board member :)
I have accidentally clicked on mobile ads at least 100x more often than normal ads. This is actually really dangerous to the industry, because it artificially inflates revenue. When advertisers figure it out, the money will disappear.
This is particularly true for advertising-based companies. Mobile users are less engaged to your ads, have less intent, and are more loathe to tap on ads, so even if you can maintain the dominance of your product into the mobile space you're still looking at a bad revenue situation.
Mobile is here now, in full force, but revenue on mobile platforms is still largely an unanswered question. We started out selling apps, then we started down microtransactions, and ads, but none of these are particularly great.