My first instinct was to say yes because watch time feels like the more meaningful signal for a video product.
Start by clarifying the goal of Facebook Watch (likely long-term engagement and retention) and the trade-off between watch time and social interactions. Then propose a structured evaluation: check statistical significance, segment the data, assess leading vs. lagging indicators, and consider whether the drop in likes/comments is temporary or permanent. Finally, recommend a decision based on whether the redesign aligns with the product's north star and if there are ways to mitigate the negative effects.
Pro tip: Don't jump to a binary ship/no-ship answer. Instead, demonstrate product sense by suggesting a follow-up experiment or a hybrid solution that preserves the watch time gains while addressing the social engagement drop, and always tie your recommendation back to the company's overarching goals.
Confirm what Facebook Watch optimizes for: is it total watch time, daily active users, retention, or social engagement? Understand how likes/comments fit into the product's success metrics.
Check if the results are statistically significant, ensure the experiment was properly randomized, and look for any confounding factors or novelty effects.
Segment users and content types to see if the drop in likes/comments is uniform or concentrated. Determine if the increase in watch time is worth the decrease in social interactions, considering short-term vs. long-term impact.
Brainstorm ways to recover social engagement without sacrificing watch time gains, such as UI tweaks, prompts, or A/B testing variations.
Based on the analysis, recommend shipping, iterating, or killing the redesign. Justify with data and alignment with product strategy, and propose next steps like a follow-up experiment.
AI-generated suggestions, not part of the candidate's original notes. May be inaccurate — verify before relying on them.