Could the popularity of TikTok and YouTube, which have both grown recently, be the true causes of Facebook's demise?
You are already aware of Facebook's beginnings. However, for those who are unaware, Mark Zuckerberg and Eduardo Saverin, his erstwhile best friend, came up with the idea for Facebook (now rebranded as Meta) in a Harvard dorm room in 2004.
Later on in the year, Zuckerberg—then a college freshman—left Harvard to settle in Paolo Alto in northern California. The "Facebook," as it was referred to at the time, later spread to universities outside of the Ivy League.
In 2005, VC financing helped Facebook expand into the colossal company we now know and "love." Of course, I'm using the word "love" in a facetious manner given how badly Facebook's reputation has been damaged in recent years.
One could contend that the way in which Zuckerberg was portrayed in the film "The Social Network" was incredibly negative. As you may remember, Zuckerberg is portrayed as a machiavellian, savant-like figure in the movie.
The basis for the public's view of him today is this portrayal. Although Mark Zuckerberg has devoted supporters, it is evident that this has not always been the case with the general public.
Introducing Meta
whereas I think Meta will turn into a monster. I don't think that one particular element is the cause of its issue. Its long list of issues is what has made Meta the approaching dinosaur it is today.
Poor user experience, private issues, and unfavourable public perception are some of the issues.
The Metaverse presentation | Source YouTube
These issues, along with a plethora of others, significantly contribute to Meta's shortcomings and the reason that Meta—previously known as Facebook—isn't catching on with Generation Z.
These issues also illustrate why Meta's venture into virtual reality is doomed from the start, along with public mistrust.
Think of Meta's mortality as a long, drawn-out, slow death. a fatality caused by numerous cuts. This is how Meta will pass away.
It will take some time for Meta to pass away, as I already said, and it won't be a quick demise. Before its heart stops, its brain stops working, and rigour mortis begins to set in, it will first lapse into a comatose condition.
Go back to 2010. Here's some information about the decline in the public's opinion of Zuckerberg.
Zuck: Yeah so if you ever need info about anyone at Harvard
Zuck: Just ask.
Zuck: I have over 4,000 emails, pictures, addresses, SNS
[Redacted Friend's Name]: What? How'd you manage that one?
Zuck: People just submitted it.
Zuck: I don't know why.
Zuck: They "trust me"
Zuck: Dumb fucks.
To be clear, the IM messages mentioned above relate to a conversation that took place between a friend and a 19-year-old Zuckerberg in 2004. Mark describes to his friend how he gathered 4000 email addresses from Facebook users during their back-and-forth conversation.
Given that Zuckerberg believes Facebook users are stupid, it should come as no surprise that he and Meta won't receive the support they seem to be hoping for. After all, Facebook's revenues come from data mining user behaviors, which allows marketers to run targeted ads.
In 2021, a former employee of Facebook reveals a plethora of embarrassing disclosures. It was revealed that Facebook's algorithm was created with the intention of being compulsive. Proof that Facebook is conscious of Instagram's negative effects on adolescent girls.
The former Facebook employee continued by claiming that, in addition to being conscious of the "stickiness" of the algorithm and how it reinforces harmful body imagery, Facebook—and more specifically, Zuckerberg—did nothing to stop it.
The name shift from Facebook to Meta is another change. Facebook felt the need to alter its name, much like a convicted felon in the witness protection programme. Due to this, starting in October 2021, we will refer to it as Meta.
The company's intentions to become a virtual reality universe and Zuckerberg's desire to launch that universe into the Web 3.0 era may have been the impetus for the name change. And while it's possible that's the cause, I doubt it.
My view is that Zuckerberg changed the name as a last-ditch effort to distance himself from Facebook's long list of transgressions, legal proceedings, and negative press.
Speaking of virtual reality universes, this explains why the Metaverse, Zuck's most recent project, is a "calamity waiting to happen."
Mark Zuckerberg's avatar in the Metaverse | Source YouTube
In my opinion, the Metaverse's debut represents a last-ditch effort to placate investors. As you can see, Meta continues to be the biggest social media network in the US and EMEA. While it attracted 1.7 billion monthly active users in January 2022, Meta is not the preferred network for young people. Today, Gen "X" and baby boomers are seen as using Meta as a social networking platform.
The ability of this multi-trillion dollar business to draw in the next generation of customers will ultimately determine whether it survives. In light of this, teenagers and pre-teens don't want to identify with the social media sites that their parents and grandparents do.
This realisation is devastating for Meta's investors, and the company's outcome and future don't appear too bright when you consider that Meta's strategies to copy popular TikTok functionality, most recently in the form of Reels, do not make up for the platform's declining engagement and Generation Z's lack of adoption.
Given that 97 percent of Meta's revenue comes from advertising, the failure to appeal to the younger market makes the company's survival plan all the more crucial. And while Facebook used to be the obvious choice and de facto platform where wealthy advertisers ran their ads, good luck trying to target Generation Z with ads on a network they wouldn't be seen dead on.
Zuckerberg, however, went to great lengths to attribute the 26 percent decline in ad income to the iOS 14 update during a call with investors in February 2022.
iOS 14 Update
Although I think that a part of the lost revenue can be attributed to the iOS 14 update, I think that Meta's upper management is actually using Apple as a scapegoat.
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