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This is true, but the main reason was that people have been predicting this was that young people don’t want to be on a social network with their parents. This
by jonathankoren 5y ago
This is true, but the main reason was that people have been predicting this was that young people don’t want to be on a social network with their parents. This social dynamic prediction has played out, and Facebook did the 100% predictable thing that all rich entrenched players do — they bought the smaller competitors, most famously Instagram.
I fully expect them to continue to be able to monetize their user base, and purchase smaller competitors for a while.
The most recent warning flag for me is their rebranding. Announcing a major pivot to center on Occulus (I’m sorry “the metaverse”.), when VR has been nothing more than niche gaming is very weird and troublesome.
On the bright side, Facebook is a giant ossified megacorp. All that’s going to happen is some division is going to get new signage, and every PM is going to update their slide decks to say “metaverse”, and everyone is going to do what they were already doing.
- romanhn 5y agoAs an ex-employee, Facebook is many things, but ossified it is not. The internal impact/metric-oriented culture means that new bets are encouraged and rewarded, whereas product teams that are keeping it safe will eventually get disbanded.
- jonathankoren 5y agoI’m also an ex-employee. FB’s predilection to reorg every six months, isn’t a sign of strength. It’s actually a sign of dysfunction. They’ve just been able to power through by being extraordinarily lucky in the social networking space. It’s tire spinning. The company hasn’t released a noteworthy product in at least a decade. It’s an ossified megacorp.
- dougmwne 5y agoQuest was the best selling game console this holiday, which doesn't sound niche to me.
- jonathankoren 5y agoLol. They have sold 10 million total. PlayStation sold more than 15 million, and Switch more than 20 million, last year alone. It’s niche. https://www.wsj.com/articles/metaverse-needs-more-than-vr-christmas-bump-11641135782 https://www.wsj.com/articles/metaverse-needs-more-than-vr-ch...
- dougmwne 5y agoMassive supply shortages on other consoles lead it to be the #1 seller on Amazon throughout December. Unfair fights are the best fights.
- jonathankoren 5y agoThe fact that there was plenty of unsold inventory prior to December isn’t helping your argument that it has wide appeal. In fact, it undermines it.