2 ms·

I don’t think the problem is money. I think it’s losing users to people who roll out the algorithm.

• cmrdporcupine 4y ago
  Both twitter and FB were wildly unprofitable until they made this kind of "algorithmic" shift and that shift happened in order to court the ads revenue firehose. Having worked in ad-tech some years ago, it's just... the temptation is too strong. Your whole business becomes "enhancing engagement" and all sorts of sophistry gets involved in presenting a Zuckerberg-like case about how this is "improving the world" by "making things better for users" and "connecting people" [with products or other people or whatever]. The firehose seems infinite, and it lets you grow grow grow. Even Apple, which resisted this for years and kept itself as a "consumer products" and "media" company has now fallen prey to this and is trying to divert some part of the ad-revenue stream to itself. Once you do that, it's paperclips paperclips paperclips
  • baby 4y ago
    I guess if this is true then it's more than "it's too tempting". Meta is a huuuuge business today and it wouldn't have been without being profitable. I don't think they really provided much value besides facebook (I think instagram and whatsapp are great apps, but they're replaceable), but now they definitely are with their entry in VR/AR. The Quest 2 is really something, and I can't wait to see what they'll build in the AR space.