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> Today, even though the five stocks still make up over 13% of the market value of the S&P 500, the FAANG narrative seems like it’s over for good. Let me save

by mertd 4y ago

> Today, even though the five stocks still make up over 13% of the market value of the S&P 500, the FAANG narrative seems like it’s over for good. Let me save you ten minutes. It is a zero information article. Gives no backing for this central claim, instead randomly rambles about Meta without saying anything that hasn't been said a million times before.

hn_throwaway_99 4y ago
Agreed. If anything, I think the separate fortunes of Meta and Netflix vs Google, Amazon, Apple and Microsoft show how much "platform control" matters and why Zuckerberg is spending so much to "make the metaverse happen". I think the best way to define "platform control" is to think about how disruptive it would be, not just to consumers, but also to an integrated web of other businesses (and governments for that matter) if a business all of a sudden disappeared. If any of Google, Amazon, Apple or Microsoft stopped existing tomorrow, it would be a major international disaster. Think of all the businesses that sell on Amazon, all of the internet companies that depend on AWS, Azure and GCP, all the phones that run Android, all the computers that run Windows, all of the apps that depend on iOS, etc. etc. If Meta and Netflix disappeared tomorrow, would people care that much? Heck, many folks would cheer. And yes, while I'm minimizing some of the follow on effects (e.g. to all the organizations whose sole web presence is on a Facebook page, to all the users across the globe who depend on WhatsApp, to all the shows and movies that are Netflix exclusives, etc.), switching to alternatives wouldn't really be that disruptive - in many cases it's already happening. The worsening fortunes of Meta and Netflix are because the stock market has concluded that their "moats" aren't as deep and wide as envisioned a couple years ago.
- jen20 4y ago
  Another minimisation is people who make use of Facebook as an OAuth provider for third party things. Your analysis seems pretty good to me though.
- YeBanKo 4y ago
  Lots of bussiness use Facebook and Instagram for ads and reaching clients. I know few people who run shops selling clothing exclusively on Instagram and Facebook. They got rid of their websites and even communicate with client through IG messaging, etc. Not sure what impact disappearance of Meta would have, but I think there are many niche areas for which it wouldn’t be negligible.

by mertd 4y ago

hn_throwaway_99 4y ago

Agreed. If anything, I think the separate fortunes of Meta and Netflix vs Google, Amazon, Apple and Microsoft show how much "platform control" matters and why Zuckerberg is spending so much to "make the metaverse happen". I think the best way to define "platform control" is to think about how disruptive it would be, not just to consumers, but also to an integrated web of other businesses (and governments for that matter) if a business all of a sudden disappeared. If any of Google, Amazon, Apple or Microsoft stopped existing tomorrow, it would be a major international disaster. Think of all the businesses that sell on Amazon, all of the internet companies that depend on AWS, Azure and GCP, all the phones that run Android, all the computers that run Windows, all of the apps that depend on iOS, etc. etc. If Meta and Netflix disappeared tomorrow, would people care that much? Heck, many folks would cheer. And yes, while I'm minimizing some of the follow on effects (e.g. to all the organizations whose sole web presence is on a Facebook page, to all the users across the globe who depend on WhatsApp, to all the shows and movies that are Netflix exclusives, etc.), switching to alternatives wouldn't really be that disruptive - in many cases it's already happening. The worsening fortunes of Meta and Netflix are because the stock market has concluded that their "moats" aren't as deep and wide as envisioned a couple years ago.

jen20 4y ago
Another minimisation is people who make use of Facebook as an OAuth provider for third party things. Your analysis seems pretty good to me though.
YeBanKo 4y ago
Lots of bussiness use Facebook and Instagram for ads and reaching clients. I know few people who run shops selling clothing exclusively on Instagram and Facebook. They got rid of their websites and even communicate with client through IG messaging, etc. Not sure what impact disappearance of Meta would have, but I think there are many niche areas for which it wouldn’t be negligible.