Mass layoffs and absentee bosses create a morale crisis at Meta
In a comment I made about 18 months ago, I noted that Facebook&#x27;s insufficient investment in anything useful would hold them back. The true cost of the Metaverse isn&#x27;t solely the capital needed for development; it&#x27;s also the opportunity cost that will become apparent in the future. What aren&#x27;t they doing that they could be?<p>There is also another aspect to consider. The swift expansion of generative AI is driving the transition from a Social Graph to a Content Graph. Online users are now more interested in engaging, up-to-date content rather than keeping up with their friends&#x27; activities. Platforms like TikTok and YouTube pioneered this trend, while Twitter&#x27;s timeline modifications serve as a functional yet imperfect example. Content discovery now takes precedence over static friend lists.<p>The core principle that Facebook was built on is gradually crumbling. This isn&#x27;t just about Apple&#x27;s privacy policies or regulatory constraints; it&#x27;s a fundamental shift in user behavior. The primary reason people visit Facebook—connecting with people they know—is now at odds with their main online activity: consuming content from strangers. Facebook has become a platform for discovering uncomfortable opinions of acquaintances and realizing the irrelevance of past social connections.<p>Facebook is attempting to adapt, but their efforts only diminish the platform&#x27;s value for average users. Instagram&#x27;s discovery page and Reels are examples, but the latter pales in comparison to TikTok. Facebook&#x27;s endeavors in short-form video are likely a futile game of catch-up, a classic innovator&#x27;s dilemma.<p>The Metaverse&#x27;s introduction seemed like a desperate, last-minute attempt from the C-suite to save face. Anyone who has worked at a high-profile tech company has likely seen this tactic before: weak financial quarters lead to premature product announcements. The all-encompassing nature of the Metaverse announcement signals that something is amiss. It&#x27;s only more futile now.