Meta is down $500 billion since changing its name from Facebook

[midian182]

In context: Mark Zuckerberg has really gone all-in on the metaverse. So convinced is the CEO that virtual, shared worlds are the future of tech, he changed Facebook’s corporate name to Meta last year. But what has happened since that rebranding? The company has seen $500 billion wiped off its market value.

New York Mag reports that Meta’s half-a-trillion-dollar decline since the rebranding has resulted in a drop from its lofty position as the sixth-largest company in the world by market capitalization to 11th position, replaced by the likes of Nvidia and Tencent.

A lot of Meta’s problems don’t stem from the new name but are a result of Apple’s privacy changes introduced in iOS 14 that allow users to opt out of targeted ads and prevent apps from tracking cross-app behavior. Meta said the change would put a $10 billion dent in its ad revenue this year—an announcement that wiped $232 billion off its market cap in a single day.

Google is introducing similar privacy measures with its Privacy Sandbox for Android, though its implementation isn’t as extreme as Apple’s, and it won’t arrive for at least two years.

Then there’s Facebook. The social media platform had an unwelcome sight in its most recent earnings report: the fourth quarter saw its daily user numbers decline for the first time, plunging its share price 20%. Moreover, the AR and VR division (Reality Labs), an important part of its metaverse plans, made a $10.2 billion loss in 2021.

Another problem for Meta is that while many companies are looking to jump onto the metaverse idea, most consumers are apathetic towards what some consider a VR version of Second Life. The metaverse, Web 3.0, and NFTs might excite firms looking to capitalize on them, but the buzzwords leave many people apathetic at best, hostile at worst—a patent hinting at metaverse eye-tracking ad tech certainly hasn’t helped.

Meta still has a market cap of $561 billion. It made $33.76 billion in revenue during Q4, up 20% year-on-year, and the overall number of daily active users across all its apps grew slightly, so it certainly isn’t in trouble. But maybe the metaverse, at least Meta’s interpretation of it, isn’t going to be as revolutionary as Zuckerberg thinks.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/93498-meta-down-500-billion-since-changing-name-facebook.html

 

[NicktheWVAHick]

Another $500 billion to go…………

 

[winjer]

This is good news. At this rate, humankind might get rid of this cancer by 2023.

 

[George Keech]

Most cheerful news story of the month

 

[BSim500]

Great news. Doubly so if we can now stop using the absurd "Metaverse" marketing slogan...

 

[emmzo]

I just saw an ad for Meta or was it Decentraland, anyway, one of this future metaverses nonsense and it was something like you could go to a bank as a PS2 avatar or visit various Fortnite style "exclusive" events. I was like, wtf is this crap? At least give me some photorealistic graphics to begin with. What am I, three, to be thrilled when I see square shapes and colors? I mean you want me to enter the Matrix, but it looks like the Sims 2000.

 

[bviktor]

Good riddance.

 

[Neatfeatguy]

This is good news. At this rate, humankind might get rid of this cancer by 2023.

Social Media is all cancer. Facebook isn't the only cancer in that regard.

 

[winjer]

Social Media is all cancer. Facebook isn't the only cancer in that regard.

True, but it's the biggest. So if it goes, it's a good start.

 

[QuantumPhysics]

Good

 

[terzaerian]

F̶AANG

One down, four to go.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

I just saw an ad for Meta or was it Decentraland, anyway, one of this future metaverses nonsense and it was something like you could go to a bank as a PS2 avatar or visit various Fortnite style "exclusive" events. I was like, wtf is this crap? At least give me some photorealistic graphics to begin with. What am I, three, to be thrilled when I see square shapes and colors? I mean you want me to enter the Matrix, but it looks like the Sims 2000.

Have you seen the ads for Cryptoland? Crypto bros have absolutely 0 social awareness nor any marketable skills other then crypological hasing, yet believe themselves uniquely blessed to do.....just about anything.

They honestly think the attrocity that is decentraland is actually good, rather then a failed alpha for second life circa 2000.

 

[nismo91]

Well there's still WhatsApp which I still rely on daily basis. With that much revenue gone they're gonna find a way to get more money and realistically speaking whatsapp will be the next target.

I use whatsapp call regularly and I am very sure, that today whatsapp uses more CPU than it should. a typical wifi whatsapp voice call with the screen off in the past consumes very little battery, but now it seems to consume slightly more than a cellular voice call.

there's no need to even mention instagram. you can try instagram on the app vs on the mobile web and you'll immediately notice the decline in data usage.

 

[p51d007]

May it CONTINUE to sink, to be the NEXT MySpace.

 

[mgwerner]

Social Media is all cancer. Facebook isn't the only cancer in that regard.

Yes, but FB is the a$$cancer of cancers.

 

[wiyosaya]

Supergirl did several episodes about a similar concept, and someone still thinks that this is a good idea for real life? The "metaverse" will never equal real life no matter how it is spun by "metamarketing".

 

[paul1122]

As we chat with each other about it online here.
Good news anyway.

 

[Gezzer]

The "metaverse" will never replace the cancer that is FB because it doesn't tap into our tendency to be be engrossed by skinner boxes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Operant_conditioning_chamber

A study found that we experience our biggest endorphin rush not from posting or even reading/reacting responses, but instead to the anticipation of visiting any said social media site. This means that to have it's highest level of addicting behaviour a site needs to have frequent short periods of user engagement. This is what makes social media sites and smart phones such a potent combination.

Even with further advances in VR, it will never be as simple as checking a site on a smart phone. To even have a slim chance of replacing social media Meta will need to invest massive amounts of capital to make a "metaverse" engaging enough that people will become as addicted as they currently are to social media. We're talking on the level of AAA games here and Ad revenue just won't cover it IMHO.

So while Zuckerburger was able to exploit human weakness to addict the majority of us to his devil's site. I think the "metaverse" will be his windmill. Dose it mean the end if FB? We can only dream. I think it will simply mean the board of directors will eventually drop him on his pointy head and continue to create/maintain the most socially destructive force on the planet.

 

[mgilbert]

So called "social media" has done immeasurable and probably irreparable damage to society - especially our younger generations. All you have to do is try to make sense of posts they make, and you'll see what I mean. Said posts are full of grammatical and spelling errors, and are often downright indecipherable.

In face to face encounters, most younger people can't form a complete, coherent sentence, and even when they can, they can't do so with interjecting the word "like" into that sentence three or four times. I love technology, and use the internet for hours every day, but I do not now, nor will I ever have, a single "social media" account. They are a cancer on society, and we'd be far better off without them.

 

[Neatfeatguy]

So called "social media" has done immeasurable and probably irreparable damage to society - especially our younger generations. All you have to do is try to make sense of posts they make, and you'll see what I mean. Said posts are full of grammatical and spelling errors, and are often downright indecipherable.

In face to face encounters, most younger people can't form a complete, coherent sentence, and even when they can, they can't do so with interjecting the word "like" into that sentence three or four times. I love technology, and use the internet for hours every day, but I do not now, nor will I ever have, a single "social media" account. They are a cancer on society, and we'd be far better off without them.

My daughter used to use the young kid slang around me...saying stupid things such as "cray cray" or "sus" and it would make me visibly cringe....akin to sound of nails on a chalk board.

A few stern talks and a threat of blocking her cell phone, she stopped talking like that around me, to her mom, in our house and when she's talking with her grandparents. I told her I find it very disrespectful to be spoken to in that manner and that I expect her to be able to form full sentences and address those around her with respect. She's more than welcome to use whatever slang she wants when she's out and about with her friends, but it's not allowed in my house.

My daughter now makes comments about how some of her friends have troubles speaking and forming sentences when they're chatting at school, she actually said that "It kind of makes me sad they have troubles talking to each other and making actual sentences."

When kids are trying to talk and they use words that don't make sense or they can't find the right words to use because they lack a vocabulary, they sound - for lack of a better word - ignorant. I told my daughter that I know she's not stupid, but talking like that makes her sound dumb and I don't want people to think that of her.

Spoiler

There was even a time when I was standing in line to check out at Target and a teenage kid was giving his mom lip and using broken sentences and slang terms that his mom was telling him he can't talk like that when he goes to interview for a job.

The kid kept telling her to stop talking and that no one cared how he spoke. The kid turned away from his mom and happened to make eye contact with me as I stood behind them in line. So I told him if he came walking into my office and was talking the way he was and not being respectful that I'd tell him to walk right back out because I wouldn't hire someone that couldn't form a proper sentence. The kid was dumbfounded, he stumbled over his own tongue trying to string some words together to form some kind of sentence...his mom hit him on the shoulder and said "I told you so." The kid hung his head down and didn't speak anymore and his mom looked over at me and mouthed the words, "Thank you."

The days when I was a teen, pagers were in and cell phones were basically owned by business people or doctors. When we wanted someone's attention it was by calling from a land line and talking, then meeting up in person to talk. Not by hiding behind a screen all day and sending

 

[Raytrace3D]

I just saw an ad for Meta or was it Decentraland, anyway, one of this future metaverses nonsense and it was something like you could go to a bank as a PS2 avatar or visit various Fortnite style "exclusive" events. I was like, wtf is this crap? At least give me some photorealistic graphics to begin with. What am I, three, to be thrilled when I see square shapes and colors? I mean you want me to enter the Matrix, but it looks like the Sims 2000.

Yeah, it's like "The future is Nintendo Wii graphics".

 

[mgilbert]

My daughter used to use the young kid slang around me...saying stupid things such as "cray cray" or "sus" and it would make me visibly cringe....akin to sound of nails on a chalk board.

A few stern talks and a threat of blocking her cell phone, she stopped talking like that around me, to her mom, in our house and when she's talking with her grandparents. I told her I find it very disrespectful to be spoken to in that manner and that I expect her to be able to form full sentences and address those around her with respect. She's more than welcome to use whatever slang she wants when she's out and about with her friends, but it's not allowed in my house.

My daughter now makes comments about how some of her friends have troubles speaking and forming sentences when they're chatting at school, she actually said that "It kind of makes me sad they have troubles talking to each other and making actual sentences."

When kids are trying to talk and they use words that don't make sense or they can't find the right words to use because they lack a vocabulary, they sound - for lack of a better word - ignorant. I told my daughter that I know she's not stupid, but talking like that makes her sound dumb and I don't want people to think that of her.

Spoiler

There was even a time when I was standing in line to check out at Target and a teenage kid was giving his mom lip and using broken sentences and slang terms that his mom was telling him he can't talk like that when he goes to interview for a job.

The kid kept telling her to stop talking and that no one cared how he spoke. The kid turned away from his mom and happened to make eye contact with me as I stood behind them in line. So I told him if he came walking into my office and was talking the way he was and not being respectful that I'd tell him to walk right back out because I wouldn't hire someone that couldn't form a proper sentence. The kid was dumbfounded, he stumbled over his own tongue trying to string some words together to form some kind of sentence...his mom hit him on the shoulder and said "I told you so." The kid hung his head down and didn't speak anymore and his mom looked over at me and mouthed the words, "Thank you."

The days when I was a teen, pagers were in and cell phones were basically owned by business people or doctors. When we wanted someone's attention it was by calling from a land line and talking, then meeting up in person to talk. Not by hiding behind a screen all day and sending

Well done! Keep up the good work - and make sure she doesn't develop a habit of interjecting the word "like" into every sentence multiple times. Even once is too much, unless the word is used in proper context.

 

[envirovore]

Allowing the general public access to the internet was a huge mistake.

 

[MyIOnU]

Because people do not believe in this B.S.

 

[DZillaXx]

My daughter used to use the young kid slang around me...saying stupid things such as "cray cray" or "sus" and it would make me visibly cringe....akin to sound of nails on a chalk board.

A few stern talks and a threat of blocking her cell phone, she stopped talking like that around me, to her mom, in our house and when she's talking with her grandparents. I told her I find it very disrespectful to be spoken to in that manner and that I expect her to be able to form full sentences and address those around her with respect. She's more than welcome to use whatever slang she wants when she's out and about with her friends, but it's not allowed in my house.

My daughter now makes comments about how some of her friends have troubles speaking and forming sentences when they're chatting at school, she actually said that "It kind of makes me sad they have troubles talking to each other and making actual sentences."

When kids are trying to talk and they use words that don't make sense or they can't find the right words to use because they lack a vocabulary, they sound - for lack of a better word - ignorant. I told my daughter that I know she's not stupid, but talking like that makes her sound dumb and I don't want people to think that of her.

Spoiler

There was even a time when I was standing in line to check out at Target and a teenage kid was giving his mom lip and using broken sentences and slang terms that his mom was telling him he can't talk like that when he goes to interview for a job.

The kid kept telling her to stop talking and that no one cared how he spoke. The kid turned away from his mom and happened to make eye contact with me as I stood behind them in line. So I told him if he came walking into my office and was talking the way he was and not being respectful that I'd tell him to walk right back out because I wouldn't hire someone that couldn't form a proper sentence. The kid was dumbfounded, he stumbled over his own tongue trying to string some words together to form some kind of sentence...his mom hit him on the shoulder and said "I told you so." The kid hung his head down and didn't speak anymore and his mom looked over at me and mouthed the words, "Thank you."

The days when I was a teen, pagers were in and cell phones were basically owned by business people or doctors. When we wanted someone's attention it was by calling from a land line and talking, then meeting up in person to talk. Not by hiding behind a screen all day and sending

I don't think you really have an understanding of short speak. Not being able to decipher messages teens send is partly the point. The Way people talk very widely depending on where you live. If you've ever spend time on the east or west coast, or down in the deep south. It changes quickly. Bro, Brah, Fam, Cray Cray, etc. These are not bad per say. Slang has its place. Talking 100% of the time like you have a stick up your a$$ is just as bad TBH.

Not keeping up with the times and keeping up with meaning of such Slang is part of the problem for older folk. Being in my Early 30s I defiantly get annoyed by all the Fortnite dances my kids are doing non stop, or the few slang words. But a Child not being able to form a sentence is not a slang issue. That's an education issue.

My Generation is largely responsible to encoding speak into symbols. Emojis make for some powerful passwords BTW.

I'm not a facebook fan, but "Meta" isn't going anywhere. They made a pretty risky business move, and who knows how well this will pan out for them. But its not much different than everything Google being powered by your personal Google Account. Or Microsoft with their Microsoft account. A single Platform that spans multiple devices and types of networks. Facebook as a business outgrew using the name of their primary social platform as the name of their company, nothing more.