To me, that does seem to be the case based on headlines I see here and on reddit. This may just be the media fanning flames to create a story but maybe the anti-Facebook sentiment has reached a tipping point.
Part of the perception I believe is due to the fact that, possibly for the first time, Facebook seems like it doesn't have a forward-looking product strategy. To date they've always had a "next big thing" to dazzle us with...from the expansion out of college networks to the original news feed to social apps and games to business page content to news publishing & instant articles.
Now they seem to be in retreat and refocusing on their core product strategy of giving people a way to stay in touch with their real-life friends. In a way, that is a good thing, but the problem is the shine has worn off and people are wary of the company's problematic relationship with user privacy and "fake news". It doesn't feel safe, friendly, and positive anymore like it did 10 years ago.
So the question becomes: can Facebook return to a past era of upbeat brand perception and core product focus while still making lots of money (which requires keeping advertisers very happy)? Personally, I don't think so. FB is certainly not going anywhere and will likely do well financially for some time to come, but its golden age has passed.
Yep. Any article or post about Facebook on this site is largely negative or full of self-congratulatory "I quit FB" posts. Neither attitude is _wrong_ but you are not going to be a balanced view point about Facebook's user base here.
I see Facebook as the new landline telephone. You basically have it but never really use it unless you need to talk to your grandmother or interact with spammers. For a few people, it's your only point of contact so you can't axe the damn thing but you don't really engage with it either.
Facebook as a website is certainly on its way out. Facebook as a company is fine. It will eventually turn into the IBM of online advertising: it will transition into a services company.
Companies are starting to slowly figure out that online ads have almost zero value. Facebook is surviving by buying the hottest properties around, and they will continue to do so. They are diversified. I give it 5 years before they pull a google and change the name.
But as long as advertisers can keep moving the goal-posts, there will be marketing teams who think they need to pay money for those ads. The problem with previous social media companies was that they got complacent. Facebook isn't. They are actively acquiring every next big social media company they can. Facebook as a website is a worthless graveyard. Other properties will make money while it and its users decline and die.
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[ 3.0 ms ] story [ 27.7 ms ] threadNow they seem to be in retreat and refocusing on their core product strategy of giving people a way to stay in touch with their real-life friends. In a way, that is a good thing, but the problem is the shine has worn off and people are wary of the company's problematic relationship with user privacy and "fake news". It doesn't feel safe, friendly, and positive anymore like it did 10 years ago.
So the question becomes: can Facebook return to a past era of upbeat brand perception and core product focus while still making lots of money (which requires keeping advertisers very happy)? Personally, I don't think so. FB is certainly not going anywhere and will likely do well financially for some time to come, but its golden age has passed.
Companies are starting to slowly figure out that online ads have almost zero value. Facebook is surviving by buying the hottest properties around, and they will continue to do so. They are diversified. I give it 5 years before they pull a google and change the name.
But as long as advertisers can keep moving the goal-posts, there will be marketing teams who think they need to pay money for those ads. The problem with previous social media companies was that they got complacent. Facebook isn't. They are actively acquiring every next big social media company they can. Facebook as a website is a worthless graveyard. Other properties will make money while it and its users decline and die.