Facebook will go the way of dinosaurs. Just when we say, “That will never happen.” We suddenly remember AOL. (America On-Line)
Most would have never guessed that the giant would just disappear. We don’t remember the details of how, exactly, the darling of Wall Street vanished. Only that it did.
I can remember being in Chicago listening to local talk radio. They were totally jazzed at the incredible run-up in the value of AOL stock. So much so, that I seriously considered jumping in. I didn’t, and I’m glad about that.
One day we heard, “You’ve got mail.” Then AOL just disappeared. Well, it didn’t really disappear.
Unless you’re one of the millions who lost millions from falling stock value, where it ended up is not important.
Yes, Facebook can end up in the same trash heap as My Space, and Google Plus (G+).
Great Companies Fall For One Of Two Reasons.
They are driven into the ground by bad management, or they become irrelevant to the market.
The oldest example of becoming irrelevant is the buggy whip companies.
Samples of poor management might include the great airlines like Trans World Airlines (TWA) and Pan American (Pan Am). There are dozens of other companies in dozens of industries that were once great and people were saying, “That will never happen.” Until it did.
As For Facebook
A great idea when it started. It was designed for everyday people to interact with friends and family. The best part for users was the price. Free.
For it to grow, there needed to be a way to monetize it. It came in the form of ads. The companies that buy ads on Facebook allow it to remain free to users. It is a great concept. Users gladly put up with ads just to be able to share with others.
Do You Remember The Change?
It came in quietly. Facebook found that there were ordinary people with hundreds, then thousands, and then millions of friends. It was a gigantic job to fill the news feed with posts from so many friends.
Not actually, but if they wanted to serve ads, the number of friends one sees needed to be trimmed. So they did.
The number was huge. One day users realized they were not seeing posts from people they used to see all the time. That’s because Facebook began showing only five to ten percent of your friends. And it was generally the same friends.
The news feed was filled with ads. Twenty percent or more of the posts were sponsored. That means that one in every 4 or 5 posts is a paid ad.
Facebook Is Making A Killing
The stock value of the company says it all
Then Came Politics.
No one cared about Mark Zuckerberg’s politics. Not until he began to impose them on his core business.
Because his platform is free to use, he has the right to control what is put on the platform. So he censors your thoughts, your words, your opinions.
Even if it’s true, an opinion that disagrees with his worldview is censored.
People are leaving, They simply close the account. They move to other places, like Rumble or the new GETTR.
Users stop clicking on ads, and they stop buying from those who advertise on Facebook. When advertisers stop making sales, they pull the ads. When ads stop, the revenue to Facebook stops. It’s over.
Mark Zuckerberg can catch a flight on TWA and retire to a beach somewhere with his friends from AOL.
One More Thing
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