<story><title>Instagram Is Facebook Now</title><url>https://embedded.substack.com/p/instagram-is-facebook-now</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>randomsearch</author><text>I think Facebook (meta)‘s key asset is now WhatsApp.&lt;p&gt;Facebook is practically dead. It’s just a stream of awful content that isn’t from your friends. It’s hyper advertising and desperate attempts to clone other platforms as it slowly dies. It’ll continue for a long time, eventually becoming yahoo like, but young people do not care about it at all.&lt;p&gt;Instagram has similarly been over monetised but in an earlier stage. It has been roundly defeated by TikTok, utterly destroyed by TikTok, in the battle for teens’ attention.&lt;p&gt;Oculus was a great buy but the gap (in terms of years) between instagram’s peak and oculus really coming online is just too wide to “save” the company.&lt;p&gt;In contrast, WhatsApp is still used across the generations. It’s the one platform where grandparents and grandkids are both active users.&lt;p&gt;If I were Zuck then I’d focus on turning WhatsApp into an Asian-style chat platform with integrated services. That I can’t wire money on WhatsApp in the U.K. is I think a very very big strategic error on his part.&lt;p&gt;It seems clear Facebook (meta) can’t build anything truly new, but they can certainly extend platforms - they should focus on WhatsApp. It has longevity, strong network effects, and huge potential. Just don’t use ads and destroy it.&lt;p&gt;Otoh Facebook deserves to die so I hope he continues to think oculus will save them.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>k_bx</author><text>Ukraine is of course no major market for Facebook, but it&amp;#x27;s a good example that doesn&amp;#x27;t match what you describe at all. In Ukraine, Facebook is the place where you follow top journalists, anti-corruption people, activists, and other public figures. It&amp;#x27;s basically an extremely valuable addition to the media, where anyone can be lifted in popularity in a matter of hours if their content is truly important. Facebook has been an invaluable tool during the Maidan revolution in 2014 combining its social and video-streaming capabilities. It works in times where media is breaking down, being bought by oligarchs, and isn&amp;#x27;t to be relied upon.&lt;p&gt;I don&amp;#x27;t see any alternative that would replace it, in terms of being social, everyone being present on it, and allowing long text+image+video content to be posted and spread easily.</text></comment>
<story><title>Instagram Is Facebook Now</title><url>https://embedded.substack.com/p/instagram-is-facebook-now</url></story><parent_chain><item><author>randomsearch</author><text>I think Facebook (meta)‘s key asset is now WhatsApp.&lt;p&gt;Facebook is practically dead. It’s just a stream of awful content that isn’t from your friends. It’s hyper advertising and desperate attempts to clone other platforms as it slowly dies. It’ll continue for a long time, eventually becoming yahoo like, but young people do not care about it at all.&lt;p&gt;Instagram has similarly been over monetised but in an earlier stage. It has been roundly defeated by TikTok, utterly destroyed by TikTok, in the battle for teens’ attention.&lt;p&gt;Oculus was a great buy but the gap (in terms of years) between instagram’s peak and oculus really coming online is just too wide to “save” the company.&lt;p&gt;In contrast, WhatsApp is still used across the generations. It’s the one platform where grandparents and grandkids are both active users.&lt;p&gt;If I were Zuck then I’d focus on turning WhatsApp into an Asian-style chat platform with integrated services. That I can’t wire money on WhatsApp in the U.K. is I think a very very big strategic error on his part.&lt;p&gt;It seems clear Facebook (meta) can’t build anything truly new, but they can certainly extend platforms - they should focus on WhatsApp. It has longevity, strong network effects, and huge potential. Just don’t use ads and destroy it.&lt;p&gt;Otoh Facebook deserves to die so I hope he continues to think oculus will save them.</text></item></parent_chain><comment><author>nicce</author><text>While many are still using WhatsApp, it has taken significant reputation impact and users are dropping. Potential is only for the limited user group. It can be only changed by changing owner in general.</text></comment>