Goood morning!! Today is a big day. A big day in the history of Meta. Only time will tell if this is the beginning of something new, or the end of something that was…
Friday quote:
“Those who are wise won’t be busy, and those who are too busy can’t be wise.“
— Lin Yutang, The Importance of Living
Friday thought:
Sandberg checks out.
One by one, they are all heading for the door. The first big name exit was Peter Thiel. Then, the lead of Instagram ecommerce team leaves for eBay. Now, Zuckerberg’s balancing force dips as well.
Sandberg was long deemed the face of rationality at Meta. After a period that has only proved the increased necessity for such a person, it is a shame that she is leaving. She remains on the board though.
Background on Sandberg.
She joined in 2008 intending only to stay on for 5 years, and gained wide recognition throughout Silicon Valley. She built up an image as a seasoned executive and become a female role model. “Friends of Sheryl Sandberg” was a way for her to forward her corporate feminism manifesto: “Lean In.”
Claiming she was “put on this planet to scale organisations,” she did so for Meta by supercharging its digital ad machine. Sandberg took the company from £777mn in sales in 2009, to $117bn in 2021.
What this does mean is that Sandberg is now up for grabs again. I have suspicions she will be back, eventually, when the right offer is made.
Her famed characteristics include attention to detail and networking. Sandberg was seen with ad execs far more than rivals were. For her clients, the socialite hosted fancy dinners, listened to them closely and acted in accordance to their wishes.
Her social skills were further credited with establishing Meta’s public policy and communications team. She also became the lobbyist-in-chief by meeting with regulators and lawmakers.
Where it all went wrong.
Many fingers have been pointed at the ads business model she popularised for its reward of provocative posts, monopolisation users’ attention, and extensive data collection.
Sandberg built a very personal relationship with Mark in her early days; but in recent years, that relationship has fizzled. She distanced her image from that of Mark and Meta, potentially in an effort to dodge the wrath of scrutiny.
It seems she is particularly anal about maintaining a pristine public image, even going as far as coercing the Daily Mail to discard negative coverage of her ex-boyfriend & Activision Blizzard CEO Bobby Kotick. Things like this have given her a reputation for responding to criticism defensively.
The break down of communication between her and Zuckerberg, and their decreasing understanding of each other has contributed to her departure. They were unable to agree on a press strategy, and that was where things fell apart.
Her interest and devotion to Meta has clearly come to an end, as she willingly used company resources to plan her own wedding…
The future of Meta.
Will the big names be swapped with other big names? Some mentioned that figures like Javier Olivan, Andrew Bosworth and Nicholas Clegg will now steer Meta in its new direction.
However, I think that Zuckerberg reacted a bit too rashly with all these changes. I really think, if he just stayed out of the limelight, laid low, and starting changing personnel and strategy quietly in the background, the negative press would have eventually died down.
Too many of the recent changes seem like direct responses. Meta did a one eighty, and went from influencing the lives of the wider public to being influenced by the wider public.
They went from active to reactive. And that is a very dangerous place to be.
Rather than face competition in the social media landscape head on, Mark decided to look elsewhere, notably to the metaverse, for success. It is such a shame Mark discarded a toy that could still be repaired and made stronger, for a new shiny thing.
Whatever kind of change Zuckerberg is making with Meta is either vain or extremely dramatic. This whole metaverse thing, I think, is quite a deviation; however, this could also be a very long term plan. I guess Zuckerberg does still have time. Like a lot of it. He is only 38.
All in all.
Are the glory days of Meta coming to an end? This is a thought gnawing inside my head for a while now…
This just shows how much damage being in the face of press can do to a CEO. Mark Zuckerberg suffered the consequences. And I think Elon Musk is starting to feel the heat as well.
In knowing which companies will survive, I suggest paying attention to the ones who are not in the news 24/7.
That’s it for today!! Have an amazing weekend.
With love,
Angeline
Resources:
Levine, Matt. “Don’t Insider Trade NFTs.” Money Stuff, Bloomberg Opinion, Bloomberg, June 2, 2022.
Murphy, Hannah. “Sandberg’s legacy: ‘Facebook would not be Facebook without Sheryl.” Sheryl Sandberg, The Financial Times, June 3, 2022.
Read, Max. “Who was “The Enemy” in ‘Top Gun: Maverick’?” Read Max, Substack.
Sorkin, Andrew Rodd. “The end of the Sandberg era at Meta.” DealBook, The New York Times.
Thomas, Zoe & Jah, Moriba. “Space Cleanup: What Will It Take to Clear Out Space Junk From Orbit?“ Tech News Briefing, WSJ Podcasts, The Wall Street Journal, June 3, 2022.