Zuckerberg's Jealousy Held Back Instagram and Drove Off Founders (bloomberg.com) 29
The Facebook CEO promised Kevin Systrom independence, but a new book shows that the promise only lasted until Instagram started to look like the favorite son. From a report: By the end of 2016, just as Zuckerberg's company was facing its first controversies related to Donald Trump's election, Zuckerberg was focused on a different kind of threat. Typical Facebook users were posting fewer of their own thoughts and photos, and Zuckerberg suspected Instagram's successful copying of Snapchat Stories was to blame. (The success came as a surprise even to Zuckerberg, who unbeknownst to Systrom had again tried and failed to buy Snapchat shortly before Instagram Stories debuted.) He enlisted his most trusted data scientists to study whether Instagram was becoming a Facebook alternative and threatening its dominance. Zuckerberg thought the research showed that Instagram would start eating into Facebook's user base within six months. The word "cannibalization" started to creep into his management meetings.
Systrom disagreed with Zuckerberg's assessment of the data. "This is not Instagram taking away from the Facebook pie to add to the Instagram pie," he told Zuckerberg at a weekly Monday leadership meeting. "The total pie is getting bigger." It wasn't just Instagram vs. Facebook. It was all of these Facebook properties vs. every other choice in the world, like Netflix, Snapchat, Twitter, and, you know, sleep. Others in the room sided with Systrom. They were puzzled by Zuckerberg's apparent jealousy of Instagram's success. Zuckerberg had always said Facebook should reinvent itself before a competitor got the chance and that the company should make the decisions about how to do so based on data. "If we don't create the thing that kills Facebook, someone else will," the booklet passed out at employee orientation reads. Yet Zuckerberg couldn't seem to bear the idea that Instagram might outshine Facebook.
He told Systrom he believed Instagram Stories was successful not because of its design, but because they'd happened to release the feature ahead of Facebook Stories. Facebook had helped Instagram long enough, he decided. In 2018, Instagram would have to start giving back. Instagram users barely noticed Zuckerberg's first change. He ordered Systrom to build a prominent link within the Instagram app that would send his users to Facebook. Around the same time, he had his own engineers remove the prominent link to Instagram on Facebook's site. Zuckerberg's willingness to expand Instagram's team had waned, too. He balked at adding engineers to facilitate the release of IGTV, even though Instagram was on track to hit 1 billion users and $10 billion in revenue that year.
Systrom disagreed with Zuckerberg's assessment of the data. "This is not Instagram taking away from the Facebook pie to add to the Instagram pie," he told Zuckerberg at a weekly Monday leadership meeting. "The total pie is getting bigger." It wasn't just Instagram vs. Facebook. It was all of these Facebook properties vs. every other choice in the world, like Netflix, Snapchat, Twitter, and, you know, sleep. Others in the room sided with Systrom. They were puzzled by Zuckerberg's apparent jealousy of Instagram's success. Zuckerberg had always said Facebook should reinvent itself before a competitor got the chance and that the company should make the decisions about how to do so based on data. "If we don't create the thing that kills Facebook, someone else will," the booklet passed out at employee orientation reads. Yet Zuckerberg couldn't seem to bear the idea that Instagram might outshine Facebook.
He told Systrom he believed Instagram Stories was successful not because of its design, but because they'd happened to release the feature ahead of Facebook Stories. Facebook had helped Instagram long enough, he decided. In 2018, Instagram would have to start giving back. Instagram users barely noticed Zuckerberg's first change. He ordered Systrom to build a prominent link within the Instagram app that would send his users to Facebook. Around the same time, he had his own engineers remove the prominent link to Instagram on Facebook's site. Zuckerberg's willingness to expand Instagram's team had waned, too. He balked at adding engineers to facilitate the release of IGTV, even though Instagram was on track to hit 1 billion users and $10 billion in revenue that year.
Humans (Score:4, Funny)
Humans have emotions? No way.
This is why we need the robot future. Always design for robotic manufacture. Robotic factories are obvious but we need robotic CEOs too.
Re: (Score:3)
Do you want Skynet? Because this is how you get Skynet.
Re: (Score:3)
Humans have emotions? No way.
You're mistaken: Zuckerberg is an android [dailymail.co.uk], and as such has no emotions.
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Hmm.. I thought he was an android already. Are you claiming that he is human?
Zuckerberg is a pole turtle (Score:2)
Who Cares (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Well, that depends. One of them loses which causes the other to spend all kinds of money to buy out the looser. Then jack up the price of the services offered by losers product. Or to modify the product to be of lesser value. I think we would care. Just saying. Otherwise, I do agree.
Re:Who Cares (Score:4, Funny)
In this case, however, I don't give a fuck about who wins or who loses. No, scratch that, I wish they would both lose and disappear.
Re: (Score:2)
The buyout already happened.
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Could be fun. Build some kind of arena with spectator seating and a central area, maybe caged in, for the combatants. Give them weapons and some incentive to fight, maybe you can eventually win freedom or something. If it starts to get stale mix in some new elements. Lions perhaps.
Naturally there would be betting on the outcome.
Re: (Score:2)
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OH that's just GREAT. Just what we need, lions throwing up on everything!
I do. (Score:1)
Because
I'm a brave little tailor [wikipedia.org],
full of glee.
Make them bash and kill each other,
tee-hee-hee.
Re: (Score:2)
"When the elephants fight, it is the grass under their feet that loses"
-- ancient proverb
Quite a lot (Score:2)
Who Cares...About rich guys fighting with each other?
A few million people [bleacherreport.com] it turns out.
Re: (Score:2)
About social media no less.
Re: Who Cares (Score:2)
The vast majority of Americans do. Hence, the popularity of pro sports ball.
I have no idea what planet this is from? (Score:5, Funny)
Instagram. Snapchat. Facebook. ... "Stories"?
It certainly isn't mine.
But maybe I simpy lack the Prozac prescription to shake my upper booty to the selfie cam for Like Dollars and be one of the popular uncool kids.
Re: (Score:2)
Explanation: (Score:1)
Prozac prescription: Something you get, when you have an anxiety disorder. (A buddy of mine had that.)
upper booty: = upper ass = face = ass-face
popular uncool kids: Nowadays it's popular to be, what was very uncool in the 80s/90s when I was in school.
So, all in all: Maybe I lack the anxiety and insecurities for attention whoring (on those sites) to appeal to me.
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I have no idea what planet this is from?
Instagram. Snapchat. Facebook. ... "Stories"?
It certainly isn't mine.
You forgot to end your post with an action line about waving your cane or an exhortation for the whippersnappers to kindly vacate your lawn.
Re: I have no idea what planet this is from? (Score:2)
You can imagine me doing that if you like. :)
I'm 40, by the way. But have unwillingy lived probably twice that. I normally have to prove to therapists that all the shit I call my life is not a James Bond movie nor a Stephen King horror story, so you could say, I got that life experience part down. Problem is: I look like 25 ans nobody believes me. ;) (Luckily, I've got killer proof.)
Zuck is an asshat (Score:2)
What's ... (Score:1)
Zucker who? (Score:2)
Meh...who cares anymore!