Source: Variety
The parent company of Facebook, Meta is turning out to be rather self-destructive. Zuckerberg’s social-media company, The Meta Platforms’ market value has reportedly dropped an amount greater than half a trillion dollars. The loss has been since its peak that occurred in August 2021 and has gone on to stumble done due to the influence of its competitors.
Meta was once the world’s sixth-largest company in the field of market capitalisation. However, it has now fallen out of even the top ten companies in the world. It has even been replaced by two computer chip-making companies like Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway and Tencent, the Chinese e-commerce company.
Facebook was once a company worth more than $1 trillion, owing to its impeccable tracking system. However, Apple’s new feature that allows its users to choose to block ad-trackers has neutralised this strength of Facebook. Even Facebook’s user base has started to get smaller after a wave of revelations by whistleblowers came about, showing the harmful effects of social media for younger users.
Mark Zuckerberg founded Facebook about 18 years ago, and seems to be finding it too mundane and he has shifted his vision since. His new project is Metaverse, a version of the internet which is immersive with digital avatars and complete with headsets. Currently, Facebook is competing with the reality itself and not just another company.
How Facebook’s wealth is draining:
Facebook’s business model was based on one of the channels for advertisers- selling digital ads based on the sites one visits and how they behave on the internet. The other channel for advertisers is targeting ads based on what users search for on search engines. This was the reason behind users getting ads for goods which they didn’t even know they ever needed. However, recently Apple and Google, for their own advantage, decided to give users the option to disable ad-tracking on their mediums. The fallout has resulted in advertisers moving their full ad budget to Google, listing Facebook as unprofitable.
Despite everything, 37-year-old Zuckerberg’s net worth is still about $74 billion. Meta, who still owns Instagram and WhatsApp, made $39 billion in profits last year. Profits are still expected to sink for Facebook in the future for Metaverse. Zuckerberg appears firm on his ambitions despite all the skepticisms, even from other billionaires like Elon Musk.
With all the hindrances on the way, such as a one-day drop of $240 billion and skepticisms from the public, Meta might actually succeed. Zuckerberg might actually be able live in his Metaverse version and burn more money on the way. The question remains whether he will be able bring back all the people who had faith in him all this while.
