Meta Is Dying
Tech zombies trap users and vendors then scam for cash to the bitter end.
Welcome to the podcast Organized Money. You can listen to today’s episode on Apple on Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.
Last month, veteran journalist Julia Angwin wrote an op-ed, “Meta Is Dying. It’s About Time,” which details the ways in which Facebook, Instagram, and Whatsapp have become a kind of zombie business: think Yahoo, Myspace, and AOL after their dot-com peaks. In this episode, we invite Julia on the show to discuss her op-ed and dance on Meta's grave—just a little, because it turns out a dying company can still be a dangerous one. From Meta's money-burning forays into the metaverse, failed acquisition sprees, and gross exploitation of fraudulent ads on their marketplace, we discuss the ways Meta is losing reach and influence, while still maintaining vast power over politics and the gatekeeping of information.
Then, we pivot to talking about Julia's new book, now available for pre-order: “On Courage: How to be a Dissident in an Age of Fear,” a reported account of how dissidents from around the world fight against authoritarianism and how we can learn from them in our own struggles. Fighting autocrats doesn't just mean holding up signs and storming the capital; it can also mean small acts of resistance we can all practice in our own way to make big change in our communities.
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We also provide transcripts and video for every episode. Here is last week’s episode.
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I always hoped that something would save us from psychopaths like Zuck - advertising has only ever been about 1-2% of gdp but these assholes worked out how to grow the pie via addictive dark patterns and overt behavioural manipulations. Right thinking societies are slowly realizing these platforms only take and add no value whatsoever. Like tobacco, if you can cut of the pipeline, you can stop the harm.
I am one of the seniors that finds myself engaged with FB way more than I want to be. Well, Gatehouse (also known as gut house) bought our local newspaper which used to be a decent daily, serving a community of 35,000. Now it resembles an industry magazine that generates little original content and some days NONE. It has ONE local reporter. That's it. It's a fools errand to even submit a letter to the editor.
So, the default is Facebook. You go there to see what the local community theater is doing. To read the free content that is offered by the local radio stations, only one of which does any actual original reporting. But their content is also canned purchased programming with a smattering of local reporting in the morning. The several stations slant hard right.
We just lost our theater that showed first run movies to a viscous storm that decimated the mall the theater screens resided in, but again, if someone is liking a movie at the local art cinema, you'll see it there.
And people talk about what's happening in town. Sometimes it's useful, sometimes corrosive.
No, it's not better than a functioning newspaper. It's simply what remains.