24.2.22 Where is the innovation

[김상태]

Facebook remains extremely powerful, but it also faces legitimate problems.

Where is the innovation?

In October of last year, my colleague Kevin Roose wrote a column titled, “Facebook Is Weaker Than We Knew.”

His hook was a series of stories in The Wall Street Journal, based on internal company documents, which revealed the company’s failure to stop content that damaged teen mental health, spread vaccine misinformation and more.

관심을 끄는 그의 칼럼은 회사 내부의 문서를 바탕으로 The Wall Street Journal에 시리즈로 쓴 이야기인데 청소년들의 정신건강을 파괴하고 백신에 대한 잘못된 정보를 퍼뜨렸다는 등등 이 회사의 잘못을 폭로한 것이었다

“It would be easy enough to come away thinking that Facebook is terrifyingly powerful,” Kevin wrote. “But there’s another way to read the series, and it’s the interpretation that has reverberated louder inside my brain as each new installment has landed. Which is: Facebook is in trouble.”

"Facebook은 무서울 정도로 막강하다고 생각하기 쉽다" 고 케빈은 적었다. "하지만  이 시리즈를 읽는 또 다른 방식이 있는데 그것은 새로운 편이 나올때마다 나의 머릿속에 크게 울려 퍼지는 해석이 있다. 그것은: Facebook 에 문제가 있다는 것이다"

The societal damage that the company was causing seemed to be a sign that its executives were struggling to attract more users and taking desperate measures to do so. Yet Kevin also included a major caveat: The company’s stock had still been rising over the previous year, a sign that investors remained confident.

이 회사가 일으키는 사회적 피해는 경영진이 더 많은 유서들을 유치하기 위해 고군분투하고 있으며 이를 위해 필사적인 방법들을 강구하고 있다는 신호로 보였다. 또한 케빈은 중요한 경고도 포함했다:  Facebook의 주가는 전년도에 비해 여전히 상승하고 있고 투자자들이 아직도 신뢰감을 가지고 있다는신호아다

That’s no longer the case. 그렇지가 않다

The stock has fallen more than 50 percent over the past year. In the most recent quarter, company revenue fell slightly and profits fell 36 percent.

Mark Zuckerberg, the chief executive, blamed a broad economic downturn that had reduced spending on digital ads, and it certainly played a role. But the specific problems facing Meta, as Facebook’s parent company is now called, seem to be the main cause.

Consider this chart, with compares Meta, Alphabet (Google’s parent company) and the S&P 500:

최고경영자인 저커버그는 디지털광고에서 지출을 줄인 광범위한 경기침체를 이유로 들었고 분명히 그런 영향도 작용했다. 그러나 현재 페북의 모회사로 불리고 있는 Meta가 직면하고 있는 구체적인 문제들이 주요 원인인것으로 보인다

I know that many readers probably still think of Facebook as a behemoth. And in many ways it still is. As Kevin has written: “It can simultaneously be true that Facebook is in decline and that it is still one of the most influential companies in history, with the ability to shape politics and culture all over the globe.”

This morning, I’ll lay out the four biggest problems facing the company.

1. The age problem

If you have children, you’ve probably noticed that they prefer other social media platforms. To many of them, Facebook is for older people — which is not exactly a recipe for growth. Helen Lewis of The Atlantic, among others, has described the platform as “Boomerbook.”

Yes, many teenagers and younger adults use Instagram, which Facebook bought a decade ago. But even Instagram has been struggling to keep up.

“TikTok is absolutely eating Instagram’s lunch right now, in terms of usage and cultural sway, and advertisers generally want to be where the young people are,” Kevin told me. “Even though Meta has tried to copy TikTok’s most successful features and shove them into Instagram Reels, they’re limited in how much change users will accept without a fight.”

"틱톡은 이용량과 문화적 변화 측면에서 현재 인스타그램의 먹거리를 잠식하고 있고 광고주들은 일반적으로 젊은이들이 있는곳에 있기를 원한다" 고 케빈은 나에게 말했다. 메타는 틱톡의 가장 성공적인 기능을 모방하여 인스타그램 릴에 퍼부으려고 까지 했지만 이용자들이 거부감없이 변화를 받아들이는데는 한계가 있다

Last month, for example, Kylie Jenner complained to her 361 million followers, “Make Instagram Instagram again.” An anti-Instagram pile-on ensued, as The Times’s Kalley Huang wrote.

2. The innovation problem

“The company just doesn’t appear to know how to invent successful new stuff,” Farhad Manjoo of Times Opinion has written. “Most of its biggest hits — not just two of its main products, Instagram and WhatsApp, but many of its most-used features, like Instagram Stories — were invented elsewhere. They made their way to Facebook either through acquisitions or, when that didn’t work, outright copying.”

That’s a big change from Facebook’s first decade, when it transformed social media. Especially important was its News Feed, which meant users no longer had to spend time searching out other accounts to know what people were posting.

Since the company went public in 2012, it has been much less innovative.

3. The metaverse problem

Zuckerberg feels so strongly that the metaverse — based around world of virtual-reality, or VR — represents the future of the internet that he renamed the company after it.

“It’s been almost a year since Facebook rebranded itself Meta and announced its big push into the metaverse, and there aren’t a lot of big, obvious wins to show for it,” Kevin said. “VR is still pretty niche, and it’s not clear how much usage apps like Horizon Worlds are getting. (Although, if any Meta employees are reading this, I would love to know!)”

When Zuckerberg unveiled parts of the company’s platform last week, critics mocked it as looking dated. He responded by acknowledging it was “pretty basic” and promised “major updates” soon.

One positive sign for the company: It has sold more than 10 million of its VR headsets, which may suggest the niche is growing. But it remains unclear whether VR has anywhere near the mass-market appeal that social media does.

4. The antitrust problem

Some Meta supporters argue that the company’s recent struggles prove that it isn’t the omnipotent force that its critics claim — and that the federal government should go easy on it. But I think that claim misses what’s really going on.

The company has become less dominant partly because both the Trump and Biden administrations have taken a tougher stance toward mergers.

“If Mark Zuckerberg could acquire his way out of this problem, as he did by buying Instagram back in 2012, he absolutely would,” Kevin said. “But regulators, at least under this administration, aren’t going to let him.”

One example: The Federal Trade Commission, led by Lina Khan, who has called for tougher antimonopoly policies, is trying to block Meta’s acquisition of Within, a VR fitness start-up. Khan and her colleagues worry Meta may be trying prevent future competitors from forming by buying them first.

Depending on your point of view, it’s either ironic or fitting. As Kevin said, “Facebook became so dominant, in part by acting in anticompetitive ways for so many years, that Meta is losing its dominance as a result.”

The bottom line: Facebook remains among the world’s most powerful companies, with the ability to influence elections, public health much more. It also continues to produce huge amounts of revenue, which will allow it many chances to create successful new products. But its struggles are real, and they don’t show any sign of disappearing.

Can You Pass the 10-Second Balance Test?

Hilary Achauer c.2022 The New York Times Company

Len Kaplan began having difficulty walking in a straight line when he was in his 50s. Scoliosis combined with compressed discs in his back were causing his balance to deteriorate.

"Physical therapy, regular exercises, just wasn't getting the ob done. I needed something different," Kaplan, now 80, said.

The two have now been taking Tai Chi and balance classes regularly for more than 15 years. Kaplan is able to easily walk in a straight line and his balance has improved. Last September while visiting Greece, they decided to hike the nearly 100 steps to the top of the Acropolis. Up they went, over slippery, uneven steps with no hand rails. They made it to the top and were rewarded with ancient ruins and sweeping views of Athens below.

Balance training is an important but often-neglected skill, one that affects both our longevity and our quality of life, beginning around age 40. A study in June by a Brazilian team found that 20% of the 1,700 older adults tested couldn't balance on one leg for 10 seconds or more. And that inability to balance was associated with a twofold risk of death from any cause within 10 years.

When your vision is affected by cataracts, or the nerve signals from your feet to your brain slow down, this makes it more difficult to balance. While it's impossible to prevent all types of age-related decline, you can counteract the effect on your balance through specialized training and building strength.

Balance training goes hand-in hand with strength training. The stronger the muscles in your legs, glutes, feet and core, the better your balance. You can improve your balance by taking Tai Chi or yoga classes, but weight training, dancing, rock climbing or aerobics classes are also excellent ways to work on your balance skills.

"Single-leg stance"

Stand behind a chair, holding on with both hands. Lift one leg off the ground, bending the lifted knee toward your chest and stand on one leg for five seconds. Repeat five times, then do the same with your other leg. Too easy? Hold onto the chair with "Single-leg stance"

Stand behind a chair, holding on with both hands. Lift one leg off the ground, bending the lifted knee toward your chest and stand on one leg for five seconds. Repeat five times, then do the same with your other leg. Too easy? Hold onto the chair with one hand, release both hands or try closing your eyes.