In order to make Mark Zuckerberg’s metaverse vision a reality, Meta needs to keep its existing apps raking in the cash. And that means it’s time for yet another change of direction.
A leaked memo from April seen by the Verge explains:
The Meta executive in charge of Facebook, Tom Alison, spelled out the plan: rather than prioritize posts from accounts people follow, Facebook’s main feed will, like TikTok, start heavily recommending posts regardless of where they come from. And years after Messenger and Facebook split up as separate apps, the two will be brought back together, mimicking TikTok’s messaging functionality.
Alison then gave an interview with the Verge in which he explained this is part of the vision for Facebook as a ‘discovery engine’, which Mark Zuckerberg mentioned in Meta’s most recent earnings call.
The main tab will become a mix of Stories and Reels at the top, followed by posts its discovery engine recommends from across both Facebook and Instagram. It’ll be a more visual, video-heavy experience with clearer prompts to direct message friends a post. To make messaging even more prominent, Facebook is working on placing a user’s Messenger inbox at the top right of the app, undoing the infamous decision to separate the two apps eight years ago.
Longtime Facebook users are used to the app changing, but no matter how Meta tweaks it, there could be a struggle to bring lapsed users back into the fold. It’s unclear whether the existing standalone Messenger app will be ditched, for example. That would seem like a pretty forceful way of pushing people back to Facebook.
Users want to be served by apps, not pushed into behaving in ways that best suit the business goals of the people who make those apps. But if it wants to keep Facebook relevant, what choice does Meta really have?
Meanwhile Instagram
announced that a test of a TikTok style, almost-full screen home feed is set to roll out to a limited set of users, while Meta keeps adding
new ways to make Reels on Instagram and Facebook.
The battle to stay fresh and relevant never ends, no matter how big and powerful you might be. In many ways, size and power just makes that battle all the more difficult.
