Meta’s Fantasy

Published in Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung
(Germany) on 27 October 2022
by Roland Lindner (link to originallink to original)
Translated from by Mallory Matsumoto. Edited by Lisa Attanasio.
Mark Zuckerberg has defended his vision for the Metaverse more passionately than ever. Investors are growing restless, but they can do little about it because of the unhealthy extent of Zuckerberg’s power.

Meta has concluded a catastrophic quarter. That did not stop founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg from laying it on thick. In his telling, the internet company has done work “of historic importance” relating to the Metaverse, claiming that in future decades, people will be talking about Meta’s achievements in the field. Zuckerberg has never defended his vision for this futuristic, albeit very vague virtual world so passionately.

It shows how desperate he is to explain himself. Meta is pumping enormous sums of money into this bet. Zuckerberg is punching it through while the core businesses of Facebook and Instagram are experiencing very turbulent times, not only because of the difficult economic situation, but also because of increased competition from platforms like TikTok. There have been no convincing responses that go beyond copying functions offered by rivals.

Dissatisfaction is spreading among investors, but given Zuckerberg’s power as CEO, who also controls the majority of votes, there is little they can do. He can indulge himself in futuristic fantasies as much as he wants.


Metas Fantasien

Mark Zuckerberg hat seine Vision für das Metaversum so leidenschaftlich verteidigt wie noch nie. Investoren werden unruhig, können aber wegen Zuckerbergs ungesunder Machtfülle wenig ausrichten.

Meta hat ein katastrophales Quartal hinter sich. Das hat Gründer und Vorstandschef Mark Zuckerberg nicht abgehalten, dick aufzutragen. Der Internetkonzern leiste „historische Arbeit“ rund um das „Metaversum“. Jahrzehnte in der Zukunft würden Menschen über Metas Großtaten auf dem Gebiet sprechen. So leidenschaftlich hat Zuckerberg seine Vision für diese futuristische, wenngleich äußerst vage virtuelle Welt noch nie verteidigt.
Das zeigt, wie sehr er in Erklärungsnot ist. Meta pumpt gigantische Summen in diese Wette. Zuckerberg peitscht dies durch, während das Kerngeschäft mit Facebook und Instagram in argen Turbulenzen ist, nicht nur wegen der schwierigen Wirtschaftslage, sondern auch wegen verstärkter Konkurrenz wie Tiktok. Hier fehlen überzeugende Antworten, die darüber hinaus gehen, Funktionen des Rivalen zu kopieren.
Unter Investoren macht sich immer mehr Unmut breit, aber sie können angesichts Zuckerbergs Machtfülle als Vorstandschef, der auch die Mehrheit der Stimmrechte kontrolliert, wenig ausrichten. Er kann so viel in Zukunftsfantasien schwelgen, wie er will.
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