Hakuna Meta-ta

Whether it’s recognizing hubris, understanding responsibility, or not eating bugs, there’s a lesson in Disney’s The Lion King for all of us.

Just as Simba opted for exile after being ousted from Pride Rock, Meta has seemingly turned its back on innovation.

Hanging by a…

Threads feels like a territorial move that’s been carefully framed as a casual experiment through its stealthy launch.

But if it fails, which is very possible, it isn’t all no worries for Meta. It’s another crashing setback in a string of muddling steps that continuously suggest a lack of brand vision.

By all means, clone Twitter, steal the best bits, and repackage it. But doing so and pitching it as a ‘friendly’ platform misses a key point of social interaction.

Creating a space that’s friendly and open is liberating. No issues there.

Creating a space that’s friendly and moderated sounds more like cultivated coercion.

Wrapping users in cotton wool isn’t a USP. Away from outright violence, conflict has long been a vehicle to express ourselves, debate issues, and eventually find mutual understanding.

Lion’s Share

Several media outlets have hinted that Threads is a calculated move considering Twitter’s seemingly shaky current state.

Elon choosing upheaval, by introducing new ways to monetize users, was always going to upset the status quo early on.

Swapping out the currency of blue badges may well pay off for the cost-sunk business. While authenticity on Twitter has taken a killer blow, there are no longer free stamps available for elites to augment their profiles with.

Instead, more blue badges roaming on the savannah means more dollars in the coffer.

A slight detour, but Apple deserves a mention here too. The Vision Pro announcement was a considered move that illustrates just how the brand believes it can influence the future while staying true to itself. VR and augmented media is inevitable, and one aspect that Apple can dominate in is making interacting with it an elegant and enviable experience.

Resisting the temptation to launch Apple MetaCoreWorld™ and an accompanying NFT collection must have been difficult though.

Taking Pride

Perhaps all the jiu-jitsu training has gone to Zuck’s head. Now he’s more amped than ever to venture into any lion’s den he can find.

Without pasting in lines directly from The Art of War, understanding strengths and weaknesses is relevant here.

Facebook has its own merits that are worth cultivating. It fosters connections between the IRL and digital spaces better than any other platform.

Community marketplaces, private groups, and events haven’t found a more fitting home than Facebook’s ring-fenced structure. That’s something that Twitter can’t compete with.