Source: at a Meta-wide meeting, Mark Zuckerberg told staff to focus on growing short-video products, citing an “unprecedented level of competition” from TikTok

Mark Zuckerberg quipped that if he started to cry, it wasn't because of the day's news.

Bloomberg 2022-02-04

Context & Ripple Effects

Meta’s short-video push arrived alongside earnings pressure that sharpened the competitive case against TikTok. Zuckerberg later characterized the company’s initial response as slow because Meta did not view TikTok as social, making this meeting an early marker of a strategic reorientation rather than a one-off product priority.

First-order effects

Meta staff are directed to put short-video growth ahead of other product priorities, with TikTok establishing the competitive benchmark.
TikTok’s rise becomes an explicit planning problem for Meta’s leadership, a view Zuckerberg would later describe as the leading competitive threat to Facebook and Instagram.

Second-order effects

Meta’s product teams face greater pressure to concentrate attention and resources on formats that can retain users against TikTok, narrowing room for initiatives that do not support that goal.
TikTok gains leverage as the reference point for Meta’s product strategy, forcing Meta to compete not only for users but also for the internal urgency attached to short-form video.

Third-order effects

If Meta sustains the priority, competition between major social platforms increasingly centers on short-video engagement rather than each platform’s legacy social format.
The later admission that Meta was slow to recognize TikTok as social suggests that defining which products count as direct competitors can determine how quickly large platforms reallocate resources.

The trend: TikTok’s growth is pushing incumbent social platforms to treat short-form video as a core competitive layer, not a peripheral feature.

Discussion

@hankgreen Hank Green on x
I just want to be clear, Facebook has consistently been the worst platform at treating its creators like partners. Their communications and strategies have been manipulative or even deceptive.
@tomgara Tom Gara on x
The “pivot to video” story is instructive in the context of how huge video subsequently turned out to be on social media, how fast video consumption grew on YouTube, FB, TikTok, IG, Twitch, the insane amounts of money made by video creators etc
@michelletweetin Michelle Williams on x
Facebook has reached its “pivot to video” phase. https://www.bloomberg.com/...
@silviakillings Silvia Killingsworth on x
“Zuckerberg appeared red-eyed and wore glasses, the person said. Employees were told he might tear up because he'd scratched his eye.” https://www.bloomberg.com/...
@stevekovach Steve Kovach on x
The metaverse fixes this. You can't cry in front of your employees if you are a cartoon avatar. https://twitter.com/...
@silvermanjacob Jacob Silverman on x
Imagine working for FB, stock tanks, company is widely hated, its supposed mission proved a farce, and your red-eyed automaton of a leader appears and says, in this time of great challenge, focus on little videos. https://twitter.com/...
@papapishu @papapishu on x
sorry this is so fucking funny man. like they set 10 billion dollars on fire creating the metaverse, everyone was like “damn that sounds like it sucks” and just tanked their stock price. lol. lmao. https://twitter.com/...
@strngwys Roberto Baldwin on x
I thought everyone was joking about the Facebook pivot to video. https://www.bloomberg.com/...
@bponsot Beth Ponsot on x
NOT THE PIVOT TO VIDEO https://www.bloomberg.com/...
@emmakinery Emma Kinery on x
“Zuckerberg appeared red-eyed and wore glasses, the person said. He said he might tear up because he'd scratched his eye — not because of the topics up for discussion.” https://www.bloomberg.com/...
@swodinsky @swodinsky on x
i'm taking a lil while between tweets bc i'm literally combing thru the docs to make sure i'm getting the details at least kind of right. and i think? i am—this is from an internal stories study in 2019 that puts some numbers to the phenomenon https://twitter.com/...
@joshsternberg Josh Sternberg on x
Facebook pivoting to video is the kiss of death https://www.bloomberg.com/...
@swodinsky @swodinsky on x
i don't use fb or insta (sorry), so i didn't witness how its UX evolved overtime personally, but there's convos from insta engineers around this time talking about how like, specific UX tweaks (notifications, previews etc) would add or detract numbers of sessions per day
@swodinsky @swodinsky on x
so like, shitty and manipulative, but so are slot machines (which i don't use either 😬)
@mc_lotta Charlotte Avery on x
Oh sick, they're gonna take out any media companies that survived FB's last push into video Massive respect, Mark. Love the commitment 🙏 https://twitter.com/...
@patrickklepek Patrick Klepek on x
reality now indistinguishable from satire https://twitter.com/...
@hankgreen Hank Green on x
I was personally told by a Facebook rep many years ago that ad sharing was “coming soon” and it would be “huge” and so I should get in on the ground floor and start building an audience. It was /years/ later that they finally started sharing revenue with video creators.
@hankgreen Hank Green on x
I am really happy if they maybe /maybe/ have woken up to the reality that they need to be an actual partner for creators in order for the content on their platform to be better. But I've been burned before, so I'm not holding out hope.
@swodinsky @swodinsky on x
okay so—since i've spent some time shotgunning abt half a decades worth of convos from inside this company, i've mutated this weird 6th sense that lets me kinda sorta understand mark's batshit announcements and i *think* i know why he's hot on video rn: https://www.bloomberg.com/…
@swodinsky @swodinsky on x
it's trite af to say “social media is based off slot machine rules” but, yeah, this is slot machine rules. and it worked; multiple studies showed that even though sessions spent were shorter, stories superfans *weren't leaving*
@hankgreen Hank Green on x
I know some people who make great money making from Facebook's revenue sharing now. But “moving fast and breaking things” has never been something they're interested in doing for anyone but themselves. For creators, they move slow and break things.
@michaelsayman Michael Sayman on x
My predictions: 1. Home tab on Facebook & Instagram becomes a vertical video scrolling feed. 2. A vertical video scrolling feed is added to WhatsApp. 3. Default camera composer option on IG and FB becomes less like Stories, more like TikTok. https://twitter.com/...
@jmgpix @jmgpix on x
Srsly tho. The kids are on another planet, never to return to FB and the olds just want to post grandkids pics and deny COVID. Meta was doomed to fail. https://twitter.com/...
@lainnafader Lainna Fader on x
I'm so tired https://twitter.com/...
@manyatruenerd Many A True Nerd on x
While Meta crashing this fast is hilarious, I think it's also worth noting that Facebook focusing on video to recover is one hell of a choice given Facebook already got caught out lying about video metrics in the Pivot To Video scandal a few years ago. https://www.bloomberg.com/.…
@jmgpix @jmgpix on x
“And this time we're not going to fall for the banana in the tailpipe” https://twitter.com/...
@swodinsky @swodinsky on x
again, i literally don't use these platforms lmao; i am extremely talking out of my ass here. but! if zuckerberg was freaking tf out about users dropping off the platform, going ham on stories makes sense!!!!! the product is like, glue for hot teen engagement
@swodinsky @swodinsky on x
from abt 2019~ onward, younger users started spending less time in-feed (which had politics! grandmas! your hot ex!), and stopped commenting, sharing original content, etc. stories became the primary outlet for like..... talking to friends in a low-stakes way
@swodinsky @swodinsky on x
fb also learned that something about stories prompted users to visit in quick bursts of activity instead of the long lurks they were taking on newsfeed. and for some weird psychological reason, those quick visits were better at hooking users on the platform
@swodinsky @swodinsky on x
so like, what these studies told fb at the time was that it's not *only* abt getting people to spend more time on the platform at any cost—this same study shows that actually *sucked* for retention. when users aimlessly scrolled long enough, they would bounce and not come back
@swodinsky @swodinsky on x
obvs this is all speculation, and i need to go back to check The Literature (my gdrive of 1240-something workplace posts from 2016-2021), but i have a hunch that this isn't like, a blockbuster video video he's talking about. i think he's talking about stories
@swodinsky @swodinsky on x
(yeah, “engagement” isn't just one thing. there's different kinds of engagement that fb's platforms respond to in different ways to coax different responses from end-users. it's not all about getting us to click on ads)
@swodinsky @swodinsky on x
even if these users are spending literally *less than a minute* (as described in a bunch of these studies) checking their story feed, a session is a session, users still get that dopamine boost, and they'll keep coming back
@hankgreen Hank Green on x
Remember when they straight up lied in order to make the blatantly false claim that they were getting more video views than YouTube? This resulted in TONS of creators and small businesses going all-in on Facebook video. Many went out of business. https://medium.com/...
@swodinsky @swodinsky on x
it's more of a passive engagement experience where you, a 14 year old, are opening your phone, seeing your grandma's birthday is today, leaving a heart on her page and bouncing from the platform right after, bc you did what you came to do: you caught up with your grandma
@swodinsky @swodinsky on x
there's also def other plausible explanations here that could also explain this sudden swerve into video. maybe we're both right! maybe none of us are right! only zuck knows for sure, and he's too busy totally not crying during company meetings to comment
@swodinsky @swodinsky on x
there's other products and mechanics that tie into this (updates to feed ranking and IGTV in particular), but i'll just sum it all up like this. overtime, stories turned into the product that fb *knew* it could reliably turn to for user retention in the long haul—
@swodinsky @swodinsky on x
for example—when we're talking abt the teen audience that fb is hemorrhaging rn, fb knows that they interact w newsfeed and w stories differently. in general, younger users tend to use their timeline as a place to “stalk” (legit the word they use) exes, parents, and non-friends
@swodinsky @swodinsky on x
meanwhile, users on stories were checking in a minute here or a minute there throughout the day, getting a lil dopamine boost when they stumped onto something funny their Cool Teen Friends were doing, and they'd *keep coming back* to see if the same thing would happen again
@swodinsky @swodinsky on x
every product under zucc's belt does a different kind of work for meta as a whole, and that “work” isn't gonna apparent unless you're, again, mainlining this shit for months sometimes, “work” can mean producing specific kinds of engagement from users for specific ends
@martinsfp Martin Sfp Bryant on x
@swodinsky Stories and also Reels, which is quickly becoming the main thing on Instagram and leaking into Facebook too. Feeds of vertical-swipe videos as far as the eye can see.
@sarahfrier Sarah Frier on x
Zuckerberg is addressing employees right now. Said he may tear up — but it's because he scratched his eye, not because of what they're talking about https://www.bloomberg.com/... by @NaomiNixWrites
@sarahfrier Sarah Frier on x
Zuckerberg is addressing employees right now. Says his eyes are read and may tear up — but it's because of a scratch (he's wearing glasses) https://www.bloomberg.com/... by @NaomiNixWrites
@facebookstop10 @facebookstop10 on x
The top-performing link posts by U.S. Facebook pages in the last 24 hours are from: 1. Breitbart 2. Ben Shapiro 3. Dan Bongino 4. NPR 5. Ben Shapiro 6. Ben Shapiro 7. Ben Shapiro 8. Steven Crowder 9. Ben Shapiro 10. Franklin Graham
@davidsacks David Sacks on x
In hindsight, Facebook rebranding on Oct 28 to emphasize its most speculative, money-losing division was a peak bubble indicator.
@thestalwart Joe Weisenthal on x
Oh my... At the company all hands meeting today, CEO Mark Zuckerberg appeared red eyed and wore glasses, and the Facebook staff were told in advance that he might tear up because he scratched his eye https://www.bloomberg.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@jeffjarvis Jeff Jarvis on x
I'll bet that within 2-4 years, folks will be laughing: “Oh, remember when we thought Facebook was a threat to democracy and society? Ha, how ridiculous of us. Remember MySpace? Friendster? Alta Vista? Prodigy? Heh, weren't we silly?”
@sherman4949 Alex Sherman on x
Facebook has lost more value today ($240b-ish) than almost all global companies have ever been worth, at any time, in their histories.
@marketinstitute @marketinstitute on x
Well this is one way to avoid targeted regulation... #antitrust #antiantitrust https://twitter.com/...
@lhfang Lee Fang on x
Pretty wild that, beyond the metaverse stuff, Facebook is losing *$10 billion* this year from a single iOS iPhone update that allows users to opt out of some trackers that are placed on apps. https://www.cnbc.com/...
@franceshaugen Frances Haugen on x
Unfortunately, this massive drop in Facebook's stock price last night also represents massive losses in retirement accounts and pensions nationwide. This is what happens when public companies *lie* about material issues — real people get hurt. https://www.bloomberg.com/... https:…
@glennf Glenn Fleishman on x
Also amusing of Facebook to whine about a browser “carve out,” when Apple has put more anti-tracking elements into Safari than any other browser and effectively banned third-party cookies.
@emmakinery Emma Kinery on x
Mark Zuckerberg asked his Facebook (Meta) employees to focus on video products, after they watched the stock lose a quarter of its value today https://www.bloomberg.com/... via @technology
@nedryun Ned Ryun on x
The world would be a better place if Facebook ceased to exist and Zuckerberg lost all his money. . . https://www.msn.com/...
@r2r Artur Adib, PhD on x
Facebook/Meta's stock just lost the equivalent of six Twitters, or three Modernas *overnight*. https://twitter.com/...
@mmasnick Mike Masnick on x
As @PatHedger18 points out, a bunch of the antitrust bills that were written deliberately to target @meta, will not apply to @Meta if its stock goes down just a little bit more (they set a $600 billion market cap threshold, and Meta is down to $660 billion........) https://twitte…
@rmac18 Ryan Mac on x
Friendster didn't power a genocide https://twitter.com/...
@cobie @cobie on x
Facebook “Meta” going to zero as investors learn the metaverse literally doesn't exist
@issielapowsky @issielapowsky on x
NEW: Meta's collapse means it's inching pretty close to the threshold Congress set for companies covered in its antitrust bill. But not so fast: the bill looks at average market cap over 2 years. Still, raises questions about using market cap as the bar. https://www.protocol.com/…
@joncoopertweets Jon Cooper on x
Hey Zuck, kinda looks like it will take more than a name change to save Facebook. This is on you, pal.
@sophnar0747 @sophnar0747 on x
It's a good thing Zuckborg doesn't know how to show emotion, otherwise I imagine he'd be shattered and furious. https://twitter.com/...
@destinlegarie @destinlegarie on x
It's almost like Meta sounds ridiculous or something. https://twitter.com/...
@parkermolloy Parker Molloy on x
The logical end result of a series of decisions Facebook made in early 2016: https://twitter.com/...
@saramorrison Sara Morrison on x
Huh, the last time I heard something about pivoting to video, it was my job laying me and all the other writers off because Facebook gave out false metrics about video engagement. https://twitter.com/...
@marietjeschaake @marietjeschaake on x
One the day Facebook lost +/- 200 billion dollars ↘️ https://twitter.com/...
@walthickey Walter Hickey on x
to all the haters who thought that Facebook had only actually made one single innovative thing in the entire history of the company, well, look at this: history made, a second time. https://twitter.com/...
@divestech Dan Ives on x
Facebook being crushed today made sense to us, as the business model has potentially changed with IDFA, however the rest of tech being sold in a panicked risk-off moment a cautionary tale when 24 hours later Amazon has monster print. Tale of two cities in tech world-bifurcation
@kevinroose Kevin Roose on x
@RMac18 Nah he's right, just look at the stellar reputation of the Triangle Shirtwaist Company
@catturd2 @catturd2 on x
Facebook is censoring themselves into bankruptcy.
@sherman4949 Alex Sherman on x
Here it is, the data point you've all been waiting for: Facebook loses $237.6 billion today, setting a new all-time one-day record in biggest value losses in U.S. stock market history. Plus, a chart of the previous biggest losses, no extra charge: https://www.cnbc.com/...
@crystalp Crystal P. on x
Probably unpopular take: FB's stock drop is why they operate the way do. Investors are hooked on growth as a metric, the company gets slammed if they don't put that ahead of everything else. Not saying it's right, but I think it explains a lot of their choices.
@divestech Dan Ives on x
We view Facebook's softness/disappointing quarter as an Apple IDFA gut punch that finally reared its impact in numbers along with TikTok competitive share gains. Apple's iOS privacy changes have changed the game for ad targeting/Facebook. Bifurcation in tech earnings continues
@donie @donie on x
Wow. Hope it'll be still be able to afford top people like Nick Clegg https://twitter.com/...
@alifarhat79 Not Jerome Powell on x
Facebook is down 8 Twitters today. Let that sink in
@amy_siskind @amy_siskind on x
Is it wrong to feel this much joy that Facebook/Meta is about to make history for the largest one-day drop in market cap for a U.S. stock? 👏
@mikeisaac Rat King on x
In the past, Wall Street has for the most part given Zuckerberg, Sandberg and co. the benefit of the doubt on big business decisions when they say “trust me, we got this” today, however, faith is in short supply https://www.nytimes.com/...
@chrisjbakke Chris Bakke on x
Snap stock is down 24% today. Facebook stock is down 28% today. That's because Facebook copies everything Snap does and makes it slightly worse.
@hankgreen Hank Green on x
Feeling real good about having said “I don't understand why anyone would own Facebook stock” to a room full of fancy pants investors earlier this week.
@adamholisky Adam Holisky on x
Twitterverse should remember this is horrifying for the vast majority of Meta's employes, they have no influence in any of this. This kind of movement rests with C-level; not even directors or VPs. Or to put it bluntly: don't be a dick to Facebook employees. It's not them. https:…
@mattrosoff Matt Rosoff on x
This is not the kind of record anybody wants to set. Facebook's one-day loss in market value is the worst for any company in the history of the stock market. Check out the chart for the other all-time losers: https://www.cnbc.com/...
@iwriteok Robert Evans on x
psyched to see this current strain of Metaverse nonsense go the way of the 3D TV. https://twitter.com/...
@daringfireball @daringfireball on x
Facebook Accuses Apple of ‘Browser Carve-Out’ on Tracking Prompts, Hoping No One Will Remember That Safari Is Heavily Biased Toward Privacy https://daringfireball.net/...
@davidsacks David Sacks on x
More power to them if they pull it off. It's a risky bet for sure, and they will deserve the credit if metaverse plays out.
@jackmackenroth Jack Mackenroth on x
So Facebook is over. Good. Facebook stock plummets 26% in its biggest one-day drop ever https://www.cnbc.com/...
@taylorlorenz Taylor Lorenz on x
Get in loser, we're pivoting to video again https://www.bloomberg.com/...
@rmac18 @rmac18 on x
Just because a company's stock price dropped precipitously or its products becomes obsolete doesn't mean that its past history just gets forgotten.
@samidh @samidh on x
DAP down + MAP up = DAP/MAP plummeting == Trouble == Prediction sadly on track. [Prediction: “TikTok will eclipse FB in aggregate daily time spent in the 5 most lucrative markets (sans India). TT's enhanced ad targeting will cause FB's first ARPU decline ever. Upside for Meta: an…
@ericgarland Eric Garland on x
Facebook didn't create value. It violated humanity and damn near cost us democracy. Litigate it out of existence. https://twitter.com/...
@davidsacks David Sacks on x
Bull markets love a growth story. Bear markets are like, “uh why are you losing $10B/year on this again?”
@anshelsag Anshel Sag on x
Just a reminder, @Meta's stock is down 20% not because it lost billions on #XR, it is down 20% because @Apple's clampdown on ads and @TikTok's competition is affecting its bottom line enough for people to care. The plan was always to overspend on spatial computing. $FB
@dzuidijk @dzuidijk on x
There's one silver lining for #Meta in its dismal earnings report: It provides the company more ammunition against a pending government lawsuit https://www.bloomberg.com/... via @damclaugh
@kurtwagner8 Kurt Wagner on x
Meta said in a release it is facing “increased competition for people's time.” It pointed out that one of its most popular features that is taking up user time - Reels, its TikTok clone - doesn't make a lot of money compared to News Feed or Stories
@amitranjan Amit Ranjan on x
Facebook stock drops 25% after losing DAUs first time ever. Reasons cited - TikTok, YouTube, iOS tracking Always felt Zuckerberg is a demi-god with product, engagement, user psychology but he's overlooking a low-hanging fruit to fix DAUs - the 5000 friends limit imposed by FB /1 …
@nikitabier Nikita Bier on x
Facebook's hands are tied 1—High ARPU coastal users have churned; TikTok is eating their lunch 2—They can't acquire because of antitrust scrutiny 3—They can't build because founders don't want to be there 4—IDFA killed their ability to target ads 5—The metaverse is 10yrs out RIP
@nikitabier Nikita Bier on x
The dumbest thing I hear is “Facebook listens to your conversations” My coworkers were a bunch of risk-averse MBAs who'd never build something that cool. So why do you see ads for something you talked about? It's because your life is predictable & the ad algorithm is that good.
@lutherlowe Luther Lowe on x
@profgalloway @Apple And if you're Apple and you'd like to pretend there is competition by killing a “rival,” who do you kill first: The one writing you a 15b/yr check? Or the one that doesn't pay you anything.
@buccocapital @buccocapital on x
Wow Tim Cook is really not messing around anymore... https://twitter.com/...
@campuscodi Catalin Cimpanu on x
haha, get rekt https://twitter.com/...
@lerg Andrew Kalat on x
This is the kind of real proof that Apple wasn't just blowing smoke about tightening up user privacy that I look for. When it starts costing real money to other companies, I actually believe it. https://twitter.com/...
@talbm2010 @talbm2010 on x
@benbn @MikeIsaac Because of limited visibility into ad performance due to Apple's privacy update, many companies moved to search ad placement (Google search) instead of FB ads.
@matthewstoller Matt Stoller on x
4. Even for Apple, $15B is a lot of money, that's between 15-20% of its earnings. I'm not sympathetic to Facebook's plight, surveillance advertising is genuinely evil. But Apple picked Google, and itself, to win the surveillance ad game.
@matthewstoller Matt Stoller on x
3. It's simple. Google pays Apple something like $15B a year for Google search to be the default on the iPhone's Safari browser. That's at the heart of the DOJ antitrust suit against Google filed in 2020. https://twitter.com/...
@joshtpm Josh Marshall on x
Interesting points abt Facebook's and to lesser extent Google's lack of diversification compared to other techs. But Google's ad business will always be more resilient than Facebook's since Google's ad business is distributed. https://www.bloomberg.com/...
@matthewstoller Matt Stoller on x
5. All that being said, these are all enormous companies each of whom is bigger than any firm in human history. Yeah Zuckerberg lost $24B but he *had* $24B to lose. And Facebook can still make $40B a year while spending $10B on whatever Zuckerberg wants, which in this case is VR.
@profgalloway Scott Galloway on x
$FB down 27% since @apple released iOS 14.5 with the opt-in to track. The Four are so big, the only real competitors they have is each other. https://twitter.com/...
@matthewstoller Matt Stoller on x
2. Apple's decision to block tracking on mobile devices significantly harmed Facebook's ad business, which is good. But Apple did not apply the same provisions to Google's mobile services. So ad money moved from FB to Google. Why did Apple do this?
@pt Parker on x
I don't think we need to shed any tears for FB, but has anybody done an analysis on what impacts this had on the businesses that rely on FB to reach customers? I would not be surprised if this has a measurable impact on new business formation. Thanks, Tim Apple! https://twitter.c…
@thurrott Paul Thurrott on x
“Meta Says Apple's Privacy Changes Could Cost the Company $10 Billion” Good. I wish it were more.
@amy_siskind @amy_siskind on x
Also, thank you to Tim Cook and Apple for new privacy setting that protect consumers and cost Facebook $10 billion in revenue. Now doing Spotify too!
@nikitabier Nikita Bier on x
In the last 24 hours, I somehow managed to piss off both my former Facebook colleagues and everyone who thinks Facebook is evil.
@farhip Paul Farhi on x
230 billion is a gigantic hit, of course, but it attests to how enormous Meta/Facebook is. A similar loss would obliterate the entire market value of General Motors, Ford and Honda. Combined. https://twitter.com/...
@eringriffith Erin Griffith on x
facebook blamed apple for its earnings whiff. Pinterest actually beat expectations but users shrank. The company blamed that on competition from TikTok, “the unwinding” of the pandemic and lower search traffic from Google. https://www.nytimes.com/...
@matthewstoller Matt Stoller on x
1. Apple chose to shoot Facebook in the head and move Facebook's ad revenue to Google, because Apple shares in Google's profits. https://twitter.com/...
@jason @jason on x
Don't answer the door Zuck [Picture of Tim Cook dressed as the Grim Reaper comning to kill Meta after slaying Palm and BlackBerry]
@patrickmcgee_ Patrick McGee on x
Zuck: “With Apple's iOS changes and new regulation in Europe, there's a clear trend where less data is available to deliver personalized ads....So we're rebuilding a lot of our ads infrastructure so we can continue to grow and deliver high quality personalized ads.”

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