Axios Login: Facebook's endless pivot

Plus: Vegas' 5G Dish | Wednesday, May 04, 2022

Open in app View in browser   Presented By Formstack   Axios Login By Ina Fried · May 04, 2022 Good morning, Login readers. 📈 Situational awareness: Uber posted its quarterly earnings this morning, showing $6.9 billion in revenue, a 136% increase year over year. Today's newsletter is 1,188 words, a 4-minute read.     1 big thing: Facebook's endless pivot Illustration: Aïda Amer/Axios   Facebook's plan to wind down its podcast platform is the latest in a long line of projects the social network has launched with fanfare and then unceremoniously scuttled, Axios' Scott Rosenberg writes. Why it matters: "Launch, test, shut down" is a common pattern in tech's "fail fast" culture, but Facebook has a striking record of big product reversals — and now founder Mark Zuckerberg is betting the whole company on a vast metaverse project that it can't afford to see fail. Driving the news: Facebook's podcast platform will stop taking new uploads on Friday and shut down for good next month, Bloomberg reported Monday. The platform was part of a bigger audio plan Zuckerberg unveiled a year ago amid a pandemic-driven mania for live audio app Clubhouse. Some observers jokingly referred to the move as a "pivot to audio" — a reference to Facebook's "pivot to video" in 2016, when Zuckerberg pitched "a new golden age of video." That push to promote video news content prompted multiple media companies to reorganize their offerings to take advantage of promised new revenue. The companies were left high and dry after the metrics Facebook based its shift on turned out to be faulty and the company moved on to new efforts. Lately, Facebook has made pivoting a habit. The pivot to free speech: In October 2019, Zuckerberg put a freedom-of-speech stake in the ground in a big speech at Georgetown University resisting calls for the social media firm to police misinformation and hate speech more aggressively. A little over a year later, in the wake of the Capitol riot, Facebook permanently banned then-President Trump. The pivot to crypto: In June 2019, Facebook unveiled a long-hatching master plan to build its own cryptocurrency named Libra, to be deployed in partnership with big names like Visa, Mastercard, Paypal, Uber and Lyft. Regulators were not happy, partners dropped out, an effort to reconceive the project under a new name (Diem) flopped, and the entire effort collapsed in February 2022. The pivot to privacy: In March 2019, Zuckerberg announced that all of Facebook's services were going to be reorganized around encryption to bring a new level of privacy to users spooked by the Cambridge Analytica scandal. Facebook says it's made some progress on its encryption plans but most of the company's services still operate in an unencrypted mode. The pivot to the metaverse, announced in July 2021, looks to be the biggest shift ever for Facebook. It's led Zuckerberg to rename the company and set aside $10 billion (at least) to make the idea real. The company's commitment to this direction looks strong today, with four VR headsets slated for launch over the next two years, per The Information. But who knows what pivots might lie ahead? Be smart: Google and Amazon are both known for testing skunkworks-developed products and "other bets" in the market. Apple is always brewing its own experiments, too, but keeps them hidden from public view. Our thought bubble: Facebook has a reputation for quickly cloning competitors' successful products, but those efforts are often defensive in nature. Sometimes the company's flops — like the ill-fated effort to take control of a smartphone operating system — have just been flops. But the frantic pivots of the last few years suggest a different dynamic is now at work.     2. Exclusive: Dish launches 5G in Vegas Screenshot: Axios via Project Genesis website   It has taken months longer than expected, but Dish Network this morning will launch its homegrown 5G cell service to consumers in Las Vegas. Why it matters: Dish Network has relied on T-Mobile's network to power its Boost prepaid wireless service, but has been working to build out its own nationwide 5G network and service. It also owns huge swaths of wireless airwaves purchased in government auctions. Driving the news: Dish plans later today to begin allowing anyone in Las Vegas to sign up for its homegrown 5G service, a source tells Axios. The service, dubbed Project Genesis, uses OpenRAN, a new type of cellular networking gear based on standard computing technology. Project Genesis has been in closed beta for several months and, even with the launch, Dish is aiming for tech-savvy early adopters rather than mainstream consumers. Dish is starting with a single phone, the Motorola 5G Edge+, but plans to quickly add support for more devices. Between the lines: The source cited a number of reasons for the delayed launch, including the novel technology that powers it, as well as Dish's decision to add a roaming agreement with AT&T on top of one with T-Mobile. The big picture: U.S. regulators approved T-Mobile's Sprint purchase in 2020 in part because of an agreement to establish Dish as a new fourth nationwide competitor. T-Mobile sold the Boost prepaid business to Dish, while allowing Dish to resell service on T-Mobile's network as it built up its own service. Dish's relationship with T-Mobile has become fraught since T-Mobile announced plans to shut down Sprint's older CDMA wireless network, a service still being used by a significant number of Boost customers. Dish has complained to regulators, while T-Mobile insists it has given Dish more than the required notice of its shutdown plan. What's next: Dish plans to have service available in 125 cities by June, a rapid expansion it says is possible because the cellular towers are in place and the computing infrastructure to support the service runs in Amazon's cloud.     3. Twitter's endless circles Illustration: Shoshana Gordon/Axios   The intrigue surrounding Twitter continued on Tuesday with a fresh dialogue between Elon Musk and those critical of his pending deal to buy the service. Why it matters: The battle for control of Twitter is also a battle for the future of its product. Driving the news: Critics of Musk's purchase issued a letter calling on advertisers to insist that the service maintain its current content moderation policies, including bans on users who spread hate and harassment. Musk, meanwhile, questioned the motives of critics and also hinted in a separate tweet that the company may charge some businesses and government entities to use the service. And if he buys Twitter, Musk might take it public again within a few years, per the Wall Street Journal. Separately, Twitter announced it is testing Circle, a new feature that lets people share a post with up to 150 friends rather than posting it publicly. The bottom line: Twitter, its users and employees are in for a wild ride. The company acknowledged as much in a regulatory filing, warning Musk's purchase could lead to revenue loss and employee attrition.     A message from Formstack Virtual event: Digital maturity in 2022     Join thought leaders from Salesforce, Crowe, Banner Health and Formstack for a panel discussing digital maturity and how to move toward true efficiency. What's in it for you: They'll reveal how organizations digitize processes, automate workflows and improve efficiency. Register now.     4. Take note On Tap Today's earnings reports include eBay, Twilio and Booking.com parent Booking Holdings. Trading Places Shar Dubey is stepping down as CEO of Tinder parent Match Group, but will remain on its board. Zynga president Bernard Kim has been tapped to replace Dubey. ICYMI Chipmaker AMD posted strong earnings and a better-than-expected outlook. Also, as longtime chip journalist Don Clark noted, AMD's 51% profit margin (excluding recently purchased Xilinx) outpaced larger rival Intel. (Reuters) Lyft shares fell by more than 25% on Tuesday after it said in its earnings report that it will spend more on driver incentives. (Bloomberg)     5. After you Login Take it from this cat. It's important to throw yourself into your art.     A message from Formstack Digital maturity findings revealed     We surveyed 2,000 U.S. knowledge workers to find out how organizations are digitizing processes, automating workflows and improving efficiencies. Now, we're sharing what contributes to digital maturity and how you can move toward true efficiency. Register for our panel to hear more.   Like this email style and format? It's called Smart Brevity®. Over 200 orgs use it — in a tool called Axios HQ — to drive productivity with clearer workplace communications.   Axios thanks our partners for supporting our newsletters. If you're interested in advertising, learn more here. Sponsorship has no influence on editorial content. 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