What is the next move for Meta? Three short years ago Mark Zuckerberg, head of Facebook was so excited about the metaverse and how it was going to impact everything going forward, that he renamed his company. Ever since, he has been investing billions of dollars and the marketplace is still confused about what it all means. Then, in the last few months, AI and Chatbot technology like ChatGPT have taken off like wildfire. It is capturing our imagination like the metaverse never did.
That’s one strong reason I believe Zuckerberg should zig instead of zag and change and expand the course of his vision from the metaverse to the larger world of AI and Chatbot.
Today, we still don’t know whether AI and Chatbot technology is a long-term play, but things are shifting and at least it’s more so than the metaverse.
While there is plenty of warning signals around AI and Chatbot tech, it is still the fastest growing segment, ever, worldwide.
Compare Facebook Meta to IBM Watson in AI development
This reminds me of the IBM Watson story. Watson was being developed behind the scenes for years. A little more than a decade ago Watson made its debut on the TV game show Jeopardy.
While AI had been with us for decades at various levels, Watson suddenly captured the imagination of the world, including investors, capitalists, government officials, medical and health care and more.
It wasn’t thought of as AI, just IBM Watson. While this was good short-term for the brand, the industry continued to move forward.
Still growing, about five years ago they held the IBM World of Watson in Las Vegas. It was a glitzy and expensive show highlighting everything about Watson. It had high-powered celebrities, scientists, politicians, companies of all kinds, medicine and healthcare executives and so much more. It was bigger than life.
Today, where is Watson?
It seems to have vanished. The world of AI has moved past IBM Watson, leaving a hole in the space/time continuum, sucking in all matter from galaxies far and wide.
OK, I’m being a little dramatic, but the bottom line is AI is still with us, but it passed Watson by, leaving it behind in the dust.
Now, AI growth is passing the metaverse, leaving Meta behind in the dust in the same kind of way.
That is backing Zuckerberg into a corner. So, what will be his next move?
Risk investors need to take while rules are being rewritten
That’s the risk investors and executives take when launching a new technology. It could be the next greatest thing since sliced bread. It could last for quite a long time, rewarding everyone as it continues to change and morph and grow.
Then again, it could be like a fireworks display, blazing and bright for a brief and shining moment, then disappearing into the darkness.
If Zuckerberg was so wrong about the longevity of the metaverse, anyone can get it wrong. And many others have.
However, perhaps Zuckerberg wasn’t wrong. Perhaps, this is not the end of the story.
What if we are just moving from one chapter to the next in a larger novel?
We need to pull-the-camera-back to get a longer-term-historical perspective of the changes that are occurring before us today.
These changes can be volatile, with winners and losers, but they don’t mean the end. Just change.
Zuckerberg reached for the stars. Sandberg kept feet firmly grounded
Looking backward, Facebook had it made. If you recall, this was when Zuckerberg had his trusty sidekick Sheryl Sandberg to keep him on the straight and narrow. Then when she left, things started to get a big turbulent.
Zuckerberg was always reaching for the stars, while Sandberg always had her feet firmly planted in the ground. The two of them created something bigger than just the two of them. It seemed almost magical.
But like the magic of Tiger Woods on the golf course, things just started to slip away.
When Sandberg left, Zuckerberg was free to fly as high as he wanted to go, without an umbilical cord.
Unfortunately, many investors found this freedom was also a curse.
So, the metaverse was a short-lived specter that blazed a bright path like a shooting star, but then quickly faded over the course of a few short years.
AI, Chatbot, ChatGPT, GPT4, TruthGPT and so much more
However, the end of the metaverse isn’t the end. The next chapter of this story seems to be AI and Chatbot like ChatGPT, GPT4, TruthGPT and so many others which will come down the pike in the next few years.
The trick is to stay with the changing wave and rising it toward growth and tomorrow.
No one knows how long this new AI Chatbot path will last. Will it be a long-term growth opportunity, or like the metaverse will it be short-term, moving onto the next chapter?
We will just have to keep our eyes on it, but so far, the growth wave is still rising strong. Now, the focus of the entire world is on AI and Chatbot technology and the next steps.
AI and Chatbot like ChatGPT are growing faster than anything else
So, while the metaverse is fading from everyone’s radar, the next chapter which seems to be AI and Chatbot technology are replacing it and growing faster and stronger than we have ever seen before.
What is the the next step for Mark Zuckerberg of Meta? Who knows what the world will look like one year from today. Five years. Ten years.
When he controls his basic instincts, Zuckerberg is brilliant. All he has to do is learn how to keep reaching for the stars while keeping his feet firmly planted on the ground.
