A Critical Look At What The Metaverse Has Done To Small Businesses + Creators
Let’s dig into the messy truth of the Metaverse…
I’ve been away from the gram for almost a whole month now. This was partly because I was moving my shop and apartment, and that was taking every bit of my energy, but also (you know I’m gonna be real here), IG is unbearable. I get it, it’s convenient. Frankly, its muscle memory at this point. But, we have to be honest about what it is and why, as well as the impact it has on small businesses and creators who are already having a hard enough time hanging on in late stage capitalism and a global pandemic.
I’ve talked openly on my feed about the litany of issues plaguing the Metaverse right now. The app barely functions, and they’re adding new features that no one asked for by the day. Impersonation accounts are rampant. I had over 20 in January 2022 alone. Small businesses and creators are sick of it. Our followers are sick of it. but, no one is leaving…yet…
The company is in a strange position. They’ve had a stronghold on social media for years, and they’ve had a lot of luck in mergers and acquisitions with companies like Whatsapp and Instagram. But, things are changing. This is a natural cycle. I’m old enough to remember the rapid rise and inevitable fall of many a social media platform - Myspace, Tumblr, Livejournal, Facebook, and now…Instagram. When Tiktok stepped onto the scene, things got…complicated.
Lots of people wonder why Facebook didn’t attempt to acquire them. Well, there’s actually a lot of reasons for that…
First, Tiktok is a Chinese app, and Facebook isn’t a thing in China. I am constantly surprised by how many people don’t know about this. The Chinese government requires that any servers maintaining data in China are open to the Chinese government. This means that the Chinese government would have access to all of the data Facebook collects - arguably, their most valuable asset. So, they could have never successfully integrated Tiktok without exposing this data, even if they were successful in acquiring it. this would have caused a mass exodus from the app.
There were also antitrust concerns. Facebook is a monopoly. The FTC has already come for them on this. If fB aggressively attempted to acquire Tiktok, there would undoubtedly have been public scrutiny, not to mention, they could have been on the hook for massive fees in the event that the deal would have been blocked for antitrust reasons (this is very common in M&A terms). So, in short, acquiring Tiktok was just not a viable option for our robot lizard king, Zuck.
Another thing to consider, Meta is bleeding money, and I say that with some degree of relativity, as Zuck is still worth 81.4 billion (late stage capitalism, baby). Meta’s Q4 numbers were in the toilet. Advertisers are funneling ad dollars over to Tiktok on a daily basis. The only two things Meta really has/had going for it are the data they collect on us and their ability to sell ads, and they’re losing the latter - rapidly. So, they had to do something. If they couldn’t acquire sites like Etsy, Pinterest, Youtube, Snapchat, Tiktok, or Patreon, they could imitate them. This is where we see the rollout of the Save Function, IG TV, IG Live, Stories, FB/IG shop functionality, Reels, and Subscriptions (piloting now - coming soon).
Here’s the thing, it’s kind of like going to a great cheesesteak spot. If there are only 2-3 items on the menu, you know they’re gonna be stellar. They’ve been perfected. Whereas, if you go to a diner where there are a million options on the menu, you kind of already know that they don’t do any of it well. The same is true of meta. It’s just too much functionality for any of it to be done well, and it’s showing. The app has had several major crashes and tons of quirky hiccups.
Now, let’s talk about the natural life cycles of social media apps. Meta knows they need to look more attractive to advertisers if they want to stay alive, but no social media platform is forever. Facebook has long been dead. When the parents and grandparents of millennials started to surface on the app, it was over. No young person wants to be on an app where their parents are hanging out. Instagram is currently at this tipping point. Gen z could literally not care less about IG. Millennials are the only thing keeping this platform afloat. Gen z has moved on to tiktok. They don’t value the fake, perfectly-curated feeds. They want substance. They don’t care what users or their surroundings look like. They don’t give af about flat lays. They only want to know if you have something to say. Are you funny? Are your relatable? Are you talking about something important? That’s what matters to them. Also, Tiktok has mastered the fyp. It’s addictive, straight up. So, this is where advertisers are dumping their money - where the data shows that they will get the greatest return.
In a desperate attempt to stay relevant, Meta pushed out reels, essentially the Great Value version of Tiktok. When reels didn’t catch on right away, Meta did what meta does - stacked the deck via the algorithm. Swipe through your feed. What does it look like now? All reels and ads? Any static photography posts are dead. Accounts with thousands and thousands of followers getting under 100 likes per non-reel post. Essentially, the only way to have a chance at reach is to do reels, whether you want to or not. This was a photo-sharing app, and now they’re changing the rules. People hate it, and rightfully so. Reels suck. Short form video isn’t for everyone, and honestly, that should be ok. The over-stylized content that IG prefers doesn’t do well in short form video format. It reads as boring and dishonest. Tiktok is attractive because it’s honest and relatable. Most people are in their cars or at home in their pajamas. It’s like looking into the windows of millions of people’s homes where they’re doing all the weird and quirky things we all do when we’re alone. Watching an overly filtered, influencer do a half-baked tiktok trend in an unrealistically aesthetic setting to lo-fi music isn’t cute. It’s not relatable. Ditto with the cringe wanderlust reels. But, Meta needs to be able to point to reels and say they’re as popular as Tiktok. So, they stacked the algorithm to force us into doing them, and it shows. It feels forced (because it is). Hashtags are dead now. You want to get reach? You have to do reels. Then, meta takes this data and says to advertisers “Look! they love reels! Look at our numbers!” But, do we? or did IG just manipulate the algorithm to falsely inflate the interest in reels? I think we all know the answer to that…
we have to talk about all of this as it relates to small businesses and creators for just a moment. we landed here because old school IG was an incredible platform for showcasing products and services and getting organic growth through hashtags. But most importantly, it was at a price that small businesses and creators could afford to grow their brands and showcase their work - free. Well, almost free. There is obviously a considerable time commitment. Try as we may, we simply don’t have the massive advertising budgets of the Nikes of the world. Many of us found success on the app as we used to know it. for tons of small businesses, their biggest and most engaged audience is (was?) on IG. Everyday I speak to small businesses who are panicking about the changes Meta is making. It’s crumbling their businesses. Let’s not get it twisted. like all giant corporations in late stage capitalism, we drive the value - not Instagram. We are IG’s cash cow. We are the reason people open this app at all. They want to hear from their favorite accounts. If we aren’t here churning out content, there is nothing in the feed for meta to place ads in. Also, they hound us for ad dollars, 5% of our sales to hook our point of sale systems up to the shop function, and now they’re expecting those of us with Patreon accounts to move that business over to Meta so they can make money off of that as well. Impersonation accounts are running rampant, damaging our businesses, and they are providing no protections. They don’t even review our reports at this point, but they have the gall to ask us for all of this money and free labor. We are struggling small businesses in late stage capitalism and a global pandemic, and for all the revenue we generate for them, there is no support. Let’s be clear. We are the labor. We are the value. They are just the billionaires profiting off of it.
These changes have had a notable impact on small businesses and creators. It’s undeniable. Like all labor movements, when we collectively realize the power we hold is when we will be able to make real change. Meta needs us as users and creators. So, if we were to collectively organize to communicate our needs to Meta and then pause ads, disconnect shop catalogs, and orchestrate a blackout on all content creation for a pre-determined period of time (followers could even join in solidarity), Meta would take notice. In short, they’re doing this because they can. This is what monopolies look like. and it’s not good for any of us. They’ve become so focused on their pursuit of ad dollars and trying to be every other online social space in existence, that they have forgotten the critical component for why social media exists in the first place - we want to connect with one another. And in the end, it should be about what the users want.
If you’re a small business or a creator, I implore you (as I have for 2 years now) to diversify your content across multiple platforms. You don’t want to have all of your eggs in the IG basket, especially not with the state of the platform at the moment. If you’re a supporter of small businesses and creators, one of the best ways to support us is to access us on other platforms. The experience of being on IG isn’t what it used to be for us. It’s incredibly labor intensive for very little payoff and zero protection. Join patreons and discords, add yourself to mailing lists, find us on other platforms. I don’t know a single person who is having fun with Meta right now. So, this is our chance to vote with our feet and our dollars.
Now, having said all of this, I’ve taken a month away from the app for reflection, and we’re going to be making some changes at The 8th House for 2022. I’m tired of being subject to a character cap and being strong-armed into making content that feels inauthentic to me. I’m a writer, and I want to say what I want to say - uncensored. I don’t want to be reliant on a capitalist billionaire for my anti-capitalist small business to succeed. So, I’m focusing the bulk of my content on Pateron/Discord, Tiktok, Vero, Twitter, and this blog. there are links for all of this in the top menu of this site. I will still be on IG. I have to be. it’s a monopoly. But, I’ll be primarily posting to link folks to this more in-depth, off-platform content. I hope we can organize to push Meta to be and do better, but I realize it’s a long shot. However, it’s important for my mental health and my business to make this shift, and I hope you’ll all come along with me for the ride.
