The much-hyped launch of Threads, Meta’s Twitter killer, might have a particularly Musky aroma to it — but this time, it could be coming from Meta’s CEO.
Sources told The Wall Street Journal that Mark Zuckerberg’s been brutal and worked in a “cutthroat manner” behind the scenes while Meta swiftly built Threads and participated in tough cost-cutting measures this year.
They told the publication it’s one of several evidence that Zuck has returned to the “OG Mark” character that helped transform Facebook into a social media giant.
For much of the previous decade, Zuckerberg was a relatively elusive figure. Consistent revenue and share price rise for the firm then known as Facebook, combined with a less-than-flattering portrayal in Oscar-winning “The Social Network,” both allowed and encouraged the millionaire to retain a low profile.
The 2020s have been a totally different tale, however.
Now dubbed Meta, with a new focus on virtual reality, the firm and Zuckerberg have confronted something of an existential crisis. In the second quarter of last year, revenues decreased for the first time since it floated on the stock market in 2012.
Meta’s market value plummeted by nearly $600 billion in 2022 and despite a rebound this year is about a fifth below its August 2021 peak.
That all seems to have spurred Zuckerberg to start acting, well, a bit more like Elon Musk.
First came the layoffs. Following in the footsteps of Musk, who fired thousands of Twitter personnel last year, Zuckerberg took the axe to the payroll to cut costs.
Meta has laid off tens of thousands of people amid its “year of efficiency.” With the delivery of thousands of mediocre assessments for some staff, and tripling performance expectations, the “chopper-in-chief” looks to be back to a ruthlessness more associated with Musk in recent years.
But Zuckerberg’s not been reluctant to take risks this year either. Encouraged by the upheaval at Twitter since Musk’s takeover, he initiated “Project 92” to create Threads, Meta’s own text-based service, the Journal stated.
With 150 million downloads in under two weeks, Threads looks to have won the opening battle with Twitter, even though the more arduous war to keep users coming back is only beginning.
Operational adjustments might help explain the slightly strange behavior Zuckerberg has demonstrated in the past 12 months. Indeed, he seems to be mimicking the cult of the CEO personality established by Musk.
It’s tough to spend a week without the next Zuckerberg “thirst trap” emerging online. He routinely poses with MMA fighters and publishes videos of him surfing.
He’s also hyping up a cage battle with Musk, whose tweets have become increasingly crazy as he suggests a “dick-measuring contest” and names Zuck a “cuck.”
Zuckerberg might have read from the book of Elon in recent months, but if Threads dethrones Twitter and he wins a cage fight (if it ever actually occurs), he could just beat Musk at his own game.