Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg hinted at a “return to OG Fb” throughout final week’s This autumn earnings name, itemizing it as a key purpose for 2025. However what precisely does that imply?
Thus far, Meta hasn’t provided any clear particulars. Might Zuckerberg imply the millennial meme-filled Fb of the 2010s or the “masculine vitality” of its controversial origins as Facemash (a web site that ranked feminine Harvard classmates by attractiveness with out consent)?
Requested about his plans for the “OG Fb,” Zuckerberg replied, “I feel a few of it will type of get again to how Fb was initially used again within the day,” whereas remaining tight-lipped on another particulars. “I feel there are numerous alternatives to make [Facebook] far more culturally influential than it’s at present,” he mentioned.
Zuckerberg cautioned buyers that these modifications might require some trade-offs by way of “maximizing enterprise ends in the close to time period,” hinting at potential income impacts. The primary wave of product updates is predicted to roll out inside the subsequent six months.
Thus far, it appears, “OG Fb” might imply various things to completely different individuals. For a lot of, it’s a throwback to the times earlier than boomer and Gen X family took over. Today, Fb is usually used begrudgingly by these beneath age 30 and is extra synonymous with offensive memes and AI slop than cutting-edge youth tradition.
Research present Gen Z overwhelmingly prefers TikTok and Snapchat, platforms that exist exterior of Meta’s attain. A 2024 Pew Analysis survey confirmed that solely 33% of U.S. teenagers (ages 13 to 17) use Fb, a steep drop from 71% a decade in the past. One factor is evident, the platform is in determined want of youthful customers with a purpose to keep related.
Meta has tried, and failed, to course-correct earlier than. In 2020, it launched Fb Campus, a college-only area meant to recapture its early exclusivity. It flopped inside 18 months. Extra just lately, in October 2024, the corporate rolled out a Gen Z-focused redesign placing higher emphasis on native communities, video, and Fb Teams. Final 12 months, it even quietly resurrected the Poke button.
Can Fb pull off the rebrand of 2025? That appears just for Gen Z to resolve.
Add comment