Maybe I am bored because the government is shutdown. Though I have been meaning to get back to blogging if you can call my essays blogs. But I have been thinking about Facebook lately. And I am confused as to what it is. I researched their new website for Meta and will report below. But first my anecdotal experiences with Facebook these days.

I notice ads. Lots and lots of ads. Ads for things I do not even understand. I also notice many things that look like news articles that are completely false. A quick Google will search will upturn their authenticity within seconds. I do not connect with friends on Facebook anymore. Initially, more than 15 years ago now, I “re-connected” with faces from my past. I felt no need to go to my 20th or 25th high school graduation reunions because I know what everyone has been doing in intimate banal detail for the last decade and a half. I was not the only one who opted for the virtual route based on the photos I saw on Facebook.

Lord knows who my “friends” are on Facebook. I accept everyone. My assumption is that they might jump to my linked author page and buy my books in sufficient quantity that I can opt for things like economy class and bottomless mimosas while I am on a vacation. The real truth is that I receive messages from my prospective buyers assuming I am their client and asking for all manner of nonsense. A spouse given to snooping might have their eyebrows’ raised. Never mind the vast number of African men soliciting money and offering spiritual guidance. The internet is weird.

I remember though several years ago Facebook rebranded as Meta and proclaimed something called the “metaverse” that was going to change your life. The best I can tell, the “Metaverse” is a place to use the virtual reality (“VR”) goggles / headsets that Meta is selling. https://www.meta.com/es-la/metaverse/?srsltid=AfmBOoqmG3Lnovhm4r70m4PWbR4bYnYgq2YR0jEdxZIIbW110yH68v6n (My apologies if it is in Spanish.) What I hear or heard is that though the goggles might be great there is really nothing to use them with or on, software speaking. That is, there is no “Metaverse” such that it ever was, is, will be, or intended to be a “real” or “virtual real” place. I am equivocating because I really do not understand what they are or were going for. I say were because there has already been a pivot.

Enter AI. I am not even going to speculate about what Meta thinks it can do with AI. I do not have to because Meta has told us. “Superintelligence.” As far as I can tell, superintelligence is going to make us all better humans. Better at our jobs. Better researchers. Better users of technology. Etc. This is Meta’s own words, “I am extremely optimistic that superintelligence will help humanity accelerate our pace of progress. But perhaps even more important is that superintelligence has the potential to begin a new era of personal empowerment where people will have greater agency to improve the world in the directions they choose.” https://www.meta.com/superintelligence/?srsltid=AfmBOorr7XENvJ9XTV_Des6zNlUffz0wJ3E3CCD2eT-y3r7AmxdhnyI1

I am not sure what to make of that superintelligence idea. On the one hand it could it could be that Meta is going to find a way to make us even more connected to our smart devices. Or it could mean Meta is looking to breed / create cyborgs using AI and chips a la Elon Musk. However, this is from the same man who sold us the ‘Metaverse” a few years ago. I was working at the USPTO when the new trademark application arrived. The longest application anyone had ever seen. Though I digress.

My point in all this is not conspiracy theories. My point is that Facebook as a model. Instagram whatever they are using to make money by selling ads or whatever else is a Blockbuster video. They know it is poison. They know it is dangerous. They know eventually that one of these kids damaged by it will eventually get elected and change the laws or people’s tastes will change and float as though by chance to the next shiny object.

What did Blockbuster video do when the streaming “revolution” arrived. Absolutely nothing. They cashed in their stores and went home with all the money they were hoarding over the last few years. Meta is a little different. They are swinging wildly at anything resembling an idea. In many ways it is a company that does not now nor has it ever done anything. I recall Senator Hatch being just so perplexed when he questioned he who shall not be named founder of said organization more than 20 years ago. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n2H8wx1aBiQ

“Senator, we run ads.” the founder responded. “I see,” replied Senator Hatch. But I cannot un-see the Senator’s face. His point is perfect. You do not then nor now run a business for free. One could argue those buying the ads run the business but I am not. I do not have to make that argument. Look at the lawsuits against Facebook.

At the end of the day, I do not think it really matters because Meta will be like Blockbuster video in 20 years. The answer to a jeopardy question. A parent will explain to their kids, “That’s what grandma spent so much time on when people did that.” The unnamed founder is certainly cashing out a tremendous amount of investor money on land and toys. One day the Board of Directors might start asking questions.

These are just the thoughts of one man. Here is a link to a stroll down memory lane article with Blockbuster video via Forbes. Do not be tempted to look for evidence that maybe the executives of Blockbuster knew what they were doing and steered toward the rocks because the Google Ai function assured me they tried everything to save the company. Have a nice day. https://www.forbes.com/sites/gregsatell/2014/09/05/a-look-back-at-why-blockbuster-really-failed-and-why-it-didnt-have-to/