MARIA: IT’S TRUE.
ALL RIGHT.
FACEBOOK CEO MARK ZUCKERBERG
REVEALED HIS COMPANY’S NEW
BRANDING AND NEW NAME AS META.
THE COMPANY ALSO CHANGING ITS
STOCK TICKER TO MRVS, SHORT FOR
META VERSE.
THE MIXED REAS PLATFORM YOU
ALLOWS USERS TO INTERACT IN THE
A VIRTUAL WORLD.
HERE’S MARK SPHWHRERG ZUCKERBERG
YESTERDAY.
WATCH THIS.
>> OUR MISSION REMAINS THE
SAME, STILL ABOUT BRINGING
PEOPLE TOGETHER.
NOW WE HAVE A NEW NORTH STAR, TO
HELP BRING THE META VERSE TO
LIFE.
AND WE HAVE A NEW NAME THAT HE
REFLECTS THE FULL BREADTH OF
WHAT WE DO.
AND THE FUTURE THAT WE WANT TO
HELP BUILD.
FROM NOW ON, WE’RE GOING TO BE
META VERSE FIRST, NOT FACEBOOK
FIRST.
MARIA: META VERSE FIRST.
THE REBRANDING COMES AS THE
SOCIAL MEDIA GIANT FACES GROWING
BACKLASH FOLLOWING THAT
WHISTLEBLOWER, FRANCES HAUGEN,
ACCUSING THE COMPANY OF
PRIORITIZING MAKING MONEY OVER
THE PUBLIC GOOD AND THAT THEY
KNEW THAT THEIR PRODUCTS WERE
HURTING TEENAGERS.
JOIN ME A IS THE CEO OF PARLER,
GEORGE FARMER.
IT’S GREAT TO SEE YOU THIS
MORNING.
THANKS SO MUCH.
I WAS THINKING ABOUT YOU THE
OTHER DAY WHEN ALL OF THIS NEW
META VERSE CONVERSATION WAS
TAKING SHAPE.
WHAT ARE YOUR THOUGHTS ON THE
META VERSE AND REACTION TO THE
NEW NAME AT FACEBOOK?
>> YEAH, GOOD MORNING, MARIA.
THANK YOU FOR HAVING ME.
I WAS REALLY STRUGGLING NOT TO
BREAK A LAUGH JUST THEN WHEN I
WAS LISTENING TO MARK, GOOD OLD
MARK TELLING US ABOUT HIS NEXT
PLANS FOR HUMANITY.
IT’S LIKE THE BABE HEADLINE.
IT’S JUST TERRIFYING.
THIS IS THE STUFF OF NIGHTMARES,
REALLY.
SO I MEAN, I WAS NOT -- I
THOUGHT IT WAS SATIRE.
WHEN I READ IT, I WAS LIKE GOSH,
THIS IS ACTUALLY HAPPENING OF.
THIS IS THE DIRECTION HE WANTS
TO TAKE THE COMPANY INTO, WHICH
I FIND ODD, WHICH IS PART OF THE
VIRTUAL REALITY WHICH BE HOW YOU
CONNECT WITH PEOPLE.
GENERALLY, THIS IS PROBABLY THE
DIRECTION THAT MOST PEOPLE DO
NOT WANT TECH TO GO, THEY DON’T
WANT IT TO BE A BIGGER PART OF
THEIR LIFE, THEY DO NOT WANT TO
IT BE MORE INTEGRATED.
THEY WANT MORE RESTRAINTS, MORE
PRIVACY.
I’M NOT SURE THIS IS GOING TO BE
SUCCESSFUL DIRECTION OF THE
COMPANY BUT OBVIOUSLY HE THINKS
DIFFERENTLY.
MARIA: TALK ABOUT LIVING IN A
FAKE WORLD.
I MEAN, IT’S -- YOU’RE RIGHT.
WHEN I FIRST SAW IT, I THOUGHT
THIS IS SCARY.
I WAS FRIGHTENED BY SOME IMPACTS
AI OF TO BEGIN WITH BUT NOW THIS
WHOLE VIRTUAL REALITY IS GOING
TO BE REALITY OF FACEBOOK.
HOW MUCH OF THIS IS JUST
CHANGING THE CONVERSATION,
GEORGE?
THE FACT THAT WE KNOW WHAT HAS
TAKEN PLACE BECAUSE OF THE
EVIDENCE THAT THE PRODUCTS HURT
CONTAINERS AND THEY KNEW IT --
TEENAGER AND THEY KNEW IT.
IS THIS PARTLY LET’S LOOK OVER
HERE AND NOT OVER HERE?
>> YEAH, I THINK THAT’S ACTUALLY
HIT THE NAIL ON THE HEAD WHICH
IS THAT FACEBOOK, PART OF THE
WHISTLEBLOWER’S REPORT WHICH I
FOUND VERY INTERESTING, THE MOST
INTERESTING PART OF THAT REPORT,
THE WHISTLEBLOWER CASE, WAS THE
INTERNAL METRICS OF DEMOGRAPHICS
WITHWHICH SHE RELEASED WHEN SHE
TALKED ABOUT THE INTERNAL FILES.
TAKE THAT SHOWS THAT FACEBOOK IS
GOING TO BE LOSING 45% OF ITS
YOUTH DEMOGRAPHIC BY 2023.
THIS IS VERY, VERY SHORT TERM
STUFF.
THIS IS NOT SOME SORT OF IN 20
YEARS TIME WE’RE GOING TO HAVE A
PROBLEM.
THIS IS IN TWO YEARS’ TIME WE
HAVE A MASSIVE ISSUE AND SO
FACEBOOK IS DESPERATELY TRYING
TO SCRAMBLE TO REALLOCATE
RESOURCES AND TIME AND EFFORT
INTO SOME NEW COMPANY PITCH.
PEOPLE DON’T USE FACEBOOK A LOT.
INSTAGRAM HAS LONG SUPPORTED IT
WHAT’SAPP IS THE MESSAGING
SERVICE.
THESE ARE THE THINGS THEY RELY
UPON.
FACEBOOK’S USER DEMOGRAPHICS ARE
DECLINING.
MARIA: INTERESTING.
NOW YOU’VE GOT AS WE’VE BEEN
REPORTING THE FEDERAL TRADE
COMMISSION ALSO AMONG THOSE
PROBING THE COMPANY.
ENTER PRESIDENT TRUMP AND HIS
NEW SOCIAL MEAD WERE -- MEDIA
PLATFORM, TRUTH SOCIAL.
WHAT’S YOUR TAKE ON THE FORMER
PRESIDENT’S PLAN FOR A NEW
SOCIAL MEDIA COMPANY CALLED
TRUTH SOCIAL.
>> I WELCOME THE COMPETITION IN
THE MARKETPLACE AND I THINK
PRESIDENT TRUMP IS CARVING HIS
OWN PATH THERE.
I THINK WHAT’S INTERESTING ABOUT
THE TMTG GROUP WHICH IS THE
BROADER GROUP AS A WHOLE IS THAT
THEY’VE GOT QUITE AMBITIOUS
PLANS TO TAKE ON OF A VARIETY OF
DIFFERENT TECH GIANTS, IF YOU
LIKE.
THERE’S THE STREAMING ELEMENT TO
IT.
THERE’S THE CLOUD ELEMENT TO IT.
OF COURSE THERE IS THE TRUTH
SOCIAL ELEMENT TO IT.
I THINK THAT’S WELCOME.
WE NEED AS MANY COMPETITORS IN
THIS SPACE AS POSSIBLE.
TWITTER IS THE DOMINANT GIANT,
FACEBOOK IS OUT THERE, INSTAGRAM
IS OUT THERE.
I THINK COMPETITION MAKES THE
MARKETPLACE A HEALTHY PLACE FOR
CHOICE.
I GENERALLY WELCOME COMPETITION
TO THE SPACE.
MARIA: AND CERTAINLY
COMPETITION TO SOME OF THE
CENSORSHIP WE’VE SEEN OUT THERE
AWAY FROM PARLER OBVIOUSLY.