If you’d forgotten who owns Oculus, Instagram, or WhatsApp, guess what: The apps now launch with the words “From Facebook” to remind you that Facebook isn’t just a troubled social network. Instead of accepting that its brand has become toxic, Facebook - in another of its questionable room-reading moves - has tried to change public perception by becoming even bolder. Clearly, these critics have never owned a small business that’s been shaken down by Yelp.) (Some writers have equated Facebook with the mafia, suggesting that it’s an inherently bad organization that puts on a nice show for the general public. Motto change aside, it still moves fast and breaks things, then shrugs off the consequences without any actual remorse. Sixteen years after its founding, Facebook still acts like a kid who knocks over a giant aquarium, puts one fish in a bowl, and asks, “We good?” After doing serious harm, it rarely apologizes, admits the scope of its failings, or does anywhere near enough to make up for the damage. If the word “Facebook” wasn’t so controversial right now, Oculus Quest 2 might well have shipped under an entirely different name this year.Īssuming you believe that Facebook is a good actor that makes big mistakes rather than a bad actor that gets away with as much as it can - that debate is still raging - the company’s biggest failure would be its inability to read a room and properly course-correct after screwing something up. That said, I don’t trust Facebook as a company, and I’ve felt for some time that VR has become too important to trust to Facebook. Regardless of whatever assurances were made before or during the acquisition, the likelihood that Oculus would remain fully independent was low, and every year, the Oculus brand falls more under Facebook’s shadow. Recent moves - including renaming Oculus Connect “Facebook Connect” - strongly suggest that the Oculus brand won’t be around 10 years from now. There may be no better place today for them to do that work. Whether it’s called Oculus or Facebook Reality Labs, the company is home to some exceptionally smart people who are doing work that is benefiting humanity. I’ll go further and note that I personally like (and respect the professionalism of) the Oculus representatives I’ve met and worked with over the years.
To be clear, I think Mark Zuckerberg’s investment in Oculus was brilliant, and as I (and others) have said before, neither Oculus nor the VR industry would be what they are today without him. Despite Facebook’s promise to “ bring the world closer together,” my own friend and family lists have been shattered by the insanity Facebook’s algorithms and business practices unleashed, so I’m proud - not happy - to have shut down my Facebook account and walked away from that network. Whether you believe it actively participated in historically massive misinformation, disinformation, and polarization campaigns or was just a well-paid enabler that was all too willing to look the other way as bad things happened, the social media giant has been investigated, sued, and found guilty, at least in the court of public opinion. That polarized situation from a polarizing company makes the Quest 2 launch one of 2020’s biggest tech tragedies, despite the fact that I would normally be first in line to want one.įacebook’s corporate transgressions have been hard to ignore for years. My long but imperfect memory can’t recall any device this compelling from such a seriously troubled company - one that’s hoping to win new customers even as employees keep jumping ship over crises of conscience.
Register today!Ĭalling myself “deeply conflicted” about Facebook’s upcoming standalone VR headset Oculus Quest 2 would be an understatement. Join AI and data leaders for insightful talks and exciting networking opportunities. We are excited to bring Transform 2022 back in-person July 19 and virtually July 20 - 28.
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