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The Guardian
12-03-2025
- Business
- The Guardian
Lean In, said Sheryl Sandberg – but after this week, can we ever see her or Facebook in the same light again?
Many years ago, when Facebook was an entity most people had warm – or at least neutral – feelings towards, I visited the company's HQ in Menlo Park, California. I admired the free restaurants and leisure facilities. I sneered at the 'graffiti wall', where Facebook employees were invited to grab a felt-tip and answer the question: 'What would you do if you weren't afraid?' (Say something negative about Facebook, perhaps.) And I attended a presentation by then chief operating officer Sheryl Sandberg, who was surprisingly nervous; I recall noticing how her voice shook as she addressed the smirking European hacks. Then I went to the gift shop and bought Facebook-branded hoodies for my kids. Obviously I wouldn't put them in Facebook gear now. Over the past decade or so the evolution of Facebook (now Meta) in general and Sandberg in particular has been one of slow then fast descent from corporate brave new world to something much grimmer and more familiar. In the New York Times this week, details of a new memoir by a Facebook whistleblower, the very existence of which was kept under wraps by the publisher until a few days before, were shared and – how else to put this: bloody hell. That Zuckerberg is a men's rights shill for Trump, running a company with a profit model reliant on hate speech and false information, is something we already know. What I hadn't seen coming was the exposure of Sandberg for reportedly running up $13,000 in lingerie purchases and allegedly trying to persuade the author, Sarah Wynn-Williams, to join her in the only bed on the corporate jet on the way back from a work trip to Europe. The author's response, detailed in her book Careless People: A Story of Where I Used to Work, might generously be described as lean out. Wynn-Williams worked for Facebook for seven years, rising to the role of director of global public policy before being fired in 2018. Her revelations about Sandberg are the book's most lurid and at the same time least consequential; for the most shocking details, see claims about Zuckerberg sucking up to China, lying to Congress and failing to stop hate speech fuelling genocide in Myanmar against the minority Rohingya ethnic group. Still, as a portrait of Sandberg it marks a strange end point to the public image of a woman once hailed, if not as a feminist hero or even as a feminist at all beyond the narrow confines of self-interest, then as a person advancing the credible cause of raising the number of women in the C-suite. Sandberg always seemed uptight and uncomfortable in her public role, a decade older than the men she worked for and not a tech person but a corporate nerd. I once overheard her describe herself during a photoshoot as a 'suburban mom', which was as nauseating as her other ploys for relatability during the my-kids-get-nits-too PR drive for her book Lean In. And yet, while Sandberg's dive into corporate feminism was maddeningly ahistorical and apolitical, I still think it was broadly sincere. It is routine, now, to refer to her as a piece of liberal camouflage behind which Zuckerberg advanced his antidemocratic designs, but I suspect that wasn't the plan back in 2013 when Lean In was first published. Was the book mired in bullshit? Yes. Was it part of some grand evil plan? I doubt it. Still, here we are. Sandberg, who is estimated to be worth over $2bn, left her job as COO of Meta in 2022, quit the company's board two years later and has reportedly fallen out with Zuckerberg, who, it can be said with some confidence, failed to onboard the lessons of Lean In. According to a piece in the New York Times in January, the CEO of Meta badmouthed Sandberg to Stephen Miller, Trump's ghoulish adviser, for creating Facebook's culture of inclusivity, adding to his other complaint that corporate culture has become too 'feminine'. And now this further twist! Just when one might be tempted to side with Sandberg as the least gross of a very grim group, along comes Careless People – named for the line about Tom and Daisy, the wealthy wreckers in The Great Gatsby – and back we go to square one. The author claims to have witnessed a 26-year-old assistant sleeping in Sandberg's lap and the pair stroking each other's hair. And then came the demand from Sandberg for Wynn-Williams to join her in the bed on the jet. (Wynn-Williams demurred.) Sandberg hasn't commented on any of this publicly yet, but Meta put out a statement calling Careless People 'a mix of out-of-date and previously reported claims about the company and false accusations about our executives', and trashing Wynn-Williams as someone who was 'fired for poor performance and toxic behaviour', who is working for 'anti-Facebook activists'. What to make of it all, beyond the fact that power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely? In the book, Wynn-Williams, who was a true Facebook believer when she joined the company in 2011, came to see Sandberg's Lean In persona as a 'shtick' covering up what she really wanted from other people: obedience – something that rings true not only for Sandberg, but in the wider political and corporate culture in which we now live. Emma Brockes is a Guardian columnist Do you have an opinion on the issues raised in this article? If you would like to submit a response of up to 300 words by email to be considered for publication in our letters section, please click here.
Egypt Independent
17-02-2025
- Business
- Egypt Independent
Meta keeps trying to invent the future. It hasn't worked yet
CNN — Facebook kickstarted the modern social media age in the early 2000s. But its parent company Meta's ambitions to expand over the last decade haven't had nearly the same success. It's still apparently trying again anyway, with the latest big thing: humanoid robots. A new Meta team is working on robots capable of doing household tasks, Bloomberg reported Friday. But the broader goal, according to the report, is to create a platform that other companies can use to build their robots – a feat that would make Meta a critical part of the robotics industry. And Meta needs that kind of win. While its social media apps have proven to be wildly popular, it lost the race to control the devices you actually use those apps on – namely phones. Apple and Google quickly dominated the smartphone landscape in the early 2000s, leaving little room for anyone else, including Meta, to compete. Now, Meta is seemingly trying to make sure it doesn't miss out again. Over the last half-decade, it's made an aggressive push into artificial intelligence and the metaverse to get ahead of whatever the next big thing may be – and to escape Facebook's shadow. An expansion into robotics would be a big step toward that goal. But the company will face competition. Tesla flaunted its humanoid Optimus robot at last year's Cybercab launch event, and chipmaker Nvidia announced new AI tech designed to power robots at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. A Meta spokesperson did not respond to CNN's request for comment. Waiting for the metaverse to happen Meta's biggest effort to move beyond Facebook came in 2021 when it rebranded itself as Meta to orient the company around the 'metaverse,' a broad term for digital communal spaces typically in virtual reality. It was a statement that Meta is far more than just a social media app, but a platform that would help define the next era of computing. A Meta sign is seen outside outside the company's headquarters in Menlo Park, California, on October 29, 2021, after the rebranding. Nick Otto/Bloomberg/Getty Images 'We are at the beginning of the next chapter for the internet, and it's the next chapter for our company too,' the company said in its 2021 founder's letter, signed by CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Still, nearly half a decade later, the metaverse remains niche, unlike the ubiquitous smartphone. Just 7.7 million mixed reality headsets are expected to ship globally in 2025, according to market research firm the International Data Corporation (IDC), compared to the 331.7 million smartphones estimated to have shipped worldwide in the fourth quarter of 2024 alone. Still, Meta is by far the headset leader, with the IDC reporting that it accounts for nearly 71 percent of the market. Consumer flops Meta's previous efforts to branch out from social media didn't resonate broadly with consumers. In 2013 it launched a Facebook-branded phone in partnership with Taiwanese tech company HTC, once a major player in the Android phone market. But shortly after its release, AT&T dropped the device's price down to just $0.99 in what was an unmistakable sign of poor sales – and perhaps an indication that consumers didn't want more Facebook on their phone other than in its app. Meta also tried to get in on the smart home business with a video calling device called the Meta Portal (initially Facebook Portal), which in launched in 2018 but has since been discontinued. A Meta Portal Go system is on display during a store preview in Burlingame, California, on May 4, 2022. Brittany Hosea-Small/Reuters A Meta employee poses with the company's Ray-Ban sunglasses at the Meta Connect event in Menlo Park, California, on September 24, 2024. Manuel Orbegozo/Reuters But Meta's latest expansion into consumer hardware with its Ray-Ban smart glasses shows promise. Ray-Ban parent company EssilorLuxottica said in its 2024 earnings release on February 12 that it has sold two million pairs of the glasses since their 2023 debut. That number is small in the context of well-established devices like smartphones, and even in the world of virtual reality headsets. But smart glasses are still a very new category, leaving plenty of potential opportunity for Meta. That's if it can fend off upcoming competition from Google and Samsung, which announced a new version of Android for mixed reality headsets and smart glasses in December, hoping to replicate the success they've experienced in the mobile industry. Meta's ambitions with humanoid robots may be slightly different, according to Bloomberg's report. While the company may consider making a Meta-branded home robot, the primary ambition would be to create a platform for robots – much like how Android is a platform that powers phones. It's all part of Meta's mission to make the name 'Meta' mean something other than just social media apps.
CNN
17-02-2025
- Business
- CNN
Meta keeps trying to invent the future. It hasn't worked yet
Facebook kickstarted the modern social media age in the early 2000s. But its parent company Meta's ambitions to expand over the last decade haven't had nearly the same success. It's still apparently trying again anyway, with the latest big thing: humanoid robots. A new Meta team is working on robots capable of doing household tasks, Bloomberg reported Friday. But the broader goal, according to the report, is to create a platform that other companies can use to build their robots – a feat that would make Meta a critical part of the robotics industry. And Meta needs that kind of win. While its social media apps have proven to be wildly popular, it lost the race to control the devices you actually use those apps on – namely phones. Apple and Google quickly dominated the smartphone landscape in the early 2000s, leaving little room for anyone else, including Meta, to compete. Now, Meta is seemingly trying to make sure it doesn't miss out again. Over the last half-decade, it's made an aggressive push into artificial intelligence and the metaverse to get ahead of whatever the next big thing may be – and to escape Facebook's shadow. An expansion into robotics would be a big step toward that goal. But the company will face competition. Tesla flaunted its humanoid Optimus robot at last year's Cybercab launch event, and chipmaker Nvidia announced new AI tech designed to power robots at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. A Meta spokesperson did not respond to CNN's request for comment. Meta's biggest effort to move beyond Facebook came in 2021 when it rebranded itself as Meta to orient the company around the 'metaverse,' a broad term for digital communal spaces typically in virtual reality. It was a statement that Meta is far more than just a social media app, but a platform that would help define the next era of computing. 'We are at the beginning of the next chapter for the internet, and it's the next chapter for our company too,' the company said in its 2021 founder's letter, signed by CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Still, nearly half a decade later, the metaverse remains niche, unlike the ubiquitous smartphone. Just 7.7 million mixed reality headsets are expected to ship globally in 2025, according to market research firm the International Data Corporation (IDC), compared to the 331.7 million smartphones estimated to have shipped worldwide in the fourth quarter of 2024 alone. Still, Meta is by far the headset leader, with the IDC reporting that it accounts for nearly 71% of the market. Meta's previous efforts to branch out from social media didn't resonate broadly with consumers. In 2013 it launched a Facebook-branded phone in partnership with Taiwanese tech company HTC, once a major player in the Android phone market. But shortly after its release, AT&T dropped the device's price down to just $0.99 in what was an unmistakable sign of poor sales – and perhaps an indication that consumers didn't want more Facebook on their phone other than in its app. Meta also tried to get in on the smart home business with a video calling device called the Meta Portal (initially Facebook Portal), which in launched in 2018 but has since been discontinued. But Meta's latest expansion into consumer hardware with its Ray-Ban smart glasses shows promise. Ray-Ban parent company EssilorLuxottica said in its 2024 earnings release on February 12 that it has sold two million pairs of the glasses since their 2023 debut. That number is small in the context of well-established devices like smartphones, and even in the world of virtual reality headsets. But smart glasses are still a very new category, leaving plenty of potential opportunity for Meta. That's if it can fend off upcoming competition from Google and Samsung, which announced a new version of Android for mixed reality headsets and smart glasses in December, hoping to replicate the success they've experienced in the mobile industry. Meta's ambitions with humanoid robots may be slightly different, according to Bloomberg's report. While the company may consider making a Meta-branded home robot, the primary ambition would be to create a platform for robots – much like how Android is a platform that powers phones. It's all part of Meta's mission to make the name 'Meta' mean something other than just social media apps.
CNN
17-02-2025
- Business
- CNN
Meta keeps trying to invent the future. It hasn't worked yet
Facebook kickstarted the modern social media age in the early 2000s. But its parent company Meta's ambitions to expand over the last decade haven't had nearly the same success. It's still apparently trying again anyway, with the latest big thing: humanoid robots. A new Meta team is working on robots capable of doing household tasks, Bloomberg reported Friday. But the broader goal, according to the report, is to create a platform that other companies can use to build their robots – a feat that would make Meta a critical part of the robotics industry. And Meta needs that kind of win. While its social media apps have proven to be wildly popular, it lost the race to control the devices you actually use those apps on – namely phones. Apple and Google quickly dominated the smartphone landscape in the early 2000s, leaving little room for anyone else, including Meta, to compete. Now, Meta is seemingly trying to make sure it doesn't miss out again. Over the last half-decade, it's made an aggressive push into artificial intelligence and the metaverse to get ahead of whatever the next big thing may be – and to escape Facebook's shadow. An expansion into robotics would be a big step toward that goal. But the company will face competition. Tesla flaunted its humanoid Optimus robot at last year's Cybercab launch event, and chipmaker Nvidia announced new AI tech designed to power robots at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. A Meta spokesperson did not respond to CNN's request for comment. Meta's biggest effort to move beyond Facebook came in 2021 when it rebranded itself as Meta to orient the company around the 'metaverse,' a broad term for digital communal spaces typically in virtual reality. It was a statement that Meta is far more than just a social media app, but a platform that would help define the next era of computing. 'We are at the beginning of the next chapter for the internet, and it's the next chapter for our company too,' the company said in its 2021 founder's letter, signed by CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Still, nearly half a decade later, the metaverse remains niche, unlike the ubiquitous smartphone. Just 7.7 million mixed reality headsets are expected to ship globally in 2025, according to market research firm the International Data Corporation (IDC), compared to the 331.7 million smartphones estimated to have shipped worldwide in the fourth quarter of 2024 alone. Still, Meta is by far the headset leader, with the IDC reporting that it accounts for nearly 71% of the market. Meta's previous efforts to branch out from social media didn't resonate broadly with consumers. In 2013 it launched a Facebook-branded phone in partnership with Taiwanese tech company HTC, once a major player in the Android phone market. But shortly after its release, AT&T dropped the device's price down to just $0.99 in what was an unmistakable sign of poor sales – and perhaps an indication that consumers didn't want more Facebook on their phone other than in its app. Meta also tried to get in on the smart home business with a video calling device called the Meta Portal (initially Facebook Portal), which in launched in 2018 but has since been discontinued. But Meta's latest expansion into consumer hardware with its Ray-Ban smart glasses shows promise. Ray-Ban parent company EssilorLuxottica said in its 2024 earnings release on February 12 that it has sold two million pairs of the glasses since their 2023 debut. That number is small in the context of well-established devices like smartphones, and even in the world of virtual reality headsets. But smart glasses are still a very new category, leaving plenty of potential opportunity for Meta. That's if it can fend off upcoming competition from Google and Samsung, which announced a new version of Android for mixed reality headsets and smart glasses in December, hoping to replicate the success they've experienced in the mobile industry. Meta's ambitions with humanoid robots may be slightly different, according to Bloomberg's report. While the company may consider making a Meta-branded home robot, the primary ambition would be to create a platform for robots – much like how Android is a platform that powers phones. It's all part of Meta's mission to make the name 'Meta' mean something other than just social media apps.
CNN
17-02-2025
- Business
- CNN
Meta keeps trying to invent the future. It hasn't worked yet
Facebook kickstarted the modern social media age in the early 2000s. But its parent company Meta's ambitions to expand over the last decade haven't had nearly the same success. It's still apparently trying again anyway, with the latest big thing: humanoid robots. A new Meta team is working on robots capable of doing household tasks, Bloomberg reported Friday. But the broader goal, according to the report, is to create a platform that other companies can use to build their robots – a feat that would make Meta a critical part of the robotics industry. And Meta needs that kind of win. While its social media apps have proven to be wildly popular, it lost the race to control the devices you actually use those apps on – namely phones. Apple and Google quickly dominated the smartphone landscape in the early 2000s, leaving little room for anyone else, including Meta, to compete. Now, Meta is seemingly trying to make sure it doesn't miss out again. Over the last half-decade, it's made an aggressive push into artificial intelligence and the metaverse to get ahead of whatever the next big thing may be – and to escape Facebook's shadow. An expansion into robotics would be a big step toward that goal. But the company will face competition. Tesla flaunted its humanoid Optimus robot at last year's Cybercab launch event, and chipmaker Nvidia announced new AI tech designed to power robots at the Consumer Electronics Show in January. A Meta spokesperson did not respond to CNN's request for comment. Meta's biggest effort to move beyond Facebook came in 2021 when it rebranded itself as Meta to orient the company around the 'metaverse,' a broad term for digital communal spaces typically in virtual reality. It was a statement that Meta is far more than just a social media app, but a platform that would help define the next era of computing. 'We are at the beginning of the next chapter for the internet, and it's the next chapter for our company too,' the company said in its 2021 founder's letter, signed by CEO Mark Zuckerberg. Still, nearly half a decade later, the metaverse remains niche, unlike the ubiquitous smartphone. Just 7.7 million mixed reality headsets are expected to ship globally in 2025, according to market research firm the International Data Corporation (IDC), compared to the 331.7 million smartphones estimated to have shipped worldwide in the fourth quarter of 2024 alone. Still, Meta is by far the headset leader, with the IDC reporting that it accounts for nearly 71% of the market. Meta's previous efforts to branch out from social media didn't resonate broadly with consumers. In 2013 it launched a Facebook-branded phone in partnership with Taiwanese tech company HTC, once a major player in the Android phone market. But shortly after its release, AT&T dropped the device's price down to just $0.99 in what was an unmistakable sign of poor sales – and perhaps an indication that consumers didn't want more Facebook on their phone other than in its app. Meta also tried to get in on the smart home business with a video calling device called the Meta Portal (initially Facebook Portal), which in launched in 2018 but has since been discontinued. But Meta's latest expansion into consumer hardware with its Ray-Ban smart glasses shows promise. Ray-Ban parent company EssilorLuxottica said in its 2024 earnings release on February 12 that it has sold two million pairs of the glasses since their 2023 debut. That number is small in the context of well-established devices like smartphones, and even in the world of virtual reality headsets. But smart glasses are still a very new category, leaving plenty of potential opportunity for Meta. That's if it can fend off upcoming competition from Google and Samsung, which announced a new version of Android for mixed reality headsets and smart glasses in December, hoping to replicate the success they've experienced in the mobile industry. Meta's ambitions with humanoid robots may be slightly different, according to Bloomberg's report. While the company may consider making a Meta-branded home robot, the primary ambition would be to create a platform for robots – much like how Android is a platform that powers phones. It's all part of Meta's mission to make the name 'Meta' mean something other than just social media apps.
