Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg hinted at a “return to OG Facebook” during last week’s Q4 earnings call, listing it as a key goal for 2025. But what exactly does that mean?
So far, Meta hasn’t offered any clear details. Could Zuckerberg mean the millennial meme-filled Facebook of the 2010s or the “masculine energy” of its controversial origins as Facemash (a site that ranked Harvard classmates by attractiveness without consent)?
Asked about his plans for the “OG Facebook,” Zuckerberg replied, “I think some of this will kind of get back to how Facebook was originally used back in the day,”, while tight-lipped on any other details. “I think there are a lot of opportunities to make [Facebook] way more culturally influential than it is today,” he said.
Zuckerberg cautioned investors that these changes may require some tradeoffs in terms of “maximizing business results in the near term”, hinting at potential revenue impacts. The first wave of product updates is expected to roll out within the next six months.
Now, “OG Facebook” could mean different things to different people. For many, it’s a throwback to the days before Boomer and Gen X relatives took over. These days, Facebook is often used begrudgingly by those under the age of 30 and is more synonymous with offensive memes and AI slop than cutting-edge youth culture.
Studies show Gen Z overwhelmingly prefers TikTok and Snapchat, platforms that exist outside of Meta’s reach. A 2024 Pew Research survey showed that only 33% of U.S. teens (13-17) use Facebook, a steep drop from 71% a decade ago. One thing is clear, the platform is in desperate need of younger users to stay relevant.
Meta has tried, and failed, to course-correct before. In 2020, it launched Facebook Campus, a college-only space meant to recapture its early exclusivity. It flopped within 18 months. More recently, in October 2024, the company rolled out a Gen Z-focused redesign putting greater emphasis on local communities, video, and Facebook Groups. Last year, it even quietly resurrected the Poke button.
Can Facebook pull off the rebrand of 2025? That’s for Gen Z to decide.
Login to add comment
Other posts in this group
From family photos in the cloud to email archives and social media accounts, the digital lives of Americans are extensive and growing.
According to recent studies by the password managem
A dozen years after its launch, fintech company Chime rang the bell this morning at the Nasdaq MarketSite in Times Square to ce
It hits at a certain time in the afternoon, when a familiar craving strikes. You walk to the kitchen. The satisfying sound of a can cracking, the hiss of bubbles. It’s time for a “fridge cigarette
Many developers find that AI programming assistants have made writing code easier than ever. But maintaining the infrastructure that actually runs that code remains a challenge, requiring engineer
Fraudulent job applications have become a serious issue in the era of
With the first family actively engaged in memecoin ventures, speculation about the future of cryptocurrency has never been hotter. Laura Shin, crypto expert and host of the podcast Unchained
