What business would have accepted that their primary revenue stream is 100% in the control of other companies, and is shrinking? Of course they can't accept that.

If things continue as they do, the whole company will collapse. Better to throw whatever they have at a solution than to just lie down and die.

> Of course they can't accept that.

Companies accept that all the time. It's far more profitable to slash investment and turn something into a cash cow over the next 10-15 years than bet the farm and lose. It's actually in shareholders' interest -- which is why so many shareholders have been upset about the VR pivot.

Right, cutting R&D spend and upping dividends or buybacks is a totally normal thing that companies do all the time. It's just not nearly as sexy as changing the world or whatever Zuck says he's doing.

He was only able to pursue his metaverse vision because he has shareholder control, and given the change in stock price it looks like increasing numbers of investors are no longer interested in a company he has total control over.

> Of course they can't accept that.

If that's true, then they're doomed.

Their real problem is that their entire business model is in danger. What they should be throwing their money at is changing their business model, not trying to invent a new field to apply it in.

You make it sound like the metaverse was the only possible thing they could try, which couldn't be further from the truth. There are hundreds of areas where those billions could have been invested with a shot of developing something real. LLMs for instance! Or they might have discovered whatever the next big hyped technology will be. Burning it on their metaverse was a laughable idea at the time and has failed even faster than many expected.

This is the only reason I will support Tik Tok because it’s the only real competition to FB and Instagram, shrinking their moat as each day passes.