Meta and Open

🌈 Abstract

The article discusses Meta's (Facebook's parent company) strategic approach to the metaverse and its open source AI model Llama 3. It analyzes Meta's motivations and differentiation in the context of the broader technology landscape, including its competition with Apple and Google.

🙋 Q&A

[01] Meta's Differentiation and Market

1. What is Meta's relevant market, according to the article?

• The article argues that Meta's relevant market is user time and attention, not just personal social networking. This is because on the internet, users can and do use multiple digital services simultaneously, making the competition for user time and attention the key metric.

2. How has Meta's differentiation strategy evolved over time?

• Initially, Meta viewed its personal social network as its key asset and competitive advantage. However, it later realized that the ability to capture user time and attention, rather than just the social network, was the more important factor.
• Meta has tried to differentiate itself by leveraging its large user base and engagement (e.g. copying Snapchat's Stories feature on Instagram) and by making its underlying infrastructure and models open source (e.g. Open Compute Project, Llama AI models).

[02] Horizon OS and the Metaverse

1. Why is Meta building its own operating system, Horizon OS, for the metaverse?

• Owning the OS layer allows Meta to avoid being subject to the dictates of platform owners like Apple and Google, which can limit what can be built or monetized on their platforms.
• As a horizontal services company, Meta wants to reach the maximum number of users, which is better achieved through an open licensing model for Horizon OS rather than a fully integrated approach like Apple's.
• Controlling the OS also allows Meta to better ensure developer attention and adoption of its metaverse platform, drawing on its existing developer base.

2. How does Meta's approach to "openness" with Horizon OS differ from its approach with Llama AI models?

• With Llama, Meta is making the model weights open source to turn AI model creation into a commodity, which aligns with its business model of capturing user time and attention.
• With Horizon OS, Meta is taking a more controlled approach, licensing the OS to hardware partners but maintaining control over the app store and monetization model. This is to ensure it can still benefit financially from the metaverse platform.