[wmab]

Meta is becoming more like Google in it's wide ranging products in disparate markets and ultimately shutting them down one by one. Unlike Google they seem to be more focused and therefore it's good to see the shuttering of Workplace given it's not a strong contender in it's market.

For most large businesses in order to move the needle they need to be making really large bets in a few really large markets to keep growth. A Slack alternative would never move the needle for them, given the most successful (Slack) sold at the top of the market for a "large" amount of money, which was $28B (only ~2% of Meta's market cap today).

[smt88]

I still find it incredible that innovation at Meta and Alphabet is so bad that they haven't built a highly profitable product at either company in their entire histories. They've only ever hit home runs with ad businesses.

[lnsru]

I could write a book about large dysfunctional organizations. Organization’s goal is less important than the goals of influential individuals. And then wild things happen. We will never know what brilliant world changing or good business ideas were buried in the very early stage. It is hard to believe for me from statistics perspective, “that they haven’t built a highly profitable product”.

Edit: because I know some brilliant people from these companies starting really innovative businesses in the past right after quitting these big companies.

[121789]

if your opinion of the most profitable companies of the past 20 years with some of the most widely adopted products in the world is that they are not innovative or able to build profitable products, maybe your definition of profitability, innovation, and product development is a bit off

[immibis]

I've heard before that Google has never created a useful product, period - all the Google products that are worth using - Android, Gmail, formerly Search, ads (for advertisers), Reader - were acquisitions.