As I read through this new Yahoo Finance piece about the challenges at Reality Labs, I couldn't help but nod along. I had flashbacks to the time I working with Meta, meeting people working on VR projects who had never put on a headset, or who didn't understand that basics of content (I'm not talking narrative choices here; I'm talking "don't swing the 360 camera around").
I heard from one person whose project had been funded by Meta that in order to get into the App Lab, never mind the Store, he had to call a C-level executive who just happened to also be a distant family friend. Another piece was funded to the tune of seven figures and continues to collect awards but is still stuck in the App Lab. An employee at a major state university got on a call to enquire about buying headsets only to be insulted about her institution and get a lecture on how the salesperson went to an Ivy. And so on.
Meta has alienated developers by announcing big funds and partnerships, handing out money for a few months, and then pivoting. The App Store remains a walled garden where the only way to get in is to make friends with an employee (who might be gone in a few months, given the churn). The headsets are quite good and the market share is huge, but they're succeeding despite themselves, not because of anything they're doing.
Listen, I want Meta (and Apple, and Pico, and HTC etc) to succeed. VR benefits from having an open and robust market with lots of competition. But Meta has also consistently alienated longtime creators and experts in the space and created an environment of instability that hinders growth.
The first thing Meta needs to do is start bringing in experts. People who know VR, who have track records, who understand what an APK is. They need to mend fences with the creator community and open up the App Store just like Apple and Android -- content obviously needs to meet some basic guidelines, but beyond that, let people put stuff out there.
The one thing I hear consistently is that people buy headsets, enjoy using them for a bit, and then run out of content and get bored. All our devices are just chunks of plastic and chips without good things to look at and play with, and given how many headsets are just gathering dust, there is a huge opportunity to revive them.
The second thing Meta needs to do is empower every day people to create content. Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp are only as good as the content people share -- but users don't really share content in headset. Horizon Worlds got part of the way and then petered out, but teaching people how to make 360 content and share it would be massive. My current work is all about empowering everyday creators -- and while I focus on enterprise and education, the same principles apply for everyone.
A rising tide lifts all boats in the space, and improvements at Meta will mean a better market for everyone. But they need to act fast in order to turn the ship around.