Summary

This article discusses the differences between Meta (formerly Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp) and Apple in their approach to product development and core values. It criticizes Mark Zuckerberg’s “move fast and break things” approach, contrasting it with Apple’s “Design Thinking” approach, which focuses on understanding users and creating innovative solutions. The article also highlights concerns about Meta’s disregard for customer feedback and the company’s handling of fake accounts and customer support issues. It questions Zuckerberg’s definition of core values and points out that Meta’s approach negatively affects people and society while making money for Meta.

Apple vs. Meta Approach to Product

In a recent appearance on a podcast, Zuck said Apple’s products work well, and their approach is like, ‘We’re going to take a long time, we’re going to polish it, we’re going to put it out,’

In contrast, Zuck said Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp’s approach to product development is “a lot of conversations that we have internally where you’re almost at the line of being embarrassed at what you put out.”

The Zuck approach is the “Move fast and break things” approach. It is like what some Angel and Venture Capitalists say to do: “Ready, Fire, Aim.” 

They think that is the way to produce products and services. But I say this approach tends to lead to negative consequences. Based upon my over 50 years of managing product success, including at companies like Hewlett-Packard and Apple.

For example, fake news can get posted or sent, which causes dire consequences like Springfield pets being eaten, cows being hurt in India, and hundreds dying because of the backlash in India, even though it was not valid.

And Zuck doesn’t seem to care so long as his users keep clicking, and these advertisers keep paying to make him richer.

“You want to have a culture that values shipping and getting things out and getting feedback more than always needing to get great positive accolades from people when you put stuff out,” he continued.

“If you want to wait until you get praised all the time, you’re missing a bunch of the time when you could’ve learned a bunch of useful stuff and then incorporated that into the next version you’re going to ship,” he said.

It’s not about getting “praised” it’s about a product or service that does what a person or company wants to do.  The key is to get it right, not break things.

Apple Uses Design Thinking…Meta Use Fail Fast

Zuck doesn’t understand that Apple uses a “Design Thinking” approach to product development, which has nothing to do with “praise.”

IDEO developed Design Thinking in the ‘80s. It is a human-centered approach to innovation that integrates people’s needs, technology’s possibilities, and business success requirements. Design thinking is a nonlinear, iterative process that teams use to understand users, challenge assumptions, redefine problems, and create innovative solutions.

In other words, it drives innovation by empathizing with what the customer wants to do and satisfying that customer.

Apple does that.  

How do I know?  I was the Business Unit Manager for one of Apple’s two profitable product lines (the Apple ///) in the early 1980s.  IDEO designed the Apple mouse for the Macintosh when I was there.  Hence, design thinking has been impregnated into Apple’s DNA ever since.  It was greatly enhanced when Steve Jobs returned to the company in the late 1990s, bringing an increased focus on design thinking.

Also, I teach and consult on product success, including design thinking, worldwide and have written several books on it, such as “Building Insanely Great Products,” “Organizing and Managing Insanely Great Products,” and “Successful Product Design and Management Toolkit.”

Back to the ‘90s:  Open vs. Closed

The Facebook cofounder has spoken publicly in favor of open platforms as opposed to Apple’s famous “walled garden,” in which the iPhone maker carefully controls its hardware and software ecosystem—” rules that Zuckerberg is tired of having to follow” as an app maker for the platform.

In other words, Zuck is bringing back the old and tired competition between “open” and “closed” used by Microsoft in the 1990s.  

Remember the antitrust settlement against Microsoft in the 1990s…that’s how “open” Microsoft was.   NOT? 

Many remember the Windows interface. To shut down the computer, you go to “start.”  So, you want to get some work done, boot up an Office app, and it insists on updating itself immediately, ignoring your deadline. Microsoft’s design concept then was, “We know better than you.” Kind of like Apple’s brand is “It Just Works,” and Microsoft’s is “Helping More People Feel More Stupid than any other Company in the World.”

Sometimes “open” works, sometimes it doesn’t.  A closed system focused on one of Apple’s values to have “empathy for their customers” always works.

If No One is Around, Does Anyone Hear Meta’s Customer’s Screams or Don’t They Care?

Facebook goes further. Not only do they believe in their development culture that they know better than you, but they then throw their product out there and wait until their customers scream. 

But even then, they do nothing about it. 

A few years ago, my daughter’s Instagram account was hacked by the Russians, and she couldn’t regain control. 

She contacted Instagram, and they had her do something like take a picture of herself with her driver’s license and send it to them. They asked her to do it again several times until she gave up. I suggested she send Zuck a FedEx letter about the problem. She is still waiting for a response. I suppose he is pretty busy building his bunker on Kauai to care.

If Facebook’s control is so good, why are they constantly having to cancel fake Russia misinformation accounts?  Why don’t they require all users to be real people with accurate contact info?  The mass media doesn’t publish letters from counterfeit people to the editor.  Why do all of Meta’s properties?

Core Values

Zuck says the difference between Meta and Apple is their core values, which he defines above. Apple wants praise and, as a result, is slow. Meta wants to break things.

But that is not core values. 

Apple’s core values are:

• Empathy for our customers/users
• Achievement/aggressiveness
• Positive social contribution
• Individual performance
• Team spirit
• Innovation/vision
• Individual growth/reward
• Quality/Excellence
• Good management

I noticed that “praise” is not mentioned in Apple’s list of values.

I know because I was there, and I have a stand with them printed on it on my desk.  

What are Meta’s values?  A web search shows:

1. Move Fast
2. Focus on Long-Term Impact
3. Build Awesome Things
4. Live in the Future
5. Be Direct and Respect Your Colleagues
6. Meta, Metamates, Me

I’m sorry, Zuck. Those are corporate vision statements, except for the last one. Combine values with vision, and you have a company’s mission statement.

Meta’s mission statement is “to give people the power to build community and bring the world closer together.” This reflects the company’s focus on facilitating social connections through its technologies, including platforms like Facebook and initiatives to develop the metaverse.

Surprise! Meta has no Values.

In other words, Meta has no values.

Yet Zuck, in the podcast, says Meta will be competing with Apple in ten to fifteen years.

Meta is in the social networking business.  Apple is in the phone, photography, music, photos, personal and business productivity, health monitoring, personal computing, media consumption and creation, home entertainment, wearables, and data storage.

It took Apple nearly 45 years to create this ecosystem that works.   

Zuck thinks he can go from social networking to all of this in 10 years.

As a former PC market research director at a high-tech market research firm, I found that software companies need help with doing hardware. Meta will be no different, and it’s no wonder Apple is not afraid of much competition from Meta, at least in the short term.

However, Meta should greatly fear Apple’s entry into the social networking market.

Apple Changed the World over the Past 45 Years; Now they Can Save it…Enter the Social Networking Market

Let’s look at that and see what Apple can do.

Facebook is popular because it enables friends to stay up-to-date and socialize with each other. It’s unpopular because it delivers fake news and connections with counterfeit accounts that nobody wants.  I have many friends who have canceled or don’t use their Facebook accounts anymore.

Apple already has Apple News, which curates posts so they can be trusted. So, all Apple must do is create an application whereby its iMessage users can have a personal page to post what they want and enable others to follow them. Further, you can download your friends and activities on Facebook and import them into another service.  Maybe Apple could allow the import to let iMessage users to bring their Facebook friends over. 

Marketers use Instagram as an image and video-sharing service to enable influencer marketing. Apple already has Apple Photos that can be shared with up to five people. All Apple has to do is let an unlimited number of people who want to follow the shared library share it.  

WhatsApp is a messaging service.  Apple merely needs to let Messages work cleanly across Android and Windows.

Apple’s advantage is that it already has robust measures to combat fake accounts and fraudulent behavior. It is trusted. Some estimate that up to 50% of Facebook accounts and up to 45% of Instagram accounts are fake.  

How can anyone trust a service that is half fake?

Meta Should Fear Competition

The one that should fear competition is Facebook.  With minor feature additions, the world will flock to Apple, which they trust.  Apple has privacy first.  Meta must harvest your data to make money for it as their priority.

Facebook uses its users’ posts and activity now to train its generative artificial intelligence capabilities.  If you don’t want Facebook to use your data, you must opt out instead of opting in. 

Indeed, everything could go smoothly if Facebook used data and activities from 50% of fake Facebook users to train their AI. 

Not. 

Meta AI

I can only imagine what Meta’s AI would say about pets.

As you know, the Springfield, Ohio, eating, our pets story came from a legitimate Facebook user whose cat disappeared, and she blamed the Haitians for capturing and eating it. The story has taken on a life of its own with the MAGA candidates talking about it. Just imagine how it can be amplified with artificial intelligence from Meta.  

Don’t forget Trump’s son-in-law Jared Kushner’s Cambridge Analytics, who posted a fact survey on Facebook using Facebook’s tools to collect micro-targeting info that Russia used to support Trump’s election.  

As a former political campaign manager, I see what they are doing. Trump’s campaign manager, Paul Manafort, gave the Russians their polling information according to the FBI. That information probably told the Russians which issues were essential to the voting precinct. Then, using Cambridge Analytics, they knew exactly what messages to post on their fake Facebook account to influence votes.  

When I took over running Representative Al Quie’s campaign in Minnesota in 1977, he was losing by 20 points. My pollster, Roger Ailes (the future founder of Fox News), told me which issues were most important at that moment in each area of the state. I then adjusted daily which messages were delivered through TV, Radio, and Print ads, plus what my speaker’s bureau said. We won by 10 points.

But don’t believe me. 

A Russian General gave a speech in 2014 discussing how they have successfully weaponized social media.  So what Russia was planning and doing to elections worldwide was there in plain sight, and Zuck ignored it to make a profit.

Conclusion

This article discusses the differences between Meta (formerly Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp) and Apple in their approach to product development and core values. It criticizes Mark Zuckerberg’s “move fast and break things” approach, contrasting it with Apple’s “Design Thinking” approach, which focuses on understanding users and creating innovative solutions. The article also highlights concerns about Meta’s disregard for customer feedback and the company’s handling of fake accounts and customer support issues. It questions Zuckerberg’s definition of core values and points out that Meta’s approach negatively affects people and society while making money for Meta.