Like any other social media giant, Meta went through a flux due to the impending fear of recession. The parent company of Facebook and Instagram also announced mass layoffs in November 2022 citing “over-optimism” as the reason. This was due to the pandemic and over hiring due to a promising growth and the increase in the digital engagement. However, post pandemic, due to monopolistic competition in the industry, Meta also faced dwindling revenues.
Its rival, Twitter, also faced the same issue of the decline in revenue when Elon Musk took over. After the historic $44 billion deal, many advertisers pulled out from advertising affecting the microblogging site at large. Advertising revenue is one of the crucial channels for revenue. So, Musk introduced a $8 monthly subscription for certain exclusive features, security, and verification. Now, following its footsteps, Meta will also be introducing paid verification similar to ‘Twitter Blue’.
Related: “Over-Optimism”: Mark Zuckerberg Confirms Implementation Of Mass Layoffs At Meta
What Will Be Covered With The New Meta Paid Verification?
On February 19th, 2023, Meta announced that they will start testing the Meta Verified. In their blog article, Meta wrote, “We are testing Meta Verified, a new subscription bundle that includes account verification with impersonation protections and access to increased visibility and support”.
Meta saw a decline in their revenue since the first quarter of 2022. In the fourth quarter, the company earned $32.17 billion revenue summing up to $116.61 in all the four quarters in 2022.
The new feature will offer exclusive features like verified badge, which one will get after a government ID authentication. The verified accounts will be protected from “bad actors” and impersonators on the app. It will also provide increased visibility and certain exclusive features like Twitter.
These features will be available for $11.99 for web and $14.99 on Android and iOS. The first beta testing will begin in Australia (AUS $19.99 on web and $24.99 on iOS) and New Zealand (NZ $23.99 for web and NZ $29.99 on iOS and Android).
However, in the first phase, these paid verifications will only be available for individual accounts. The businesses on Instagram and Facebook will not be able to utilize it. The users have faith in businesses on Instagram as it is #1 platform to shop from businesses. It may hamper the buying experience for the users.
Also, Meta asks for a government document for authentication and registration of names. From the past ‘Facebook Files’ incident, it is precarious to have our information with the company.
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The Facebook Parent Company May Implement Another Round Of Layoffs
In November 2022, Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that there will be layoffs happening due to his “over-optimism” regarding the growth. He sacked more than 11,000 employees. It was the biggest reduction in headcount in the history of 18 years. Meta faced the brunt of overestimation and over indulgence in the virtual augmented reality program dwindling the revenue.
Now, The Wall Street Journal published a report that speculated that there will be another round of layoffs at the company. Recently, more than 7,000 employees received a “below par” rating on their reports.
A spokesperson at Meta told WSJ, “We’ve always had a goal-based culture of high performance, and our review process is intended to incentivize long-term thinking and high-quality work, while helping employees get actionable feedback”.
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