One more post about Facebook, then I’m done. For reals.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=AkH2coBaQUQ
Try to watch this without laughing. Go on—I dare you. It’s a bit cheeky coming from a company that lost $50 billion in share value in a little over three months, don’t you think?
But what’s worse is the grandiosity of it all. Does Facebook really think it’s the only thing that stands between us and a “vast” and “dark” universe? “We make the tools and services that allow people to feel human, get together, open up,” explains head of consumer marketing Rebecca Van Dyck. C’mon. Who honestly believes that? (Besides Wieden & Kennedy, the ad agency that foisted this bombastic load of navel-gazing codswallop on us.)
The seriousness with which this company takes itself is mind-boggling. But I think it’s really just a larger symptom of the way in which agencies and design firms—and their clients—have come to fetishize brand. It’s not enough to have a billion people actively using your product (which in and of itself is a truly remarkable feat); no, you’ve got to get all metaphysical on us. Hey Facebook: You’re a social networking site. That’s all. Now, go earn your shareholders some money.
