Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Meta, unveiled revised company values on Tuesday, pushing employees to be “Metamates” who respect one another and look to the future.
The updated credo comes after the internet company was rebranded Meta in October, and Zuckerberg released his statement to staff on his Facebook page.
“As we construct the next chapter of our company as Meta,” Zuckerberg said, “we just updated the values that guide our work.”
As we build the next chapter of our company as Meta, we just updated the values that guide our work. I wrote the note…
Posted by Mark Zuckerberg on Tuesday, 15 February 2022
In a staff message posted on Tuesday, Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, which changed its name in December to reflect a fresh focus on the so-called metaverse, spelled out his vision for corporate culture. Build Awesome Things, Live in the Future, Focus on Long-Term Impact, and Be Direct and Respect Your Colleagues join the classic Move Fast mantra.
According to Facebook’s co-founder and CEO, the company’s stated values were last updated in 2007.
From Facebook’s early days, a culture of “move quickly and break things” has developed into “move fast” as a team to create ideas.
Meta’s new philosophy also calls for being direct with colleagues while remaining courteous and collaborating as “Metamates.”
“Meta, Metamates, Me,” said Zuckerberg, “is about becoming excellent stewards of our organisation and mission.”
“It’s about looking after our business and each other.”
The declared values also call for a long-term focus and the creation of “great things.”
“We will continue employing around the world,” stated Meta’s chief executive officer, referring to the company’s new status as a “distributed company.”
The idea of Zuckerberg encouraging staff to become Metamates as a morale booster was quickly criticized on Twitter.
Some remarked that the name sounded more appropriate for a terrible dating app or even sailors on a ship in dangerous waters.
One of the numerous quips sent out on Twitter read, “Metamates report to the Metatorium for a Metameeting.”
Others saw it as an attempt to deflect attention away from Facebook’s troubles.
Critics have slammed Facebook’s rebranding as a ploy to divert attention away from whistle-blower Frances Haugen’s avalanche of harmful disclosures.
The “Facebook Papers” revealed that Facebook officials were aware of their platforms’ potential for harm on a variety of fronts, including the unchecked spread of hate speech in developing nations and Instagram’s influence on teen mental health.
In a tweet Tuesday, Haugen wrote that “@Meta Facebook isn’t ‘nicing us to death’ for those of us living in the moment.”
“Facebook must acknowledge the harm it is causing now, rather than pivoting to the @Metaverse and never looking back.”
After whistle-blower Frances Haugen sparked a debate about whether Meta valued profit over social responsibility, the company’s public image has taken a beating in recent months. Following disappointing earnings earlier this month, Facebook’s parent company lost nearly $251.3 billion in market value, the worst wipeout in market value for any US firm ever.
