Five takeaways about Facebook's pivot to audio

Mark Zuckerberg: “A big part of the creative economy is that it's enabling individuals, and shifting power from some traditional institutions to individuals to exercise their own creativity. And I think that that's a positive trend in the world. It's really empowering for a lot of people, and allows a lot of new stuff to get created. I think based ... See more

Zuckerberg also acknowledged that there is still a debate over the degree to which audio — particularly live audio — ought to be moderated. If I walk by your picnic table in the park and hear you sharing misinformation with your friends, I’m not going to call the police. If the same conversation took place on Facebook audio rooms, should moderators... See more

How to moderate live audio is still an open question. Facebook is getting better at moderating text and video content, particularly in the United States. But as a recent series in the Guardian has illustrated, policy enforcement tends to grow weaker the further removed the content is from Menlo Park.

This is a pretty big deal! You can’t export your Facebook Page subscribers or your Instagram followers. Nor can you easily transfer your subscribers on TikTok or YouTube. If Facebook leans into the notion that creators ought to own the relationship with their creators, it could represent the start of a healthy shift in mindset among platforms.

Zuckerberg continued: “When we talk about giving favorable terms [to creators], it's actually not just the economics. I think it's also the portability, so that we creators know that if they start building up a business here, that they're not just gonna be locked in, and will be able to take it to different places.”

Substack’s margin is Facebook’s opportunity.