Meta Shuts Down Bulletin Newsletters and Moves Resources to Discovery Algo
Meta shuts down Bulletin newsletters and moves resources to its discovery algo, moving away from a content model based on syndication. While this move will impact writers, Meta is paying them out their contracts, and writers will keep their subscription revenue. They can also move their content and subscriber lists elsewhere. The company plans to shift more of its content to Facebook and focus on its discovery algo. This move comes after Meta shuttered its podcast business in June and integrated its live audio offering into Facebook Live.
Meta’s bid to dominate the metaverse
The metaverse, an alternate reality where people can interact with one another, is facing some big challenges. Meta is restructuring to address these issues and has announced that Bulletin will be shut down in 2023. This is a blow to competitors Substack and Bulletin, who offer subscriptions to their newsletters and other content.
The Bulletin platform was launched in June 2021 and pitched itself as a publishing platform for independent writers. The idea was to enable subscribers to subscribe to the newsletters of writers they enjoyed and earn subscription income. This system was similar to Substack, but it allowed writers to charge readers for their work. Subscriptions would continue until the year 2023, as long as the Bulletin site did not take a cut.
Facebook is betting big on the metaverse. The company has hired over 10,000 employees to work on the project and has invested tens of billions of dollars. CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s company is pursuing VR/AR and believes it is the future of the internet.
Meta’s bid to compete with TikTok
Facebook-owned Meta is shutting down its Bulletin newsletter product and shifting its resources to its discovery algo, as it fights Chinese short-form video service TikTok. Bulletin was a subscription-based product for writers that offered subscribers curated newsletters from contributors. It also featured content from Meta authors.
Meta wants to build a platform to help creators and unify its tools. It has also invested in independent writers, including podcasters, as a way to foster deeper connections with Facebook users. Earlier this year, Meta settled a lawsuit with two companies, BrandTotal and Unimania, in which it agreed to pay a substantial amount. In exchange, the companies agreed to end scraping data from their websites.
Meta’s bid to master algorithmic discovery
Meta is making a big bet on its discovery algorithm, refocusing its engineering resources on other projects. For instance, the company plans to close the Bulletin platform in early next year to focus on its algorithm. With the help of machine learning artificial intelligence, the company’s algorithm takes into account thousands of signals to serve up relevant content to users.
Facebook has come under fire for its algorithm over the past few months, but the company is committed to keeping spam at bay. Moreover, recent changes to its algorithm address concerns about content and privacy. In the meantime, the Meta team is working on a new feature for its mobile app called “full screen” for videos.
