You look at MSQRD and you think “Oh my god, such a stupid idea got so many millions in $”.

Stupid ideas are good ideas? This might sound like something worth thinking about right?
As always, it depends.

In an ever-changing social mood, things like MSQRD are needed by the social networks. They seek, as their primary goal, new ways to keep your attention by entertaining you.
It doesn’t matter if what you create is fake or not, it’s important that it entertains and keep you on the social.

Seen this way, the acquisition of MSQRD is smart and needed because Facebook wanted something like Snapchat but probably didn’t want to spend their time creating it when a product already had both the features and some users.

Does this mean that every stupid idea is good? Absolutely not. It was stupid (from a point of view), and it was at the same time a benefit needed by some.
What I think a discussion like this is missing is “What you’re after?”

The whole social business revolves around your attention span, your entertainment.
It’s quite normal if it has non-serious evolution given the context of social networks.

If what you’re after is money and the things that make you envy the MSQRD result is that, then you might as well give it a try and try doing “stupid” things.
But what if you’re more into making a change, leaving a trace?

MSQRD is a mood. In 10 years it could be gone and nobody would even remember it.
Right now in Italy they are dismantling the old telephone booths and the children from these years won’t even know they were there. But those booths lasted way more than 10 years.

In social network a feature could last much, much less. So in 10 years MSQRD could be gone e nobody will remember it nor feel nostalgic about it.

Making a change requires a different perspective and also requires you to work in different fields.

Yes, the MSQRD result is fantastic and something many people will envy, but is that result you’re after?