Has Airbnb really eliminated PMs?
Has Airbnb really eliminated PMs?
Product Management, UX, Startups, AI, and more — freshly curated by Zeda.io
Hello, all you product-loving folks! 💜
Welcome to this week's edition of Product Café, your weekly cup of coffee for everything product management, startups, and more. ☕
“The designers are equal to the product managers, actually we got rid of the classic product management function. Apple didn’t have it either.”
-Brian Chesky, Figma Config23.
Just recently, we all found ourselves in quite the tech industry uproar when Brian Chesky, at Figma Config23, declared that Airbnb had eliminated the "classic product management function.” This news might have left you feeling uncertain about the future of product management.
But, dear reader, is our beloved Product Management really a dying breed at Airbnb?
Spoiler alert: it's not!
The Evolving Role of PMs at Airbnb ⚡️
Yes, you read that correctly. Airbnb has undergone a significant reshuffling of roles, but it's far from the grave-digging scenario that made the rounds on the internet. It was nothing but a good gossip-infused exaggeration.
Chesky's comment gave the impression that Airbnb was kicking product management to the curb. Yet, the reality of the situation is quite the opposite.
In true plot twist fashion, Airbnb has evolved its product management into a hybrid function, merging it with product marketing. It's not an elimination but a transformation – think of it as the Metamorphosis of Product Management.
In this new avatar, PMs are expected to create & champion their creations.😎
When confronted with the panic-fueled “death of product management” uproar, Chesky responded to clarify that the PM role at Airbnb was merely morphing, not disappearing. His tweet went like this:
So, what's the moral of the story? Worry not; product management is here to stay, but brace yourself for evolution!
After all, growth comes from evolution. 😇
Comic of the week 💬
Source: https://rb.gy/j0ij4
X Marks the Spot: Twitter Bird Flies the Coop!
Twitter's iconic bird has flown away, and an 'X' has roosted in its place! Linda Yaccarino, Twitter's CEO, heralded the arrival of the X era, boldly proclaiming, "X is here! Let's do this."
No more tweeting in this new X-scape; posts are now 'x's as per Twitter owner Elon Musk, who sports the fresh logo as his profile picture and flaunts "X.com" in his bio.
Musk's X-obsession is not new. Remember X.com, PayPal's predecessor, which got Musk a cool $165m? Or his spaceship venture SpaceX, and his uniquely named child, X Æ A-12 Musk? And let's not forget xAI, Musk's answer to ChatGPT.
So, as we bid farewell to Twitter's feathered mascot, let's embrace the new 'X'traordinary era. Who knows what twists and turns Musk's 'X' obsession will tweet, err, 'x' next? Stay tuned!
What’s brewing on Zeda.io’s side?☕️
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We can’t wait for you to try out these!🤩
It’s hard to explain what a Product Manager does, we get it. But you know what’s not that hard? Sharing this newsletter with your friends and colleagues!
