The chief executive of Facebook, Mark Zuckerberg has recently announce to its investors a very promising solution. He said the company is planning to mold itself into a “metaverse company”. The idea is to build virtual environments similar to what we have in science fiction movies like Ready Player One. This will enable users to interact in a virtual space that is driven by companies like Facebook and other tech giants like it.
“I WANTED TO DISCUSS THIS NOW SO THAT YOU CAN SEE THE FUTURE THAT WE’RE WORKING TOWARDS AND HOW OUR MAJOR INITIATIVES ACROSS THE COMPANY ARE GOING TO MAP TO THAT,” ZUCKERBERG SAID DURING THE COMPANY’S EARNINGS CALL LAST NIGHT. “WHAT IS THE METAVERSE? IT’S A VIRTUAL ENVIRONMENT WHERE YOU CAN BE PRESENT WITH PEOPLE IN DIGITAL SPACES. YOU CAN KIND OF THINK OF THIS AS AN EMBODIED INTERNET THAT YOU’RE INSIDE OF RATHER THAN JUST LOOKING AT.”
In the interview with TheVerge, Zuckerberg described the metaverse as a virtual environment where people can hold meetings and perform other activities. It’s a shift in the company’s business in a sense, although you could look at it more as an evolution.
Facebook wants to take advantage of its strong internet influence to build a metaverse like this. Moreover, the company already has Oculus which can also work in this scenario.
Of course, Facebook isn’t the first and will not be the latter thinking on this. Companies like Microsoft, Apple, and Google may also be involved in such features if at all it materializes. Microsoft recently showcased an implementation of the HoloLens, dubbed Holoportation, a few years ago. This allowed users to hold meetings as holograms. It’s easy to see how such a thing would fit inside this metaverse.
If you’re an avid fan of science fiction, this is a great news. After all, this may be some miles away from materializing into something real. Mark Zuckerberg himself admitted in the interview that the company is a long way away from getting to this future. However, he says that the idea isn’t something that’s a fly-by-night kind of thing. Facebook is actively working to build the metaverse, and telling investors about this certainly seems like a confirmation. Are you excited about this reality?
