On October 28 2021, Facebook, one of the world’s leading tech giants, was involved in a major re-brand shift in the social network industry. The holding company’s CEO, Mark Zuckerberg, asserted that Facebook would refer to Meta as the stepping stone of many incredible things in the future. 
Meta is considered the next evolution of social connection – bringing future applications and technologies together.
What is Metaverse?
Metaverse is a virtual world platform where people can interact, socialize, hold meetings, purchase properties and perform other virtual activities that presently seem improbable. Also, by seamlessly blending the idea of digital and real-world, using the latest technologies such as augmented reality and virtual reality, the Metaverse platform could act as a brand new ecosystem for millions of content creators to land jobs in future.
Why does Facebook want to establish Meta?
The Metaverse is said to pioneer enormous interests based on power, surveillance and control. Leading to the fact this may also eventually determine how humans learn, socialize, and work – meaning AI, AR and VR will climb up the ladder in becoming standard technologies in the future we all depend on. Facebook’s vision and reason to establish Meta is apparent – they want to play a pivotal role in our lives; if the future is based on Artificial Intelligence and Virtual Reality.
However, this is partially concerning because VR and AR devices have trackability features that can potentially identify any movement you make based on your identity.
But let’s dive further into the Metaverse and what we know about it.
What could it have in store for you?
Metaverse for people acts as a network of immersive Virtual Reality where you can interact with one another while moving virtual or graphical representations or avatars of themselves. Think of it like an online multiplayer role-playing game where you and your opponent can perform concurrent activities from each one’s end. The vision of Metaverse similarly operates in that fashion to envision as the rightful successor of the internet. Besides, it is yet a vision at this point. Still, tech giants like Facebook aim to build on the idea of making it the primary setting of the online world or activities, including studying, shopping, and working. This draws firm to conclude that the company is sold on the metaverse concept and would go beyond the unthinkable to make it sound rational.
But, if you think the idea is outlandish to you in every outlook, the following properties may help you fathom what can be anticipated from the Metaverse.
More options to extend your circle
The Metaverse could just be another social platform central to Facebook history as a social network. But, this time, there are many more people out there to accompany you, represented as virtual avatars. These avatars might be Artificial Intelligence bots, virtual agents or any other tech manifestation. You can socialize with such avatars or other people and even carry out things with them.
According to The Conversation, a non-profit network of research and reports from tech experts, Metaverse is convinced to take over the internet in the forthcoming years and communication through meta could be more natural and enhanced than conventional video conferencing options. For instance, your avatar can easily walk out of a conversation, sit next to another one’s avatar and start a conversation or address a specific person using the gaze feature.
Personalization made easier
Metaverse could readily be accessible, and you visit it whenever you need it. You can change the ecosystem or the fabric of the virtual world by adding newer elements to the environment, like adding virtual buildings or objects that are appropriate to the system and, importantly, the things you add would remain in place the next time you visit the metaverse. This adds up to the fact that Metaverse relies more on user-generated content – a typical social media feature.
Our Observation
Despite the added features coupled with user personalization, the current tension between governments and billion-dollar corporations is about the invasion of “privacy”, “freedom of speech”, and other potential online harm, which swallows the innovative structure of these next-gen social platforms. Also, we should seriously analyze the kind of Metaverse we want to create and who gets to regulate the norms.
What do you think about Facebook’s new Metaverse? And how do you think it will change the way we interact with each other and brands online? Write to us at bunjy.co or visit our blog page to learn more about the world of digital marketing.