Mark Zuckerberg has commented on his plan to transform Facebook into “a metaverse company” and explained how to achieve it.
Facebook has been rethinking its future for some time. Beyond the numerous controversies that have surrounded the various social networks, it needs a turnaround in the business perspective to avoid losing leadership and Mark Zuckerberg has shown his vision in the recent presentation of accounts that have been held.
Aware of the value of his words, the CEO of the company has commented on his intention to turn Facebook into “a metaverse company”. This may lead many to think of cyberpunk as a term invented by writer Neal Stephenson in the novel Snow Crash. But what exactly does it refer to?
In his own words, “What is the metaverse? It’s a virtual environment where you can be present with people in digital spaces. You could think of it as an embedded Internet where you’re inside rather than just watching.”
A few days earlier, in another interview, he commented that the metaverse can be seen “as the successor to the mobile Internet. We think a big part of our next chapter is going to be helping to build it, in partnership with many other companies and creators and developers”.
There has long been talking of Facebook’s intention to carve out its niche in augmented reality now that it seems in full expansion. But the company is not planning to move its networks to another type of interface as-is, but rather a more profound change.
What is clear is that Oculus has to be part of the project. The expected results have not yet been achieved and Apple’s arrival in the sector may affect them, but Mark Zuckerberg thinks that “Oculus has the opportunity to create the most social platform in history and change the way we work, play and communicate”. Although to achieve this there must be a major change, and also a cheapening of equipment.
In any case, in the last few years, they have bought different augmented reality companies and game studios, although they have not moved what is the main focus they are working on. And perhaps it will stay that way until they have their big launch ready.
What seems clear is that Facebook wants its services to remain not only in social networks or connection spaces, it also maintains the ambition that users buy them the hardware to connect to the most immersive experiences.
Metaverse, augmented reality, or another similar term, each one has its nuances, but with the information provided, there is still a lack of concreteness to draw major conclusions.
