Facebook is now called Meta, and this name change has to do with its great bet on the future: to develop a kind of virtual world, the metaverse, in which the company intends that we all spend a good part of our lives. We will go there to interact with each other, to entertain ourselves, to work, to study, to play sports. And to shop, of course. With just a pair of virtual reality glasses (it has not yet been specified which ones) and an Internet connection, users will be able to immerse themselves in this parallel universe that promises to revolutionize our idea of the Internet.
After having almost half of mankind hanging on their social networks, the young tycoon considers that it is necessary to give a twist to his project. The metaverse, Zuckerberg said Thursday at his company's annual developer event, is the logical evolution of the network, which has run out of steam. It's taking Facebook to the next level. Until now, our experience in cyberspace was limited to browsing websites or managing applications. The digital world existed on the screens of our devices; when we looked away from our cell phones or computers, that world was shut down. The metaverse is to enter it. In a universe, of course, designed and modeled by Facebook (or Meta), where everything we see, hear and touch is a virtual reality experience. A gigantic technological challenge to which the company also links its financial future. According to Zuckerberg, this parallel world will move "hundreds of billions of dollars" in the next ten years.
The metaverse was thus a long-standing obsession of Zuckerberg's. And Zuck is not obsessed with just anything. For many years, the Facebook founder was only fixated on two: improving the experience of his social network and increasing the number of users.
Inside the 'metaverse
According to Meta, the technology they are developing will give the virtual environment of the metaverse enough verisimilitude to make us feel the comfort of being in a parallel world. Zuckerberg on Thursday announced progress on its virtual reality goggles, capable of reading the wearer's facial expressions and having these displayed on the avatar (the character that represents him or her in that virtual world). Throughout almost an hour and a half presentation, which was actually a high-budget video, the founder of Facebook showed some of the brushstrokes of this new world. The executive parades through his luxurious home overlooking the lake and suddenly the house is transformed into a faithful digital replica of it and he into an avatar in his own image.
"What Mark showed is our vision of what the metaverse will look like." Meta's technology is not yet up to that resolution. But getting there is the goal. "It may be that the transformation we are setting in motion will have more impact on our lives and the economy than the smartphone has had in the last ten years," the French executive ventures.
Zuckerberg outlined in his presentation a small skeleton of that metaverse. Once the special glasses are put on, the user will enter a starting space, his home (Horizon Home). There he will be able to interact with his contacts. A WhatsApp group conversation, for example, can be brought to the sofa in that virtual home, with the avatars of the group members sitting or moving around the room.
The next level, Horizon World, will consist of additional spaces to be developed by companies that want to embark on the project. For example, a concert hall or a museum. There will also be places to buy various decorative elements and accessories for that virtual world (Horizon Marketplace) or a platform to implement hybrid work (Horizon Workrooms), among others. The possibilities, says Zuckerberg, are almost endless.
Meta also intends to combine the real world with the metaverse. That is, to integrate virtual elements (for example, the hologram of the person we are talking to) into the real environment we are seeing. This would be done with other glasses, in this case augmented reality.
How it will develop
Zuckerberg's metaverse seeks to do just that: become a social meeting space. One that transcends what Facebook already was. Meta wants other companies to participate in the construction of this new world. The whole metaverse is yet to be made. Zuckerberg announced Thursday a $150 million investment to train "the next generation of metaverse creators." He will also devote another $50 million to gather expert opinions on what form this virtual universe should take. Last week, in the midst of a flurry of leaks, the company said it intended to hire some 10,000 people in Europe over the next five years to develop its idea.
We will have to wait at least until next year to see what the metaverse is all about. And its development will take years, perhaps decades, to complete. Meta is not alone in this race. Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella already said this summer, a month after Zuckerberg first uttered the word in public, that Microsoft wanted to lead the creation of the enterprise "metaverse." Companies are taking positions to colonize something that doesn't yet exist.
"Over time I'm confident we will be seen as a 'metaverse' company," Zuckerberg said. That's the legacy he wants to leave. He knows how he wants to be remembered, and in that image Facebook no longer fits.