The metaverse is coming, and Facebook wants to become a “metaverse company.”
Or maybe the metaverse company, considering that it will soon be taking the huge step of rebranding its company name to better align with its desired shift in focus away from social media and toward futuristic technologies.
While the new name is a closely guarded secret, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is expected to discuss the company’s name change during the upcoming Facebook Connect conference on October 28th.
What is the Metaverse?
The term metaverse originated in sci-fi. Metaverse typically refers to the loosely defined idea of a virtual space where humans can operate avatars of themselves that are powered by both augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR).
In augmented reality, the user interacts with a combination of the real and virtual worlds. In virtual reality, the user does not interact with the real world at all, but instead is fully immersed in the virtual world.
The term metaverse was initially coined in 1992 by sci-fi writer Neal Stephenson in his book, “Snow Crash.” Although not named specifically, the concept of the metaverse has been employed in pop culture in films like “The Matrix” trilogy and more recently “Ready Player One.” In both films, the characters enter a virtual world to escape from a dystopian reality.
The term metaverse has now been adopted by one of the world’s largest, most well-known, and most controversial companies. The soon-to-be-renamed Facebook will need to convince potential users why its own version of the metaverse will be worth stepping into. This will be a tough task considering that the metaverse concept and its applications are not widely understood or even known to the average user.
Zuckerberg’s Metaverse Vision
The metaverse has garnered much attention from Zuckerberg, who has stated that it will not only be a big focus for Facebook but will also be the next evolution of the internet beyond mobile devices.
He also believes that augmented reality glasses will be as commonplace as smartphones have become. To that end, it’s speculated that the new company name may be related to Horizon, the as-yet-unreleased virtual reality version of the Facebook-meets-Roblox environment that the company has already been developing for several years.
Facebook’s Metaverse Foundation
Facebook is aware that building its own metaverse will require more than rebranding itself. It has already been laying the foundation for a focus on the next generation of technology. And, Facebook isn’t alone when it comes to evolving to keep up with today’s demand for new technology. Just recently, Coinbase announced plans for a new NFT marketplace while rumors have circulated that Reddit is gearing up to do the same.
This past summer it created a dedicated metaverse team and recently announced that Andrew Bosworth, Facebook head of AR and VR, will soon be promoted to Chief Technology Officer. Further, just a few days ago, plans were announced to hire 10,000 employees across Europe to be dedicated to building the Facebook metaverse.
While the renaming could position Facebook as a founding player in the metaverse, it may also help separate Zuckerberg’s hi-tech vision and work from the ever-increasing scrutiny that the social-media giant is under.
Several Facebook internal documents were recently leaked by a former employee who has also testified before Congress, and steps are being taken to break up the company by anti-trust lawmakers. Additionally, trust by the public has eroded over the past several years due to revelations about Facebook’s business practices.
