Facebook is now Meta. ” Metaverse first, not Facebook first “. As rumored, Mark Zuckerberg has confirmed the name change of the company he runs to represent the beginning of a new era focused on the ‘metaverse’. Meta will be the parent company that encompasses what is now the social network of Facebook, WhatsApp and Instagram, in addition to other projects such as Quest, Messenger or Horizon.
As Google did with Alphabet in 2015, Facebook Inc. changes its name to try to reflect its new bet and introduces an infinity symbol as a representation of Meta, although the design team also explains what the letter ‘M’ represents.
After the numerous scandals, Zuckerberg wants to make a clean slate with the company and distance himself from social networks to get closer to the metaverse, what he defines as “the next version of the internet. “
What do we know about the bet of Facebook Goal for the metaverse
It’s easy to think of the ‘Ready Player One’ movie when talking about metaverse. It is the word that Mark Zuckerberg has not stopped repeating during Facebook Connect 2021, the event that has been held today and where he has revealed his plans.
The metaverse is a virtual universe that expands the physical world into digital, either with augmented reality, avatars or virtual interfaces. One of the examples of this metaverse is Facebook Horizon, a kind of ‘Second Life’ in virtual reality.
According to calculations by Bloomberg, the business of the metaverse could be worth up to 800,000 million dollars in 2024. A sector with enormous potential for which Facebook, now Meta, will try to fight.
For the moment, the metaverse as such is still more of an eye-catching concept than a specific tool. During this event, Zuckerberg has shown different videos of his possibilities, from ‘metaversian chess’ where two players in different parts of the world face each other or virtual avatars talking with real people.
“For many people, I’m not sure there is ever a good time to focus on the future,” says Zuckerberg, who explains that “investing in the metaverse is going to be a big step forward.” A project to “teleport to places with distant people and interact with them in a virtual space”. A metaverse where Zuckerberg has made it clear that one of the concepts that will make it possible is interoperability.
Over the next decade, Zuckerberg expects the metaverse to reach 1 billion users, generate billions of dollars, and aid the work of the millions of creators already working on the internet. “Facebook was created to connect people and now we will connect people through the metaverse,” concluded Zuckerberg. A name change that represents a whole turn in the company. Goodbye to the Facebook we know. It’s time to see what Meta will offer us.
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