Gone are the days when Meta was a term used in superhero movies or to describe a universe. Now, the word is working as a defence to shield all the blunders previously done by Facebook.
At Connect 2021 conference, Mark Zuckerberg announced the new name of the company – Metaverse. He refers to it as an “Immersive Embodied Internet,” which the corporation intends to “Assist” in developing.
What is a Meta?
Meta means “after” or “beyond” in Greek. Meta will be the new name for the entire Facebook corporation. The Facebook app, on the other hand, will keep its current name, and other apps (Instagram, Facebook, WhatsApp and Messenger) will not change.
They’ll prioritise the metaverse above Facebook. That implies you’ll eventually be able to access our other services without a Facebook account. I hope that as our new brand appears in their products, people all across the world get acquainted with the Meta brand and the future we represent.
Meta has a new logo as well, which looks like an infinite symbol.
The ‘Meta’ symbolise is “intended to dynamically reside in the metaverse — where you may walk through it and around it,” according to the business in a blog post.
What will exist in the Metaverse?
Interoperability, avatars, natural interfaces, teleporting, Home Space, presence, and digital commodities will be some of the fundamental aspects of this metaverse, which will go beyond the internet as we know it.
Living in the metaverse,’ according to Zuckerberg, will feel more ‘natural and vivid.’ Devices will no longer be the centre of your attention.
According to Facebook’s presentation, two persons in separate places around the world may attend a performance together, or perhaps a party with other virtual or holographic avatars.
Work from home would have a new connotation in the metaverse.
Logging in would allow you to experience the office virtually as if you were there physically, without actually being there.
The metaverse, however, is more than the ability to travel to many locations or to experience mixed reality. The fact that the ‘metaverse’ is live, continuous, and never resets is one of its most distinguishing features. It won’t be about spending more time in front of a screen, according to Zuckerberg.
What’s the Plan to build Metaverse?
The goal is to keep the metaverse experience free, therefore Meta will sell its “devices at cost or with a subsidy to make them more accessible to more people.”
The Oculus Quest 2 or 3 are VR or AR devices that can be used to access sections of the metaverse. There’s also Project Cambria, a new VR device that will be more expensive and include more advanced tracking technologies. This will happen next year. Aria, Facebook’s augmented reality glasses project, is still in the works.
Meta would also “support side-loading and streaming from PCs so individuals have a choice rather than being forced to utilise the Quest Store to find programmes or communicate with customers,” according to the company.
It will also give Facebook a way to go beyond Apple and Google’s strict control over the iOS and Android systems, respectively.
When will this become a Reality?
He believes that by the following decade, components of the metaverse will exist. Although there are challenges:
- All of those precise and genuine holographic projections will necessitate technological advancement.
- Interoperability will be another challenge. This means that a digital item purchased in the metaverse should theoretically work anywhere.
Biggest Question of All – Is it Safe?
Zuckerberg claims that the metaverse will be constructed with ‘user’ privacy in mind.
The presentation also mentioned that they don’t want to surprise people with new technology and that as the metaverse is constructed, they would need to collaborate with policymakers and governments. However, the specifics of how privacy will work in this metaverse are still unknown.
And, given the metaverse’s desire to be all-encompassing, how ‘Meta’ deals with privacy will undoubtedly be a closely scrutinised feature of this new universe.
Let’s hope, Metaverse doesn’t fail us as Facebook did.