Facebook is no longer Facebook is Meta and is represented by the infinity symbol. Meta is now the name of his flagship company that encompasses Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Oculus to move into the coveted metaverse. This is how Mark Zuckerberg surprised us at the Facebook Connect 2021 although he already warned us in an interview with The Verge in July.
The metaverse is meant to be a virtual universe, a virtual ecosystem that extends the physical world into a digital one through the use of virtual interfaces, avatars and augmented reality.We will use virtual reality goggles and connect with other people through avatars, using motion sensors and microphones.
It's about being inside the computer rather than accessing the computer. It's about always being online rather than always having access to an online world.
Matthew Ball, inversor en Prívate Equity
An example of a metaverse could be seen in the video game by Facebook Horizon and in the virtual meetings that can now be held through the Facebook Horizon Workrooms
But does Mark Zuckerberg want to move away from the social networks we know today into the metaverse, or as he puts it, the new version of the internet?
The metaverse aims to create an alternative virtual reality that complements the physical world and allows us to interact and relate to our environment. It is a new Internet revolution.
By 2021, Meta has allocated more than USD 10 billion exclusively to Reality Labs. And in the European Union, Meta expects to hire 10,000 people over the next five years to drive this activity.
Metaverse vision
Below in the video you can watch Mark Zuckerberg's presentation to show his vision of the Metaverse. Or as he calls it, the next evolution of social technologies made by all of us. The Metaverse is a virtual universe where it will not only be possible to communicate, but also to perform all everyday tasks, play, socialise, learn, go to 3D concerts and even work.
The link between the two worlds of reality as we know it today and the limitless reality offered by the Metaverse is achieved thanks to advances in new technologies in virtual reality headsets and goggles. The technology used by Facebook is called Oculus, that used by Microsoft HoloLens, Microsoft Mesh software, HTC's Vive systems and PlayStation's VR headsets.
Goals of the metaverse and what you can find at Facebook Connect 2021
Facebook Connect 2021 goes beyond being a conference and aims to be a space of connection and union between the community of people interested in Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality.
Meta has its own business unit focused on the metaverse: Reality Labs, which is considered the world leader in virtual reality.
It offers content, talks, workshops and social events with the latest Facebook news in Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality. It aims to become a space for exchange and community among all lovers of this new reality.
Creating new opportunities for human connection
Inside Facebook Connect 2021 you will learn how Facebook wants to create new opportunities for human connection: transforming communities, businesses and the virtual landscape through the future tools of augmented and virtual reality.
Transforming businesses
Mark wants to transform businesses to define and achieve success. Gain industry insights to improve the performance of markets, increase their profits and user experience.
Bringing people together
Bringing people together and building a diverse and collaborative community in the world of augmented and virtual reality.
Building the future
Creating new possibilities, setting the foundations and standards of tomorrow and pushing the boundaries with the use of the latest technologies.
Creating a presence in augmented reality
Facebook Connect 2021 offers a video playlist for all things augmented reality. Here you can discover how Spark augmented reality is creating the next generation of creators and defining a path for the future of augmented reality.
Optimising development
You'll learn how to increase productivity with proven workflow optimisations. Contains a mix of technical and non-technical talks to help developers code faster and better.
Pushing against limits
This is a playlist related to Virtual Reality. You can discover a variety of sessions that encourage and invite you towards Virtual Reality content and experiences.
Special content for programmers
If you are a programmer, you will find technical workshops on Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality programming to join the club.
Other metaverse projects underway
With this presentation, Facebook wants to position itself as one of the pioneers in the world of the metaverse, but the concept is not new. The original idea originated in 1993 by the company Steve Jackson Games. It was a text-based online virtual reality system known as MOO, but the technology was still lacking and there were no Virtual Reality glasses.
Epic Games
Who does not know Epic Games and its famous video games: Fortnite, Minecraft or Roblox. Up to now, they have made it possible to create virtual worlds and even include famous people in the game with the so-called "Zero Point". Now they are also moving towards the Metaverse.
Linden Lab
Another well-known platform is the Sansar platform developed by Linden Lab by the creators of Second Life which allows socialising in 3D through the use of avatars and headsets.
The virtual reality show of Rival Peak is another platform where users can interact with the contestants through the Facebook Watch.
And Sensorium Galaxy for electronic music concerts. The South Korean government has already announced that it is creating a nationwide virtual and augmented reality platform.
Microsoft's metaverse
Microsoft has acquired Activision Blizzard for more than USD 70 billion to develop Microsoft's business in the metaverse. It is also working on virtual remote working projects in dealing with customers and suppliers and collaborating with teams located in very different geographies. Microsoft's goal is to put an end to commuting. The idea is that everything can be done through the metaverse.
Accenture's metaverse
Accenture, where I have had the pleasure of working for more than 7 years, has purchased more than 60,000 virtual reality devices from Meta so that their employees can contact each other and interact regardless of their location. Together with the laptop and phones, they are already part of the hardware package that each employee receives.
BMV and NVIDIA
They are working on professional metaverses that replicate industrial sites in real life to virtually test changes and adjustments to production lines to optimise their performance.
Will the metaverse replace today's Social Networks?
The metaverse will change the way we relate to each other and will render Social Networks as we know them today obsolete. The user experience that social networks offer us today may no longer be enough for us compared to the virtual and 3D experience that the metaverse will be able to offer us.
The metaverse will allow us to experience the products, the places, the projects almost as if we were actually living them or having them. Our brain will believe it is real, and if the brain believes it, the sensations we will feel will be like the real thing.
This is also a revolution in terms of user experience in the world of online shops or e-commerce. Who is going to be satisfied with just seeing a couple of photos or videos of their favourite T-shirt, when you can try it on and combine it with the clothes, accessories and hairstyles you want and in the places you want virtually? Who is going to enter their card details in an online check-out form when you can be in the shop, try on the clothes or shoes, talk to the shop assistants, and show your card in front of the cashier virtually? What if you could discover all the places in the world as if you were there without leaving your living room? Experiences are multiplying and we are starting to live everything that until now was limited to science fiction. It's like having a new virtual life.
Bloomberg expects metaverse-linked ETFs with more than USD 80 billion under management to be listed by 2024.
The big leap in this technology would have to do with the consumption habits of families, and this is something that Facebook knows very well and on which it has based the effectiveness of its online advertising tools.
"We believe that the metaverse is most likely to be a platform for social networking, streaming, gaming and next-generation shopping. We expect the metaverse to function primarily as an advertising and e-commerce platform for offline products and shopping".
Brian Nowak, analista de internet
I don't know about you, but to me it reminds me of a Matrix that once we enter we may never want to leave or wake up from. The concept of the metaverse is way ahead of the current hardware capabilities and regulations that will have to be established in this new virtual world, as well as the way of interacting and the implications this will have on the real world.
The Metaverse in dog education and care
And going back to dog training and grooming and the way of doing business, can you imagine dedicating part of your life to the metaverse, would you be willing for example to teleport as an avatar to offer your dog training or grooming courses virtually? Do you think it will be necessary to groom and train dogs?
🤔 Do you think this will connect or push humans further apart? And what will we prefer to be flesh and blood beings or virtual ones? What do you think of this new digital revolution that is emerging?
So many questions. I think this opens up a very interesting philosophical, moral and ethical melon😅. I read you in the real world (for now).👇
