Why has Facebook's Name Changed to Meta: What is the Metaverse?
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On Thursday, Facebook revealed that it has changed its name to Meta. The new name symbolizes the firm's increasing aspirations outside social networks. Facebook's new moniker, Meta, is derived from the science fiction term metaverse and describes the company's aim to work and play in a virtual world.
Why has Facebook's Name Changed to Meta?
Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Facebook Inc. said that the firm changed its name to Meta to highlight development prospects in online digital realms known as the metaverse, which extend beyond its eponymous social media network.
The move is a hint to the metaverse, a fully interactive next-generation online based primarily on VR. You could experience it like you're literally there, engaging with virtual replicas of actual people, locations, and stores, rather than browsing or sending messages online.
Its promotion of the metaverse comes at a time when Facebook is under fire from politicians, researchers, and users following revelations in The Wall Street Journal's Facebook Files investigation.
What is the Metaverse?
Neal Stephenson coined the word "metaverse" to describe a digital cosmos that can be explored through virtual reality in his science-fiction novel Snow Crash. Many modern works of science fiction, like the Matrix films and the novel and film Ready Player One, have exploited it as a story component.
In popular culture, the metaverse is portrayed as a fully immersive online domain that resembles the real world yet is computer-created.
People can switch between physical and virtual worlds using virtual reality goggles or custom rooms, as shown in Star Trek: The Very Next Gen tv show, where actual users can interact with realistic holograms.
The Name of the Facebook App will Not be Changed to Meta. Why?
Facebook is now known by the meta name. The rebranding reflects Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg's announcement that the company is committed to building the "metaverse," a new surround-sound technology.
Even if the company name changes, the social media platform Facebook - both the website and the mobile app - will remain known as Facebook. Only the company's name will change.
What is Facebook’s Vision of the Metaverse?
According to Zuckerberg, the metaverse is the next phase in social networking, going beyond static user profiles that merely allow people to post comments and photos.
To get there, people would need to wear virtual reality headsets or augmented reality glasses, which overlay the digital environment on top of the physical world. Lifelike holograms could likewise be transmitted into the real world using cutting-edge projection technologies.
"When you play a game with your friends, not just on your computer by yourself," Zuckerberg added, "you'll feel like you're right there together in a new universe. "And when you're in a metaverse meeting, it'll seem like you're in the same room as each other, making eye contact and sharing a feeling of space, rather than staring at a grid of faces on a screen."
Architects would be able to use their real workplaces to display digital building ideas. Friends would be able to attend concerts via the metaverse without needing to physically attend the event.
People may employ a variety of digital avatars to represent themselves, including a more serious one for business, a more laid-back and comical one for hanging out with friends, and a fantastical one like a robot for gaming.
People would be able to buy and sell goods and services using new economic systems based on cryptocurrencies and digital collectibles known as NFTs.
According to Zuckerberg, the metaverse will transform how people interact with smartphones and AR glasses. People would be able to "speak a few words or even just make things happen by thinking about them" using hand gestures.
Facebook Plans to Make Money from Metaverse
Facebook's metaverse vision is still a long way off. This will take years, if not 10 years, to achieve it completely. Zuckerberg offered no indication of when the metaverse business of his company will be lucrative.
He simply stated, "Within the next 10 years, the metaverse will approach a billion users, host hundreds of billions in eCommerce, and sustain millions of innovators and developers."
Facebook has disclosed that its metaverse efforts will cost the firm $10 billion by 2021.
In the metaverse, Zuckerberg said nothing regarding the future of Facebook's primary online ad business. The corporation could presumably generate billions by displaying users' adverts in the metaverse that are tailored to them depending on their activities in virtual reality.
Outside developers are needed to produce products for Facebook's metaverse, such as games, concerts, and other activities, in order for it to be more like the real world, according to Zuckerberg. Facebook could theoretically take a part of any money made by developers, similar to how Apple and Google charge developers fees for selling programs in their respective app stores.
Facebook has a chance to control the next phase of intelligence by building the metaverse's version of an app store before its competitors. The outcomes might be extremely profitable, or they could be similar to Second Life, where the reality falls short of the hype.
