Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is betting on the company's future on the metacosm.
To underscore Facebook's determination to focus on the metacosm, Zuckerberg announced at Facebook's annual Connect conference on October 28 that Facebook has changed its name to Meta, saying: "I believe the metacosm will be the next chapter in the development of the Internet, and it will also be the next chapter for our company." ”
If you don't know what the word "metaverse" means, it's normal. With the advent of personal computers and smartphones, the term is still used primarily by futurists to describe the next frontier of computing and networking.
Regarding the metaverse, you need to know the following points.
What is the metacosm?
The concept of a metaverse, first derived from Neil Stephenson's science fiction novel Snow Crash, refers to the digital universe that can be accessed through virtual reality. Such episodes have often appeared in many recent science fiction works, such as the Matrix series and the Ready Player One original novels and movies.
The metaverse is portrayed by the mass media as a fully immersive cyberspace that looks similar to the real world but is computer-generated. Vr headsets allow people to switch freely between the physical and virtual worlds, or, as in the TV series Star Trek: The Next Generation, customize rooms to interact between real-life and realistic holograms.
What is the current state of the metaverse?
Current technology is not mature enough to create realistic virtual worlds. While people can immerse themselves in digital environments through VR headsets like Facebook's Meta (formerly known as Oculus) series of devices, these environments are more akin to video games.
Currently, some video games, such as Fortnite, already have metaverse attributes, allowing users to manipulate custom digital characters and chat with other players. However, they had to use traditional computing devices such as personal computers, smartphones, and game consoles to be able to play Fortnite.
Back in the early part of the century, startup Linden Lab launched a game called Second Life, which presents a continuous online world accessible through computers. Users can create digital homes, play games, chat with other players, and even buy and sell virtual costumes. Although the game still has a small group of loyal fans, its popularity has been declining over the years with the rise of smartphones.
What is Facebook's metacosmonic vision?
Zuckerberg calls metaverses the next evolution for the social networking industry, where people will no longer use static user profiles that can only post comment text and photos. In order to enter the metaverse, people need to wear VR helmets or augmented reality glasses to superimpose digital space onto the physical world. Realistic holograms can also be projected into the real world via cutting-edge projection systems.
Zuckerberg said: "When you play games with friends, you don't feel like you're just playing alone on a computer, but you're in a different world together. When you meet in the metaverse, you don't feel like you can only see the grid face on the screen, but you feel like you're in the same room, making eye contact in the same space. ”
Architects will be able to showcase digital architectural designs in their physical offices. Using the metaverse, friends can attend concerts without actually being present.
People can represent themselves with a variety of digital doppelgangers: serious doppelgangers at work; leisurely cartoon images when hanging out with friends; and strange avatars like robots when playing video games.
Through a new economic system based on cryptocurrencies and digital collectibles (i.e. non-homogeneous tokens, NFTs), people are able to buy and sell goods and services.
Zuckerberg said the metacosm will also change the way people interact with smartphones or AR glasses. People will be able to gesture "say a few words" and even make things happen just by thinking. ”
Is the metaverse realm profitable?
Facebook's idea of a metaverse is far from being realized. It will take years or even decades for this to be fully realized – if it can be achieved.
Zuckerberg did not say when his company could profit from the metacosm business. He simply said: "Over the next decade, the metaverse will benefit 1 billion people, spawn hundreds of billions of dollars worth of digital commerce, and provide jobs for millions of creators and developers." ”
Earlier last week, Facebook said the company's investment in meta-universe projects in 2021 would result in a $10 billion reduction in its total profits.
Zuckerberg said nothing about the future of Facebook's core online advertising business in the metaverse. Presumably, the company will be able to make billions of dollars in profit in the metaverse by displaying targeted ads based on people's behavior in the virtual world.
Zuckerberg stressed that in order to bring Facebook's metaverse closer to the real world, external developers are needed to create new products for it, such as games, concerts and other events. Theoretically, Facebook could take a share of developer revenue, just as Apple and Google charge developers who sell apps in their app stores.
The metacosm is an opportunity for Facebook to dominate the next frontier of computing, and perhaps Facebook can create a metacosm equivalent of an app store before competitors. The results can be very lucrative, or they can be as unworthy as Second Life. (Fortune Chinese Network)
Translator: Hao Xiu
Reviewer: Wang Hao
