Metaverse Facts, Mark Zuckerberg’s Ambitious Project on Meta and Facebook

The name change from Facebook Inc to Meta Platforms Inc., or Meta for short, highlights Mark Zuckerberg’s vision of the metadatabase as the future of the internet. So what does the metaverse mean?

This name change event is perhaps the biggest event to happen to the term metaverse, first coined by Neal Stephenson in his 1992 novel Snow Crash.

As reported by the AP Friday (10/29/2021), Zuckerberg and the Meta team aren’t the only tech visionaries with ideas about how metadata is formed. There is a lot of concern about the new world associated with the social media giant.

Some are concerned about the amount of access to personal data that can be dangerous if false information is leaked online.

Mark Zuckerberg is very ambitious with this metaverse vision. The project cost at least US$ 10 billion, or a huge sum of around Rp 141.6 trillion.

What is metaverse?
The concept of the metaverse, popularized in Neal Stephenson’s science fiction novel Snow Crash, refers to a digital world accessible through virtual reality.

Metaverse is a plot often used in many works of science fiction, such as the Matrix (1999) movies or most recently Ready Player One (2018).

The Metaverse is defined in popular media as a completely immersive online space that resembles the real world but is generated by computers.
People can switch between the physical and virtual worlds via VR headsets or private spaces where real people can interact with live holograms, as in the television series Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Zuckerberg describes it as a “virtual environment” where you can not just look at the screen but enter. It is basically a world of endless and interconnected virtual communities where people can meet, work and play using virtual reality headsets, augmented reality glasses, smartphone apps or other supported devices.

According to a cutting-edge analyst named Victoria Petrock, the metaverse will also include other aspects of online life, such as shopping and social media.

“As everything begins to come together in a perfect twin universe, the next evolution of this connection is that you live your virtual life the way you live your physical life,” she said.
What is the Current State of Metaverse?
Current technology is still not good enough to create a living virtual world. Although people can immerse themselves in digital environments through VR headsets like the Meta device family Oculus.

Some current video games like Fortnite feature a metaverse style where users can direct a customizable digital character and chat with other players.

However, they still need to play Fortnite using traditional computing devices such as PCs, smartphones, and game consoles.

In the early 2000s, startup Linden Lab released Second Life, a game that provided a persistent, computer-accessible online world.

Users can create digital homes, play games and chat with each other, and even buy and sell virtual clothes. However, although it still has a small and loyal fan base, its popularity has waned over the years with the advent of smartphones.

What Is Zuckerberg’s Vision for the Metaverse?
Zuckerberg says the metaverse is the next evolution for social networks, leaving behind static user profiles that only allow people to post comments and photos.

To achieve this, people need to wear VR headsets or augmented reality glasses that embed the digital world into the physical world. It can also be a realistic hologram beamed into the real world from a cutting-edge projection system.

“When you play games with your friends, you feel like you’re together in a different world, not just on your own computer,” Zuckerberg said.
“And when you’re in a meeting in the metaverse, it feels like you’re in the room together, making eye contact, having the same sense of space and not just looking at faces on the screen.”

Architects will be able to embed digital building designs in their physical offices. Concerts can be held without being physically present at the venue.

The new economic system based on cryptocurrencies and digital collectibles known as NFT will allow people to buy and sell goods and services.

Change How People Interact
“The Metaverse will also change the way people interact with smartphones or AR glasses,” Zuckerberg said. Said.

People will be able to use hand gestures to say a few words.