The term metaverse has been receiving bewildering loads of excitement, suspicions, and curious reviews after Mark Zuckerberg’s announcement of his grand plans to bring metaverse to life. The historic announcement came as part of a major rebrand that made Meta as the parent company of Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, and subsidiaries. Mark Zuckerberg, the chief executive officer of Meta, has pronounced that the main focus of Meta is “to bring the metaverse to life and help people connect, find communities and grow businesses.”
Are you curious about what does he mean by bringing metaverse to reality in the diverse sphere of our day-to-day lives? If yes, here is an effort to explain it to you in simple terms.
Metaverse: Meaning and origin
Let’s begin with the word meaning of ‘meta’. Its root comes from the Greek language. It is a prefix meaning “more comprehensive” or “transcending. In simple terms ‘meta’ means ‘beyond’ which lucidly indicates the futuristic intentions of the multinational technology conglomerate.
Speculative fiction writer Neal Stephenson first coined the term “metaverse” in his 1992 science-fiction novel “Snow Crash”. The novel portrays a virtual reality (VR) inspired successor to the internet wherein people through digital avatars to live large slices of their lives in virtual environments. Snow Crash depicts a place for people to explore the online world, a place where people can escape from the dystopian reality.
What is Zuckerberg ‘s metaverse?
Mark Zuckerberg has unambiguously stated his ambition to recognize Meta as a serious metaverse company. He is definitely spotlighting a lot of immersive experiences while connecting with people, often using VR headsets.
In his speech, he elaborates on how metaverse is the successor to the mobile internet by outlining the growth from desktop to phones, and from text to videos, and from interactions that transform from staring at mere screens to more immersive experiences that make the feeling of presence more vibrant and real. Metaverse is all about making you feel present right there with the people.
No matter how far apart we actually are, you will be able to feel the presence of others and/or anything you can imagine. We will be able to express ourselves in new, jubilant, and completely immersive ways. A shared sense of space is the highlight allowing us to have direct eye contact with our social connections. This is far better than communicating looking at a grid of faces on screen.
Metaverse is more than just screens!
As we all know, screens cannot convey the full extent of human emotions, expressions, and connections. Screens are not a perfect medium to deliver the deeper feeling of presence. And that’s what metaverse is all set to solve! It is the next version of the internet and embodies the internet in a fuller form.
Metaverse will help you go beyond the screens and interact in a more natural and vivid manner. Be it connecting socially, games, work, or entertainment, you will be able to unlock deeper meanings of connections and interactions in the metaverse. Metaverse is about making your time spent on screens more meaningful and deeply nourishing. Though it doesn’t fully exist yet, some of the basic building blocks are present in the current world. The technology that facilitates the process of connecting with people will be built around people. It will be erected around how we actually experience the world and interact with each other. That’s what Metaverse is all about…
What is there in the Facebook metaverse?
Zuckerberg highlights a number of unique elements when it comes to connecting with people in Facebook metaverse, a shared virtual space.
The feeling of presence is the defining quality of metaverse. ‘Avatars’ is another important element helping you represent your metaverse. Instead of the static profile pictures that we use in current social media platforms, avatars help you wear amazing 3D representations helping you have richer with expressions, gestures, etc. You will also have a wardrobe of virtual clothes for different occasions. Home space is your personal space. You can design its look the way you want. Digital goods are another key element. You can even teleport in and out to spaces as you wish. Interoperability is emphasized as a key factor to make these things real. He also stated that privacy and safety need to be built into the metaverse from day one!
So, that’s the gist of it folks! Meta is nothing but the internet brought to life or at best rendered in 3D. You can enter and explore the inside of the virtual world rather than look at screens. In essence, the metaverse is a realm of boundless, interconnected virtual communities where people meet, work, and play. All these are enabled by the use of VR headsets, AR glasses, smartphone apps, or/and other devices. In short, we are entering a community where devices cease to exist as the focal points.
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