By - Sainav Anand
Source: DW
Ever wonder what the financial vision behind Facebook's decision could be to rename itself as meta to rebrand itself for the metaverse. Mark Zuckerberg said in the introduction of the meta concept that the metaverse is the next evolution of social connection. I tried to analyze the financial aspect of this decision in this article
Meta = Beyond and Verse = Universe.
A metaverse is a place beyond this universe that exists in the virtual realm but feels just as real. It is a virtual–reality space where users can interact, socialize, play, work in 3D spaces and do almost everything in a computer-generated environment using VR headsets.
"Connection is evolving, and so are we" with this motto in mind, we can say that the name-changing move of Facebook is an attempt to own this metaverse concept by rebranding itself as Meta. Facebook is labelled as a company that chooses profit over its user privacy and safety in the recent past. A recent report said that new privacy changes would affect its digital business, and its main advertising business will face a massive slowdown. Facebook wants to be seen not as a social media firm but as a company focused on the metaverse in the coming years. Facebook can see great potential for itself in the metaverse economy.” The company described that the metaverse is the next evolution of social connection.
"This is not an investment that is going to be profitable for us any time in the near future," Zuckerberg told analysts. "But we believe that the metaverse is going to be the successor to the mobile internet.". This statement of Zuckerberg points out that he is aiming for the long-term game but a big one that will completely shift the nucleus of new-age technology.
Even if the name has changed, the basic idea of meta remains the same connecting people worldwide. This idea of connecting people will serve as the base of the metaverse economy. The defining quality of the metaverse will be a feeling of presence — like you are right there with another person or in another place. Feeling genuinely present with another person is the ultimate dream of social technology.” In the future, you will be able to teleport instantly as a hologram to be at the office without a commute, at a concert with friends, or in your parent's living room to catch up. This will open up more opportunities no matter where you live. You'll be able to spend more time on what matters to you, cut down time in traffic, and reduce your carbon footprint”- [1]
The idea of buying products online will reach new heights in the metaverse as now people will be given an option to purchase products both for their virtual and physical worlds. Customers can visit any shop and attend the launch event of any product anywhere in the world virtually where they can observe the product more closely. This will take our shopping experience to a new level and will allow the sellers to have a large, diverse market for their products.
While meta will be developing new technologies for the metaverse, it is the creators who are going to make this metaverse space more engaging and happening by adding their layer of creativity to these technologies. It can be signature effects for the avatars which people can use to interact with others. It can be a new game and a lot more to keep this space ever ready as a source of entertainment. Meta will be investing $150 million in virtual and augmented reality training resources to help creators and developers to build new skills and explore new opportunities in the metaverse
When it comes to services, there will be a new revolution in this sector as now there will be virtual service providers like virtual gym and yoga trainers, virtual teachers of different skills like singing, dancing, and cooking, and virtual doctors as well which will be present in the form of an avatar in a virtual form in front of us which will allow us to get the best experience. Meta will also help these creators and service providers to grow by showing their advertisement to the suitable market and by giving them assistance to cope with this new change so that they can become an asset to this metaverse economy
The shift to the metaverse will take time, but whenever the change happens, it will completely change our experience of interaction, entertainment, and commerce, and this can be turn out to be a game-changer for meta because of its first-mover advantage. Metaverse will be a collaborative project encompassing multiple companies. It will be created by people all over the world and open to everyone.
Sainav Anand is a second-year student at JSBF.
References:
Connectivity in Metaverse-https://www.sunnewsonline.com/facebook-rebrand-all-you-need-to-know/
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