Facebook CEO, Mark Zuckerberg has announced the next phase of Facebook late last year, to embrace virtual reality and Metaverse. In the past few months, there have been unconfirmed speculations about rebranding of Facebook on social media channels. However, the confirmation from the Facebook CEO has confirmed the rebranding “buzz” as the company has switched to a new name, “Meta” launching a new phase concentrating on developing a new section of the business: virtual reality platforms.
With the official announcement, Meta will venture into the development of a Metaverse as it attempts to go beyond social networks.
META, A SIMPLE DESCRIPTION
The Metaverse has been viewed as the next big frontier for the brand with a focus on the virtual reality. Facebook is also moving ahead in its attempt to serve as a connection hub for individuals by creating incredible digital experiences to ensure connections have a similar quality of reality to the physical world. With Meta, the brand is using Metaverse as the future of virtual reality that upgrades the experience of interpersonal relationships through social networks.
METAVERSE: THE NEXT BIG THING
Prior to this period, individuals interact with each other over video, photos and text and it restricted most of these connections to our visual senses. Social media has become an integral part of our lives as we showcase our daily activities on these digital gadgets. Metaverse forms interactions with individuals to copy reality. Most of our traits, such as body language, physical gestures and objects, can be transmitted to a virtual plane where we can have similar experiences in our day-to-day activities.
According to Zuckerberg, the essence of Metaverse is to ensure virtual environments fulfill the purpose of a meeting. The brand, with introducing virtual reality, can connect individuals in a style that imitates reality.
THE COMPONENTS OF METAVERSE
Meta has designed three virtual spaces for interactions of people, and these are Horizon Worlds, Horizon Workrooms, and Horizon Home. Let us discuss them one after the other:
Horizon Home
With Horizon Home, you can personalize and design your personal space. It is designed in a way that it is the first point of connection for people to gain access to the Metaverse. As the virtual home for people, it helps in creating a fantasy avatar that features a virtual closet. With this arrangement, you can create an environment where you can invite your friends.
Horizon Worlds
In physical reality, creating experiences can be complicated for individuals. The aim of Horizon worlds is to enable people to develop and invite their friends to virtual worlds. It enables the creation of personalized virtual worlds.
Horizon Workrooms
Currently available on Occulus, the Horizon Workrooms aim to design a meeting space for people to work remotely, and create a sense of collaboration and teamwork.
METAVERSE ATTRIBUTES
Apart from the aforementioned three virtual spaces of Metaverse, there are other attributes that distinguish it from other virtual experiences, and these are:
Presence: The immersive experience is the major differentiator of the Metaverse, and aimed at imitating how we connect other people in physical reality.
Avatars: Avatars are the tools used in presenting ourselves to the world in the Metaverse. It possesses photorealistic attributes that emulate our physical features.
Virtual home: Your virtual home is the starting hub to access other virtual experiences. It offers every user a private space they can personalize. With a virtual home, you can invite your close associates and friends to meetings and social hangouts.
Teleportation: Metaverse also enable users to teleport to other virtual worlds and move through work, homes, gaming spaces, and other virtual spaces.
Virtual goods: You have the chance to have your digitized content in Metaverse. Such content includes games, art, music, art, photos and books.
Meta enables users to use hardware to access the Metaverse and the partnership with Ray-Ban to sell smart glasses is a bold statement. Users can make videos, take photographs, receive calls and listen to music.
Meta still has some projects in the pipeline, and these are Project Nazare and Project Cambria. The Project Cambria focuses on delivering a high-tech headset to capture expressions with the purpose of getting a natural experience with other users. Project Nazare is the prototype name for its amplified reality glasses. It offers individuals the opportunity to access virtual worlds without headset irrespective of their location.
