It will take some getting used to. If the Facebook social network continues to exist, the company will now be called “Meta”. Mark Zuckerberg, Thursday, revealed the name of a new structure that includes Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp and Oculus. Officially, it’s about looking to the future and the “metaverse,” that universe that blends virtual and augmented reality, which Zuckerberg calls “the future of the mobile Internet.” And trying to turn the page on disagreements, in a whole storm of “Facebook papers” revealed by detective Francis Hogan.
Mark Zuckerberg announced the new name for the structure that will include Facebook (and WhatsApp, Instagram, Oculus, etc.): So it will be… “Meta” (for the metaverse) #FBConnect #Facebook social networking site #dead pic.twitter.com/PLuWnTIrkQ
– Philip Berry (@ptiberry) October 28, 2021
“Our brand is so attached to one product that it no longer represents everything we do today. Ultimately, I hope we will be seen as a metaverse,” Mark Zuckerberg explains. If the company name changes, “Our mission remains the same: bringing people together. Our apps and brands don’t change.”
Heading to Metaverse
During the Facebook Connect conference, dedicated to the group’s virtual / augmented reality projects, Mark Zuckerberg tried to explain to the general public his vision for metaverses. The Internet, becoming visible, began to move from text to images and video, as computing became miniature, from computers to smartphones. He says the metaverse will be the next transformation.
This is the vision of the Facebook metaverse, which is to be the “successor of the internet”, blending VR/AR and video in an everlasting world, with a shared sense of “presence”. #FBConnect #Facebook social networking site pic.twitter.com/KobgFRgQGR
– Philip Berry (@ptiberry) October 28, 2021
Concretely, the metaverse is a connected and continuous universe, as science fiction envisions, recently in the movie Ready player one. Using glasses or a helmet, the user is transported into a world that can replace or interfere with their environment. Instead of being in your living room, you can enjoy the view from your lakeside chalet. And all his friends can travel there with their avatars, for virtual meetings that replace the vision of the conference.
Cut the rope with Facebook
Video games, collaborative work, education, shopping … this immersion and this feeling of “presence” will disturb our remote interactions, Mark Zuckerberg says. However, it will take “several years” before her vision is realized, with advances still needed on the hardware side.
Revelations of whistleblowers, threats from elected US officials, public fatigue… This change of name appears – and of course – goes beyond a mere publicity stunt to try to turn the current page of controversies: With Meta, “You will no longer need a Facebook account to use our services in the long run. Long,” Mark Zuckerberg vows. The cord – perhaps – is cut.
