What is this Facebook’s metaverse we’ve been hearing about

The phrase “metaverse” appears to be all over the internet. Thousands of engineers are being hired in Europe to work on it, and video game corporations are laying out their long-term plans for what some expect to be the next big thing online.

 

The metaverse is the latest buzzword to catch the attention of the tech sector. It may be the future, or it could be Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s latest grandiose vision that doesn’t pan out or isn’t widely accepted for years, if at all.

 

Furthermore, many people are concerned about a new online world linked to a social media giant that could have access to even more personal information and has been accused of failing to prevent dangerous content.

 

What is the metaverse?

Consider it the Internet come to life, or at the very least rendered in 3D. It’s a “virtual environment” that you can enter instead of just staring at on a screen, according to Zuckerberg. It’s basically a world of infinite, interconnected virtual communities where people can meet, work, and play using virtual reality headsets, augmented reality glasses, smartphone apps, and other devices.

 

According to Victoria Petrock, an analyst who analyses developing technologies, it will also include other areas of online life such as shopping and social media.

 

It’s the next step in connectedness, where all of those things merge into a seamless, doppelganger universe, allowing you to live your virtual life in the same way you live your physical one, she explained.

 

But keep in mind that “it’s hard to define a label on something that hasn’t been created,” according to Tuong Nguyen, a Gartner researcher who follows immersive technology.

 

Facebook warned that developing ethical goods for the metaverse, a concept established by writer Neal Stephenson for his 1992 science fiction novel Snow Crash, would take ten to fifteen years.

 

 

You might also like:

Beware of the Squid Game malware

Facebook files a lawsuit against a Ukrainian hacker

The Clubhouse app now has a new Music Mode