Facebook is investing US $10 bi in order to make the metaverse a reality
Recently, Facebook announced plans to invest at least US$ 10 bi in 2021 in order to make its metaverse a reality. According to Mark Zuckerberg, the money will go to Facebook Reality Labs, the sector responsible for developing hardware, software and AR/VR content.
Zuckerberg’s plans include the possibility to connect to the metaverse even without a computer, allowing users to immerse themselves with as little as a headphone.
In order for that to become a reality, the company is testing Horizon Workrooms, an app used on the Oculus Quest 2 VR headsets, which allows users to enter virtual offices with avatars and take part in live meetings.
According to Nick Clegg, vice-president for global affairs at Meta, no company will own or operate the metaverse. For that to become a reality, companies, developers and creators will need to collaborate and cooperate.
The word “metaverse” appeared for the first time in the book “Snow Crash”, written by Neal Stephenson in 1992. Since then, it’s been used to define shared virtual 3D worlds, where users can experience interactions similar to real life.
Despite only now coming into the mainstream, it’s already possible to experience things similar to it with games like Second Life, Fortnite, Roblox, and movies like Matrix and Ready Player One. In those examples, avatars transport the user’s physical and psychological characteristics into a technological reality.
Zuckerberg announced his intentions with this new technology on October 28, during Facebook Connect 2021. It was also during that event that Facebook would change its name to Meta. According to him, this rebranding comes to prove that the company isn’t focused only on social media and apps, it’s main objective is interaction.
The CEO compares the metaverse to a materialized internet, where you can be in it instead of only seeing it. He explains that users would need special glasses to visualize digital items “on top” of the “real world”, like an extra layer that can be accessed at any moment. Alongside the glasses, the company is working on different accessories to interact with these items.
All in all, this new world Facebook’s creators want to achieve in the near future will have a direct impact on NFTs, given that the user will be able to buy assets in the digital universe.
Through a proprietary metaverse, executives expect considerable growth in the future, bringing back users who left the platform and wish for more interactive virtual ecosystems, where they can have fun, socialize and even work.
Attracting users
After the announcement of investments in the creation of a meta reality, Facebook expects to regain its popularity with young adults who left the platform in the past years. According to the company, users between 18 and 29 years old started migrating to Tik Tok, looking for more effective ways of communicating and interacting. That drainage in Facebook’s user base can also be attributed to the number of data leaks that happened in 2019, with an expected reduction of 45% of users between 2020 and 2021.
The bottom line is that there are still many new things to come and that in itself will surely impact the world of NFTs
Keep an eye on our blog to stay informed on the biggest NFT trends.
