Hey you !
Does the metaverse ring a bell? It’s the new word that’s setting the tech world on fire. According to Mark Zuckerberg, founder of Facebook, it is the future of our societies. Straight from science fiction, this concept worries as much as it intrigues and fascinates. Passion Media presents you the subject, according to the public information to date.
—
What is the metaverse?
It’s the name we hear everywhere now. Recently mentioned at a conference by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, it remains a vague concept for many. So what is it, in concrete terms? The metaverse would be a universe where reality and virtual reality would be intimately mixed. In other words, it would be like a cyberspace, parallel to physical reality, where a community of people can interact in the form of avatars.
A concept from science fiction
This concept is not new. It was mentioned in 1992 by Neal Stephenson in his science fiction novel Snow Crash. This idea, straight out of a writer’s imagination, is however about to become reality. Mark Zuckerberg has announced that he is building a team dedicated to the subject, in order to make it accessible in about 5 years. This team will be led by Andrew Bosworth. A Harvard graduate, this engineer first worked as a developer at Microsoft before joining Facebook to become head of virtual and augmented reality at Facebook a few years later.
The future of Facebook according to Mark Zuckerberg
According to the founder of Facebook, the metaverse is nothing less than the “successor of the mobile Internet”. One idea in particular is that screens, holograms, VR headsets and augmented reality glasses could allow people to move fluidly from virtual worlds to physical places, a bit like “teleportation”. Some are skeptical, others are fascinated. One thing is for sure, Facebook’s next announcement will be closely watched by the whole world.
Fortnite, a forerunner on the metaverse
The video game community is often ahead of the technological curve. It’s a way for experts in the field to use every tool at their disposal to diversify the way they capture the attention of gamers. Fortnite is one of the must-haves in this regard. This shooter and survival game that has conquered 350 million people, recently launched a form of metaverse. The idea? American rapper Travis Scott performed 5 concerts where he appeared as an avatar directly on Fortnite. These events were watched by more than 12 million players.
—
Would the smartphone be obsolete already? That’s what Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg is suggesting. So what will our lives look like in 2030? Will it be a mix of real and virtual reality? That’s what’s playing out right now at Facebook. For technology enthusiasts or not, these are topics that are likely to be talked about a lot.