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Mark Zuckerberg says Facebook will turn into a ‘metaverse’

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Re: Mark Zuckerberg says Facebook will turn into a ‘metaverse’

#251
post #150
post #142

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "Facebook is changing the world!" Zuck wasn't wrong when he said this, I just don't think the change he had in mind was giving a platform to anti-vax conspiracy theorists and helping Russian troll farms influence U.S. elections. That is one way to change the world though.

Let's not forget Myanmar.

A reference for those who don't know about it: https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/15/technology/myanmar-facebo...

Re: Mark Zuckerberg says Facebook will turn into a ‘metaverse’

#252
post #101

Imagine being able to say random stuff like this and getting rich off it as the stock market reacts. Must be nice.

Index funds are so convenient but Facebook is in the top 10 holdings of Fidelity’s 500. It makes me very uneasy. Is there an index fund that one can opt out of certain companies. And reading through the companies on several of the main fidelity index funds, there’s too many fissile fuel and tobacco companies for my taste.

Sure, there are lots of industry and region specific funds. You can go for a small cap fund, a foreign fund, a developing markets fund, a real estate fund, a heavy industries fund, retail, food, whatever.

Re: Mark Zuckerberg says Facebook will turn into a ‘metaverse’

#253
post #69

I'm surprised how negative the comments here are, even if it is true that 'metaverse' is turning into a pretty silly buzzword. I think there's still coherent concepts defined by it (interfaces becoming much more inline with what humans find natural, integration of VR+AR capabilities, and the 'Internet' becoming more and more 'real life' in general). Facebook is absolutely one of the best-positioned companies to be ab…

By this logic, FAANG is best positioned to every tech innovation because they have the resources and know-how to pursue it. I think it's a dangerous line of thinking as the power these company wields absolutely corrupts their governance. Sure they give us cool toys, and they have the marketing budget to make sure know it, but real talk: we need restrictions on their ability to dominate every area instead of cheerlead…

They also have the war-chest to acquire any startup that does the hard work of tech R&D.

Re: Mark Zuckerberg says Facebook will turn into a ‘metaverse’

#254
post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

With Oculus, IG and FB, they seem pretty close to being the ones to pull it off.

I think having IG and FB is a liability for them. Imo Epic Games is making better choices right now with their acquisitions and marketing strats. Seems more appealing to me.

Facebook will likely try to acquire Epic in the near future.

Re: Mark Zuckerberg says Facebook will turn into a ‘metaverse’

#255

Facebook has so far tried, and failed, to do this. Twice. First was Facebook Spaces. Opened 2017, closed 2019. This was a VR world. Not a very good one. It was mostly a 3D approach to a desktop.[1] You could hand other people flat pictures. Sharing! Total flop. Second was Facebook Horizon. Opened 2020, still running, but not getting much attention. It's a 3D cartoon level VR world. Works OK, not very interesting or p…

I thought horizon is still in beta?

It's been stuck in beta for a year now. More likely to shut down than advance from beta.

Re: Mark Zuckerberg says Facebook will turn into a ‘metaverse’

#256
post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Could I trouble you (or anyone) for a "metaverse"-related fiction reading list? It's been awhile since I dug into some classic cyberpunk.

Aside from what I mentioned, you're looking at Bruce Sterling, maybe a little Stross. I hesitate to recommend Doctorow -- he is faddishly distracted and senselessly optimistic. Vinge's "True Names" stands out. Maybe When H.A.R.L.I.E. Was One for the AI side of things. The amusing Headcrash , writings by Pat Cadigan, Jeter's deliciously dystopian Noir is a favorite if you want to see how bad it might get. Hardwired ,…

Vernor Vinge is usually fantastic.

Re: Mark Zuckerberg says Facebook will turn into a ‘metaverse’

#258
post #174

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Could I trouble you (or anyone) for a "metaverse"-related fiction reading list? It's been awhile since I dug into some classic cyberpunk.

The founding text is Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson (1992). It's short, funny, entertaining, and full of new ideas in a freewheeling early 90's spirit. The list in the comment you are replying to is not bad, since most interactions you will ever have with someone about a metaverse will hinge on shared descriptions you have with them of a metaverse, so whichever books you hear about the most are by definition the most…

Really just watch the Spielberg film for Ready Player One and to get the gist of it.

Re: Mark Zuckerberg says Facebook will turn into a ‘metaverse’

#259
post #69

I'm surprised how negative the comments here are, even if it is true that 'metaverse' is turning into a pretty silly buzzword. I think there's still coherent concepts defined by it (interfaces becoming much more inline with what humans find natural, integration of VR+AR capabilities, and the 'Internet' becoming more and more 'real life' in general). Facebook is absolutely one of the best-positioned companies to be ab…

The Metaverse is just a mmo, except some of the characters are real, the world is a parallel of ours, the bad guys are whoever is trending as a villain (good for engagement), and the quests are ads.

The end goal would be primarily to have this digital world leak over to the real one as much as possible, having untold profound influences on human life

The negativity is because it will be awful if they succeed.

Imagine logging in to your job via this metaverse or some small country using it for voting in 50-100 years, or not being able to take part in conversations because you are not logged in to your ar.

Imagine the data collection and potential for manipulation and censorship in the distant future

Re: Mark Zuckerberg says Facebook will turn into a ‘metaverse’

#260

I'm thinking that chances of Facebook turning into a 'metaverse' are less than the chances that Facebook will turn into the next MySpace. But perhaps I'm overly cynical. It was pretty clear to me that had Blizzard a bit more vision they might have been able to pull this trick off with World of Warcraft but at this point I think that too is off the table. One of the more interesting things I've learned over the course…

Both scenarios can be true. FB could be at the forefront of AR/VR with Oculus and maybe related things like Identity. And on the social network side, they could be a in a slow decline. My bet is something more akin to AOL/Yahoo rather myspace, where the remain relevant in certain niches (older people more focused on the legacy experience, mom & pop stores that currently use facebook pages as their webfront, etc ...). That said, it seems entirely likely that they would make an acquisition like instagram once one gains traction and stay relevant that way.
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