Facebook changes the name of its parent company to meta. That's what CEO Mark has. Zuckerberg announced at the annual Connect-conference, a virtual event held by the company.
So does Facebook no longer exist? Yes, Facebook still exists, but not as a company in itself anymore. It's Zuckerberg's new company's social networking site meta. meta is the new name that replaces Facebook inc.
With that new name, Zuckerberg wants to make a statement. meta wants to be more than just social media. He wants that meta becomes a leading company in creating the”metaverse”. The meta-what? It metaverse!
Meta's explanation is a bit harder, duller too. Do you have the courage? Then read on.
Apart from the company name, what does the word mean meta?
Some call meta a “higher level”, “a next level”. hmm... not quite right. As a football player, Messi is of a “higher level” but that is not the kind of “higher” that meta stands for.
So what is “higher level”? In today's common languages, the meaning of meta is best described as “about themselves”, “transcending themselves”, looking at yourself from a helicopter view.
A few examples for clarification:
Voila! We know this isn't easy, but hopefully you already have a clearer idea about 'Meta'.
If you're more or less what meta is, then you will Metaverse also easier to understand.
Metaverse is a contraction of the words meta and Universe. So it's a meta universe.
It Metaverse occurs when the real physically tangible world we live in is mixed with the virtual world of computers and the internet through digital control. It seems like everything you see and experience in it is real. You also often get the feeling of being physically present (immersion).
In the Metaverse, you can expect terms like: mixed reality, extended reality, virtual reality, simulated reality, augmented reality, second identity, virtual identity, avatar, second life, cyberspace, my space, communities...
The metaverse is a parallel world where people “live” and “experience” without the limitations of our physical world. In the Metaverse, anything becomes possible.
Pokémon AR+: The image of Pokémon appears on your mobile screen as if it were really sitting in the grass or on a stone right in front of you. To catch him, you have to sneak up on him carefully. Otherwise, scare him off and he's gone.
With VR glasses, you watch 360° video; when gaming, you feel like you're in the middle of it. You're sitting virtually at a sunny beach or enjoying a museum tour. You experience all of this as if it were real, but it isn't. You want to buy a house that needs to be completely renovated. Using the VR glasses, you can walk through and see your renovated home, even if it isn't yet.
Virtually build your own living space, a village... Give yourself a virtual identity and personality. Live in the village as an avatar, shop, relax... with other avatars or multiple avatars of your own. Visit a rooftop bar in New York virtually with your kids' avatars or yourself. It's all Metaverse.
Holoportation is easiest to explain with the famous “beam me up Scotty” from Star Trek. Only if Scotty is physically in Australia and he is “beamed” to a place in Europe in the Metaverse, will you hear and see Scotty, including the crazy jumps he makes in Australia. You can talk to him man to man. It's just... you can't hold him. He is not physically present. What Scotty has is a digital replica, moving, talking and listening in 3D. Although holoportation is still in its early stages (mostly Microsoft development), there are already successful experiments (Metaverse 2.0).
Zuckerberg wants a new internet, an internet that transcends itself (meta!). With Meta and the Metaverse project, he wants to create a place where reality and the virtual are deeply intertwined. People will be part of the Metaverse themselves. There they will meet virtually, work together, exercise, relax, travel and even time travel. With Metaverse, (almost) anything becomes possible.
