- The concept of ‘metaverse’ as a globally connected virtual environment is not new
- The term was first coined by Neil Stephenson in his 1992 science-fiction novel Snow Crash.
- It was a dualistic vision of a future world controlled by corporate dictatorships
- Twitter User udiverse21 Compares Facebook Metaverse to This Future Vision
- Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey shared the post, which appears to agree with its conclusion
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has scoffed at Mark Zuckerberg’s plan to turn Facebook into a ‘metaverse’, agreeing with a tweet calling it a ‘dystopian corporate dictatorship’.
Facebook wants the ‘Metaverse’ to be a future version of the Internet, where users use virtual reality and augmented reality devices to enter virtual worlds.
Dorsey retweeted a post by a user called udiverse21, referencing author Neil Stephenson, who first coined the term ‘metaverse’ in 1992.
The tweet read: The term ‘metaverse’ was coined by Neil Stephenson in the book “Snowcrash” and originally described a virtual world owned by corporations where end users are treated as citizens in a dystopian corporate dictatorship Was. What if Neil was right.’
As Dorsey retweeted the post, he said: ‘Narrator: He was.’
The ‘Metaverse’ concept is what Facebook is betting its future on, which involves hiring 10,000 EU employees to develop a shared world and technology.
Reports also suggest that Facebook is planning to change the name of the company while keeping individual brands such as Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.
Facebook was heavily ridiculed for the rebranding, with users joking about ‘why don’t they call it WokBook’, suggesting that it was a move by Facebook to distance itself from a series of embarrassing scandals.
Zuckerberg (pictured in an Oculus VR headset) thinks Facebook will transition from being ‘primarily a social media company to being a Metaverse company’ in the next five years.
Dorsey, retweeting a post by a user called udiverse21, said, “The narrator was him,” referencing author Neil Stephenson, who first coined the term ‘metaverse’ in 1992.
Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey has scoffed at Mark Zuckerberg’s plan to turn Facebook into a ‘metaverse’, agreeing with a tweet calling it a ‘dystopian corporate dictatorship’.
The rebrand will see the creation of a parent company overseeing Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram and others, as did Google launching Alphabet to oversee its brands including YouTube and Nest.
The firm’s parent, flagship social media site and app — Facebook — is expected to retain its nickname, but parent company Facebook Inc. will get a new name.
Users took to social media to mock the tech giant, which has faced several scandals in recent months and its reputation has been seriously hurt.
One commenter called the plan an ‘old rebrand ploy’, in reference to other companies that have changed their names to avoid scrutiny, while others suggested new names for the company, with popular choices being ‘FakeBook’ and ‘VokBook’. Huh.
Facebook already has a large share of the social media and virtual reality market through Instagram, WhatsApp and the Oculus VR headsets.
Creating a new name for the parent company could protect future products, such as Metaverse, from scandals involving the brand Facebook.
Recently the company has forayed into the corporate market through Facebook Workplace and a more business-oriented version of its Portal device.
In a future inspired by Zuckerberg, one could put on a virtual reality headset and meet a friend or colleague who is working on another part of the planet.
The idea is that it will allow people to feel as though they are face-to-face, despite being thousands of miles apart.
Building such a virtual world is no small task, even if it is based on existing technology and brand recognition.
Insiders say that this is the reason why the firm is hiring more than 10,000 employees.
The tech giant said the new roles would include “highly specialized engineers,” but did not give further details about its plans for the new Metaverse team.
Dorsey isn’t the first person to criticize Zuckerberg for his vision of the metaverse.
Ben Sizer, a software engineer from Nottingham, tweeted earlier this week: ‘Facebook is a company with around 15,000 moderators who are mostly underpaid outsourcers.
‘Yet they announce that they will be hiring 10,000 ‘highly specialized’ engineers to build the ‘Metaverse’. It is about their priorities, not their abilities.
Facebook’s Horizon allows users to host boardroom-style get-togethers with cartoon avatars of their colleagues (pictured) and is part of CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s ambition to transform Facebook into the ‘Metaverse’ of the future.
User udiverse21 suggested a deeper motive, tweeting: ‘Facebook’s insistence on launching a cryptocurrency + becoming a ‘metaverse’ means one thing. Zuckerberg had enough to run the company. He wants to run the country
Another Twitter user wrote: ‘Facebook is getting the money and time for their ‘Metaverse’ project, but they really can’t be bothered when it comes to dealing with hate speech and misinformation on their platform Is.’
Cybersecurity expert Jake Moore told MailOnline: ‘Facebook’s business model is…
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