The Metaverse Is Happening, And Facebook Wants To Build It
Mr. Fox breaks down what Facebook has been doing to position itself as the leader of the Metaverse.
Welcome back to another piece everybody. Today we break down the significant turn Facebook has made in the direction of their company to angle themselves as the leaders of the Metaverse.
On October 19, The Verge broke the news to the world that Mark Zuckerberg planned to change the name of Facebook - the parent company - to one that better aligns with their vision of building the Metaverse.
Let’s talk about what they’ve done, what they’re doing, and what they plan to do in the future in order to execute on this vision.
What They’ve Done:
The most effort Facebook has to show for their Metaverse goals is the success of their Virtual Reality branch - Oculus. Oculus is perceived as one of, if not the best, virtual reality headset in the market. If you are unfamiliar with Virtual Reality, it is the use of a headset with built-in digital screens that present an entirely virtual world. Oculus is the virtual reality headset Facebook has been building since 2014.
Although they’ve had other attempts in Augmented and Virtual Reality, Oculus remains as the only one that has achieved any level of staying power. Seeing as the Metaverse will require everyone to own a headset of some kind though, Facebook already has a one up on the competition.
What They’re Doing:
Horizon Worlds. Just recently, Facebook launched the trailer of the digital universe they expect their users to operate in. You need to click that link and watch the video to truly understand how serious Facebook is about building the Metaverse. There are few videos over the last 12 months more important. It’s only two minutes long.
In it you can see a few things clearly.
Firstly, as we mentioned above, everybody is using Oculus. It looks straight out of WALL-E. But again, our job as learners is not to place value judgements on whether or not this is a good or bad thing. Our job is to learn as much as possible about it so we can be best positioned to take advantage of it.
Secondly, people are playing games in this world, but they’re also living. Real world friends are staying inside their homes to meet with each other in Horizon Worlds, almost exactly as we have discussed in this newsletter in the past.
Horizon Worlds does not plan to be just another video-game, or a game at all for that matter. It intends on being the place where people spend, on some level, their day-to-day lives. The importance of this intention and project on the future of crypto and the world cannot be understated.
What else are they doing?
For one, Facebook has been recorded as purchasing a bunch of domain names that include the word “meta” in them, confirming their business shift to the Metaverse (there was no doubt to begin with, but hey, it paints a fuller picture).
Further, they’ve continued to try and build-out official Augmented Reality lenses. The purpose of these would be to present digital images on top of things we see in the real world, to our own eyes. As I think it will be a long time before a lot of people decide to live their life through an Oculus, I think Facebook’s work in Augmented Reality is what is most likely to build the biggest bridge between the world as we know it today and the Metaverse we all imagine and collect for in NFTs and crypto at-large.
Simply imagine how valuable a Bored Ape or CryptoPunk would become if everybody was walking around with Augmented Reality glasses whereby one person could decide to present themselves as their Ape or Punk to anybody who has those same glasses. What exists in the form of an internet “flex” on Twitter and Discord right now would quickly ascend to the level expensive watches and super cars are on as real-world flexes as well (if not worth much more due to supply). Rolex, Ferrari, Bored Ape.
What They’re Going To Do:
Facebook just last week announced their plans to hire 10 000 employees in the EU specifically designated to building the Metaverse. I do not need to say more. Facebook’s intent is clear, and they’re proving it with their actions. I truly am shocked to see how little discussion is revolving around these public facts.
Oh, and back to where we started, they’re also changing their name. The app that you use everyday called ‘Facebook’ isn’t changing its name. It is the parent company that owns Facebook, WhatsApp, Instagram, and all of their other subsidiaries that is transitioning to a new mantle. Think of it similarly to how Google changed its parent company’s name to Alphabet.
When one of the biggest companies in the world changes its name to focus on building in the Metaverse, we have no choice but to pay attention.
Now, because I don’t think there is anything valuable in simply being a news reporter, let’s break down what we can do to take advantage of these recent developments.
The answer to me, right now, is not a lot. The NFT market is and will remain in a significant downturn. The one thing we should take away from this though, is that the Metaverse is now guaranteed to happen. There is no longer any doubt. The Metaverse will become reality. Millions of people will use it and it will change social dynamics and economics as we know them for the rest of time.
Whether the Metaverse that becomes the one we use everyday will be the one built by Facebook, nobody knows. In reality, we should all hope that it is not, considering how little Facebook cares about morals or privacy. But Facebook’s first step to building this digital reality is the go-ahead for thousands of other smaller entities to begin building their visions. When the biggest company in the world forays into an emerging market, it makes the perceived risk of that market a lot less for those trying to make their own living in it.
The Metaverse would not truly be the Metaverse if it were owned by a company. It must be decentralized to achieve the potential its truly capable of. There is no point of going from the real world to the Metaverse if you have no more freedom there than in the real world. The Metaverse is an opportunity for a fresh start. It is a place with unwritten rules. A Metaverse run by Facebook would fly in the face of all of the work crypto developers have been doing building decentralized networks such as Bitcoin and Ethereum. With that being said though, it is still incredible news that Facebook plans to build the Metaverse, because just as we briefly touched upon, a rising tide lifts all boats, and their work will undoubtedly speed up the process of us getting to the Metaverse we envision.
Why is this important information to take in?
It should give you more reason to go deeper into NFTs, deeper into crypto, and deeper into learning about the technologies that will shape our future. Even if there isn’t a clear way to make money off of this Facebook news right now, if you continue to keep up with this space as a whole, you will find one. And it will pay off massively. You only need to be right once.
With that being said, there is one clear play you can deploy to take advantage of this news, and it is one we have discussed in length before - buying a digital avatar. With CryptoPunks, Bored Apes, and Cool Cats all suffering significant dips, now is the time to consider pulling the trigger and buying one if you can a) afford to lose all of the money you put in, and b) are willing to wait at least two years for resolution on whether or not it was a good investment. I remind you that you should only be looking at blue-chip digital avatars. If you need help finding one, just reach out via email or Twitter.
Other than that, continue learning and continue discussing with friends. This future is coming faster than we think, and the regret of missing the boat will haunt you for eternity, whereas the remorse of losing money you do not need will not.
And down the Rabbit Hole we continue.
Mr. Fox.