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Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsInteresting (to me) article in THE ATLANTIC on FACEBOOK.
THE ATLANTICThe Real Reason Facebook Changed Its Name
Mark Zuckerberg wants to be the hero of the metaverse because he knows Facebook is boring.
By Brian Merchant
OCTOBER 28, 2021
I post this as a frequent user of Facebook to keep in touch with professional musician colleagues and musical events around the world, and also in my retirement occasionally to buy and sell musical instruments (for this I have found it extremely useful), and somewhat to stay in touch with friends. I get absolutely ZERO right wing anything-ads or otherwise - and no junk messages other than the very rare scam 'friend request.' At the same time I have seen, through posts here on DU, actually, the danger of FB. So I guess I am saying I think I straddle both sides of FB... and while, it has been a boon to me, am also very concerned about the dark side of Zuckerberg and the dangerous side of what he is doing....
And neither is it clear who would want to spend their time there. There is not a single person in existence who has scanned Facebooks News Feed and said: Yes, immerse me in this reality. I want to feel my uncles meme about Hot Pockets on my face. But the metaverse could generate enough momentum, enough knock-on interest, that it could bring this clumsy fantasy framework clattering to life. Which is exactly why this half-real, Big Techled effort to erect the metaverse is worth both laughing down and taking seriously.
Set aside the fact that the metaverse has always been an explicitly dystopian idea, one lifted directly from a hyper-violent cyberpunk novel, and that its highly dubious whether this is a framework worth pursuing at all. Facebook is serious enough about the metaverse business to make a heavy investment in hiring and product developmentits spending $10 billion on metaverse projects just this yearand its also far from alone in pursuing the concept. So its worth untangling why, exactly, that is.
SNIP
"There are at least three driving forces motivating Facebook and Co. to pursue the metaverse, and pursue it to the extent that one of our largest tech giants is willing to rename itself in its honor: Public-relations strategy, founder ego, and a growing, industry-wide business imperative."
Set aside the fact that the metaverse has always been an explicitly dystopian idea, one lifted directly from a hyper-violent cyberpunk novel, and that its highly dubious whether this is a framework worth pursuing at all. Facebook is serious enough about the metaverse business to make a heavy investment in hiring and product developmentits spending $10 billion on metaverse projects just this yearand its also far from alone in pursuing the concept. So its worth untangling why, exactly, that is.
SNIP
"There are at least three driving forces motivating Facebook and Co. to pursue the metaverse, and pursue it to the extent that one of our largest tech giants is willing to rename itself in its honor: Public-relations strategy, founder ego, and a growing, industry-wide business imperative."
https://www.theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/2021/10/facebook-metaverse-mark-zuckerberg/620538/
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Interesting (to me) article in THE ATLANTIC on FACEBOOK. (Original Post)
HUAJIAO
Oct 2021
OP
niyad
(112,424 posts)1. I must be dense. I just read through a number of descriptions of this "metaverse",
including a fairly lengthy article on wiki, and I still haven't the foggiest, other than it is all virtual. What am I missing?
HUAJIAO
(2,362 posts)2. I have NO CLUE what it is either. Whatever it is we are both missing it !!
niyad
(112,424 posts)3. Glad that I am not alone in this!
Nictuku
(3,570 posts)4. I almost wish I didn't understand it
To me, it represents a future where we become even more physically isolated from each other. Maybe a future where you go out to a nightclub, interact with other people, see some music.... all from your living room wearing some kind of head gear virtual reality.
Everything you see is not real. It is a virtual reality. Everyone is perfect, young, beautiful. None of it is real. But it becomes the new reality.
Reminds me of that movie "Ready Player One".
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ready_Player_One_(film)