META META META NOTHING IS BETTER

What Zuckerberg's metaverse means to our humanity

Facebook’s Meta mission was laid out in a 2018 paper declaring ‘The Metaverse is ours to lose’

“We believe that ‘fully baked’ means the metaverse,” Rubin wrote. “Only such a massive launch will be able to get the attention of VR doubter and VR-maybe-tomorrow crowd.”

The rebrand comes at a great time for Facebook. Lawmakers from both parties are working to curtail its power, and a whistleblower documented that the company knows it causes harm to children. Zuckerberg implicitly acknowledged the public relations difficulty Facebook is in, saying, "Right now, our brand is so tightly linked to one product that it can't possibly represent everything we are doing."

Zuckerberg's talk focused on new technologies that would create a sense of "presence" while interacting online, highlighting the ability to interact with the avatars of other users and to purchase digital clothing. Some metaverse proponents worry Facebook will monopolize the burgeoning industry. Facebook is also developing a new digital currency, Libra, that it hopes will replace a wide range of online transactions.