Written by Shengchang(Shawn) Gao 2022 Cohort
Nobody knows why “Metaverse,” a science fiction concept born in 1992, became so popular 30 years later. However, when we consider the popularity of the Metaverse in 2022, it is clear that such an extravagant virtual world appears to be a long way off.
What happened to Meta is most likely the best example. Since Mark Zuckerberg took the initiative to rename Facebook to Meta, the company that chose to go all-in on the Metaverse concept has been on a year-long decline.
On October 12, Meta held its annual Connect conference, presenting to a global audience the metaverse’s current state and future outlook. Instead of relieving the company’s pressure, the big tech conference exacerbated the situation: the media scramble put Zuckerberg in a precarious position.
Meta’s stock price has dropped 60% in the last year, its market value has plummeted by more than $200 billion, and Zuckerberg’s own assets have also shrunk significantly. Meta’s vision for the metaverse is admirable, but it desperately needs genuine content to prove itself.
Although most consumers are rushing to buy VR devices for VR games, VR watching, and other recreational purposes, Meta wants to find another way to explore new possibilities. The introduction of Office took up most of the time at the conference, with Zuckerberg especially inviting Microsoft’s CEO to stand for Meta Universe and moving the Microsoft 365 family bucket on this leisure and entertainment device.
However, the metaverse office may fall short when it comes to actual user experience. The large virtual screens that do not exist in reality are probably the most compelling reason for users to enter Meta’s imagined office environment. Liberating the display device via VR is futuristic. Still, now that users have entered this magical virtual space, it is disappointing that the most basic interaction can only be done via keyboard.
In the past, gamers were the primary force driving VR devices. The Metaverse will undoubtedly be the trend’s future as virtual reality technology advances. Zuckerberg and Meta, which has its sights set on VR Offices, is betting on a distant future.