If you have to ask what, exactly, the metaverse is — don’t feel bad.
The metaverse is hardly a brand-new concept, but the speed with which it recently began making headlines is impressive. And the meaning of “metaverse” seems to expand daily, as more and more recognizable brands and businesses begin to incorporate it into their long-term plans.
While everyone from celebrities to global brands like Nike have gotten involved, Facebook is responsible for setting the metaverse buzz in motion. The company, a pioneer in social media (in a sense the earliest version of the metaverse itself) recently went through a major rebrand. Facebook is now Meta, and the company has plans to make significant moves in the metaverse world in the years to come.
This all begs the question: what even is the metaverse? The answer is at once a little bit complicated… and something you already know without even realizing it. It’s social media, the internet, video games, and online shopping all rolled into one.
Keep reading to learn more about the metaverse and find out if you should get in on the craze.
What is the metaverse?
The metaverse is a virtual world in which users, businesses, and digital platforms can exist and interact. It includes everything from virtual social and gaming platforms (e.g. Roblox) to NFTs, a.k.a. non-fungible tokens (more on those later).
The metaverse is a longtime science-fiction dream made reality. Films like Tron and Ready Player One have long envisioned digital worlds that hold just as much weight as real ones. The metaverse is just that — a digital world accessible via virtual reality headsets, populated by real people (often using digital avatars) and full of endless possibilities.
It might seem like a new concept, but the idea of a multi-platform digital world has existed for years. We’ve seen it take form in everything from video games to social media. From World of Warcraft and Runescape to MySpace, the early versions of the metaverse have been a part of our world for quite a while. The 2020s metaverse simply builds on these ideas and takes them to the next level.
Why did Facebook rebrand to Meta?
In October of 2021, Mark Zuckerberg announced that social media titan Facebook would be rebranding to Meta.
To be clear, Facebook (the social platform) has remained Facebook. It’s the parent company (under which Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram, among others, are operated) changed its name to Meta.
The reason? It’s simple. According to Zuckerberg, “We’re basically moving from being Facebook first as a company to being metaverse first.”
Meta has already poured billions into building out the metaverse ($10 billion alone in 2021). It plans to incorporate every corner of the metaverse into its plans. Oculus (the VR headset business which Meta already owns), NFTs, and cryptocurrency are all a part of the company’s long-term vision. It’s far too early to see the fruits of their labor, but with the time and money they’re investing already, it won’t be long before we do.
Is the metaverse the future of social media?
With all of the buzz surrounding recent metaverse developments and investments, you might be wondering if — and how — the concept will shape the future of social media (and social media marketing).
2021 saw a great deal of money and resources poured into the metaverse. With platforms like Meta and businesses like Nike (who recently partnered with sneaker-centric metaverse giant RTFKT Studios) investing massive amounts of money and resources into the metaverse, there are clearly people and businesses out there who do think it’s the future of social media.
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