You may have noticed a new name for one of the most popular social technology companies. In October of 2021, Mark Zuckerburg announced a new era of technology, renaming Facebook to Meta. and speaking about his version of ‘metaverse’. So, what does the future look like with Meta and what does it mean for your business? 

What is Metaverse? 

Metaverse is described as an array of digital spaces that lets you do things you can’t do in the physical world, including augmented and virtual realities (AR & VR). Zuckerburg states in his Founder’s Letter that his vision of Metaverse is being directly connected to people, products, and businesses no matter where you are in the world. His vision of imagines a world where friends and family gather to work, play, shop, or create anything you can imagine all virtually. 

In the movie, Ready Player One, this virtual world encompasses what our Metaverse could be. Ready Player One shows players meeting in a 3D, digital meeting place as avatars and experience anything and everything through VR equipment.

 

What changes does Meta bring? 

Meta includes technologies such as Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp, Workplace, Portal, Novi and Oculus. Zuckerburg states that this change will bring together its different apps and technologies under one new brand. He has said that Facebook will be transitioning from a social media company into a Metaverse company.

Facebook has also recently released its own pair of smart glasses that includes a way for people to call friends. Users can also connect and chat through virtual version of their home, also known as ‘Horizon Home.”

In recent news, Meta is discussing opening its first retail stores into the Metaverse, according to the New York Times. These stores will allow Meta to showcase real devices in a virtual world, making it the company’s first ‘reality’ store. Companies like Apple and Google seem likely to keep their retail stores but Microsoft has ditched their retail locations and is solely focusing on their online presence. Nike is even preparing to sell virtual sneakers for characters within the virtual reality world. Instead of looking at images of clothes, bags, or shoes, this will allow buyers to see the actual item, try it on and hold the item in a virtual world. 

 

How Meta changes marketing tactics?

The New York Times also states that Meta plans to remove thousands of sensitive ad-targeting categories and is said to take effect on January 19th, 2022. This will eliminate advertisers’ ability to target people based on their interactions with content related to health, ethnicity and race, political affiliation, religion, sexual orientation and thousands of other topics. 

Many companies use Facebook, Instagram, and Messenger to target specific audiences for their products and services however,  has caused discrimination against people or to spam them with unwanted messaging. 

 

What does this mean for businesses?

The pandemic already forced many businesses to perform differently by transitioning operations online and in work-from-home scenarios. Meta is about to change business even more, making their online presence extremely prominent. What if you could join a virtual meeting and still shake hands and sit around a table with each other? This is the vision of Meta and your business. Meta will make working from home seem less like remote-work, and more like you are in the office, working together.

 

What can you do to prepare for Metaverse? 

If technology within your business is not your thing, now is the time to invest! Consider how your business could fully function in a remote scenario. What changes can your company make to be more immersive online? As some of you may know, Light Alive Marketing has recently gone fully remote and we are constantly finding better ways to be fully immersed in technology to feel like we are still in-office. Another way to prepare for metaverse is to experience the world of virtual reality. Have you ever put on a VR headset and experienced the full effect of virtual reality? Take the time to see how this technology works and how you could be a part of this ‘metaverse’ movement. 

Imagine in ten years, when we walk by a restaurant with smart glasses, the menu and reviews pop up. Imagine calling your friend and being able to virtually be a part of their surroundings. This is what the future of Meta could look like.