On the 28th of October, 2022, the world witnessed one of the largest social media platforms, Facebook, being renamed "Meta. This development, according to many, surfaced from the business's intentions to have its name reflect its expanding intentions to reach outside social media.
It also intends to enter Web3, cryptocurrency, non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and the metaverse — digital realms where people are expected to devote more of their attention to work and recreation.On the 28th of October, 2022, the world witnessed one of the largest social media platforms, Facebook, being renamed "Meta.
While this development bred a lot of opinions among users and stakeholders in the industry, it marked the beginning of a new dispensation for Facebook and other companies. Since then, the company has been occupied with several innovations and feats.
Read: Hong Kong To Explore Legalizing Crypto For Retail Investors
December 2021 witnessed the unveiling of the virtual reality social networking initiative Horizon Worlds by Meta. Facebook cryptocurrency adverts were also made available during this time. There have been no more developments on the project since news surfaced in April 2022 that the corporation was exploring a virtual currency known as Zuck Bucks for private usage within the Metaverse.
The company submitted five patent applications in May for Meta Pay, a system for processing transactions that supports cryptocurrencies and other digital assets.
By connecting their wallets, 2.9 billion people will be able to broadcast the digital treasures and NFTs they possess across Facebook and Instagram in 100 different countries by September 2022, according to the company.
In the meantime, on October 11, tech giant Microsoft and Meta announced a collaboration to integrate several Microsoft Office 365 products into Meta's virtual reality (VR) platform to persuade other businesses to operate in virtual settings. But these feats aren't complete without the accompanying difficulties, especially regarding business aspirations for the metaverse.
The head and founder of Altimeter Capital described Meta's 10 to 15 billion dollars annual investment in the metaverse as mega-sized and frightening last week.
The stock price dropped 23.6% after the publication of Meta's Q3 report. Reality Labs, Meta's virtual reality research and development division, reported an overall reduction of 9.44 billion dollars this year.
Many people may also remember the controversy surrounding Meta's Eiffel Tower, which had the CEO Mark Zuckerberg's avatar ridiculed for appearing beside a virtual Eiffel Tower.
The Wall Street Journal also reported on October 15 that the business had cut its monthly active user goal for Horizon Worlds by far more than 50%. With this, they implied that the company's main metaverse was underperforming.
During the Q3 earnings call on October 26, Zuckerberg mentioned this backlash and said they are incrementing out in public and that the social metaverse platform was still taking its baby steps.
On the call, Zuckerberg stated that they are on the right path with these investments and that the business should continue significantly investing in these areas. However, the technological behemoth is moving ahead with its venture into Web3 and other initiatives, like artificial intelligence.
During a virtual event on October 11, the firm presented the Meta Quest Pro, its most recent virtual reality headset, its collaboration with Microsoft and a brand-new computing platform from Reality Labs.
There's no doubt that Meta is making several strides in the Web3 and Metaverse spaces. And while there are no feats without falls, the company is doing well in investing and is also venturing into other sectors strategically.
Which other spaces do you see Meta as part of in the coming years? Kindly share your thoughts with us in the comments section.
