

Since you don’t need to jump out of VR to share files or docs, and anyone can access a space without the need for a headset, the blended work environment is what the Metaverse is all about-a collaborative social experience accessible from multiple points.

While the avatars in Workrooms are cartoony at best and the environment customization is quite limited, it’s hard to deny that it’s an engaging way of collaborating with others after using the open beta for the past three months. People not in VR can still communicate and be part of the experience for an engaging level of collaboration and interactivity a cut above standard video communication services today. In this virtual space you can collaborate with coworkers as if you were in an office complete with spatial-aware audio, have the ability to share screens, and participants in VR or not can draw on a whiteboard from miles apart. This means you can still see your physical computer and use your peripherals with tracking for a Holodeck level of interactivity that blends real world tools with virtual reality environments. If you own an Oculus Quest 2 VR headset, you can scan your computer, keyboard, and desk into a virtual space by mapping them out with a passthrough camera and screen casting. So we’re going to need better tools to work together.” Capitalizing on the lack of shared office environments from home, Meta’s Horizon Workrooms app recreates the office experience from anywhere with an internet connection. During the Connect conference, Mark Zuckerberg said as much, "Over the last year and a half, a lot of us who work in offices have gone remote.I think remote work is here to stay for a lot of people. With remote jobs and hybrid work-from-home schedules now a permanent fixture of many people’s everyday lives, it makes sense for Meta to push on this now. Whether you’re in a casual chat with a friend or a work meeting, you can talk to people in the real world through their phone or webcam, while they’re displayed on a virtual screen in front of you. If you’re inside the Metaverse using a VR headset like the Oculus Quest 2, you can communicate with others from a virtual environment of your choosing while represented by your digital avatars.

A core part of the experience is creating a digital avatar of yourself that helps ground your presence in this next evolution of interacting with the web.

Bridging the gap between VR headsets, mobile devices, and laptops, users can “enter” a virtual environment that consists of interconnected worlds from apps to games. The Metaverse is best summarized as an online digital social space where people can meet, work, and play collaboratively across a variety of devices. 💻 Curious about the future of tech? Come navigate it with us. Here, I breakdown Facebook’s vision for the Metaverse, the gear needed to take you there if you’re thinking of dipping a virtual toe in the virtual water, and what we can expect going forward. Meta is the only corporation with the capital and scale to successfully build out the Metaverse, as seen by its $86 billion in profits last year and its portfolio of successful social platforms used by nearly 3.5 billion people. If Meta pulls it off well, the Metaverse could open the door for new work, social, and gaming possibilities that will impact your everyday life.Īnd the key there is “if.” I’ve worked around virtual and augmented reality since the consumer launch of VR headsets in 2016, and witnessed many companies striving to create the ultimate interconnected social space over the past five years. While the individual Instagram, WhatsApp, and Facebook apps will remain unchanged, Meta is focused on replicating the feeling of real social presence with interactions over the internet. With a focus on smart glasses, virtual reality headsets, and lifelike video calls over the internet, Meta hopes to shift beyond its roster of two-dimensional social media platforms to an interactive digital environment it’s dubbing the Metaverse. This comes as no surprise for anyone who has kept an eye on the brand’s latest hardware innovations. (Meta) during its annual Connect conference. Last month, Facebook announced that it will rebrand its parent company name to Meta Platforms Inc.
