Zuckerberg’s metaverse is nice, but Iceland is much cooler. Zuckeberg, Facebook’s CEO and creator, announced the company’s rebranding as ‘Meta’ at the end of October. The transition, according to the internet giant, would unify its various apps and technology under one new brand (which was not FACEBOOK in all capitals). It further said that the business structure will not change. Speaking at the company’s live-streamed virtual and augmented reality conference, CEO Mark Zuckerberg said the new moniker represented the company’s commitment on constructing the metaverse. The phrase “metaverse,” which was first used in a dystopian fiction three decades ago and is now gaining traction in Silicon Valley, refers to a shared virtual world that can be accessed by anyone using various devices. “The metaverse will seem like a combination of today’s online social encounters, sometimes enlarged into three dimensions or projected into the actual world,” Facebook…err, Meta, says on its own site. It will allow you to enjoy immersive experiences with others even when you are unable to be physically there with them — and to accomplish things together that you would not be able to do in the actual world. It’s the next step in a long series of social technology, and it marks the start of a new era for our business.”
In an interview with a website, Facebook-turned-Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said, “I think we’re basically going from being Facebook first as a company to being metaverse first.” Zuckerberg may have been the first, but he won’t be the first to produce a parody of himself and the metaverse, according to Iceland’s tourist firm. The spoof video, which was posted (ironically) on Facebook by the Inspired by Iceland group, features a discount. Mark Zuckerberg explains a “revolutionary notion” in the same repetitive manner that the actual Zuckerberg did when he first presented the metaverse. “Zack Mossbergsson” invites the audience to “this extremely natural location” to reveal a “not-so-new chapter in human connectivity: The Icelandverse,” in a chilly and artificial voice. Mossbergsson then goes on to demonstrate how to explore the natural world’s splendour, touch genuine water, and interact with others in the Icelandverse. It was a true whoddathunkit moment.
The video highlights the metaverse’s absurdity, posing the question, “Why do it digitally when you can do it in real life?” The prefix “meta” signifies “beyond, after, or across” in Greek. As a result, the metaverse, a combination of “meta” and “universe,” connotes a location beyond the world or universe as we know it, one that lives in the virtual realm yet seems just as real. “Meta produces solutions that help individuals connect, discover communities, and grow enterprises,” says Meta of its future goals. When Facebook first came out in 2004, it revolutionised the way people communicated. Apps like Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp have given billions of people across the world more power. Meta is now expanding beyond 2D displays to include immersive experiences such as augmented and virtual reality in order to aid in the development of the next generation of social technology.”