CMV: Metaverse is little more than Second Life by Facebook.
Mark Zuckerberg's 'metaverse' business lost more than $10 billion last year, and the losses keep growing
Submitted 2 years ago by yogthos@lemmy.ml to technology@lemmy.ml
https://www.cnbc.com/2022/02/02/meta-reality-labs-reports-10-billion-loss.html
Comments
MerchantsOfMisery@lemmy.ml 2 years ago
krolden@lemmy.ml 2 years ago
The only time ive ever seen anything about second life before all this meta bs was videos of people getting into private rooms and constantly trolling the shit out of a bunch of people that sounded like they were from Alabama. They were freaking out because they couldn't figure out how to get rid of them, it was hilarious.
d1tt0@lemmy.ml 2 years ago
Thoughts & prayers.
morrowind@lemmy.ml 2 years ago
It's an investment, not a loss. They never expected to be making money here.
yogthos@lemmy.ml 2 years ago
Investment investment they're expecting to gain some value like market share from it. I expect that the whole thing is just going to flop. It's basically Second Life, but you have to purchase special hardware to use it.
Dumping money into an idea until you get a monopoly you can exploit works in some cases. However, metaverse has to compete for attention with all the other stuff like shows, games, news, tiktoks, and all the other ways people entertain themselves. And pulling out your phone is a much lower barrier than putting on a vr headset. I think that's the fatal flaw of the whole idea, it's just too much effort for most people to bother. On top of that, the tech simply isn't there yet. The headsets are comfortable to use for like an hour tops, and lots of people end up getting nauseous or getting a headache from using them further limiting the appeal. I expect this idea will end up having a dedicated niche following, but it's just not going to reach mainstream.
morrowind@lemmy.ml 2 years ago
While I don't think the metaverse is a good idea, it's too early to judge it's success. It has incredible potential. When you look at what an immersive virtual world could offer you, ideas of hardware getting in the way seem like paltry excuses.
I mean, can you imagine the desire, of being able to leave behind your real world, your dirty, exhausting, imperfect real world, where you are weak and ugly and unsuccessful and going to a virtual world where you can experience whatever you want?
No, it's not real and won't be able to convince you it is for another fifty years or so, and yes, the hidden downsides will soon be found to be worse than social media, likely worse than addictions to drugs and mental illnesses, but it won't matter, none of it will matter, because the pull is too strong. If the metaverse becomes entirely a thing, people will throw away their lives for it, and we will all likely hate it and want it.
To judge a potential future metaverse by looking at half life is like judging modern smartphones by looking at brick phones from thirty years. Half life is very primitive version of what could be.
I am dramatizing here, and looking quite far into the future through science fiction lens, but then, that's always been the thing about the metaverse, hasn't it? Tech oligopolies bringing into reality what dystopian science fiction books warned against, not held up as an ideal. But there's money, and that's all that matters.
If you want more practical examples, just look at what Zuckerberg showed off, meeting with people. We all know the incredible convenience of being able to video call someone, to sit in the comfort of our home yet see and talk to them. Now take that to entirely new level, where you can sit in your home, and yet be with someone else in almost every sense. That is convenience.
It may seem like a silly idea, but silly ideas do not convince all the biggest companies to invest billions. There's money to be made, and that's all that matters.
::: spoiler whew I'm in quite the inspired mood right now :::
Zerush@lemmy.ml 2 years ago
Every online game since WoW is also valid for an online chat, only the avatars and activity¡ies are sligly different and less boring.
yogthos@lemmy.ml 2 years ago
Yeah exactly, it's basically no different from what people already do with stuff like MMOs, but missing the fun of actually playing a game.
Korba@lemmy.ml 2 years ago
Seems like zuck is going to be zucked very soon
AgreeableLandscape@lemmy.ml 2 years ago
Zerush@lemmy.ml 2 years ago
https://www.shitpostbot.com/sourceimage/homeless-zuckerberg-5b504e6ff2547
sexy_peach@feddit.de 2 years ago
Good. What is the reason for the sudden fall?
poVoq@lemmy.ml 2 years ago
I think there has been some un-easiness with online advertisement based businesses for a while now.
Basically no-one knows if they really provide real businesses with the benefits they claim to provide. And there is some evidence that they probably provide much less benefit than commonly claimed.
Thus any signs of weakening meet a nervous market that isn't sure if the current big players I.e. Facebook and Google are not vastly over-valuated right now.
krolden@lemmy.ml 2 years ago
Wow that is satisfying.