Vertical Divider
Facebook Reorganizes to Accommodate the Metaverse
Facebook is creating a new Metaverse product group under Facebook Reality Labs. Andrew Bosworth’s, VP of FRL and the overseer of this new group, gave the metaverse a definition: “a collection of digital worlds each with its own physics to determine what’s possible within them.” The new product group will focus on building the “connective tissue” needed to make the metaverse work, which means knocking down the walls between its own products (and those of other companies) for everything to start coming together as a metaverse. This new group is Facebook’s clearest signal that it sees the metaverse as the successor to today’s internet—and in that regard, and not a new direction for the company. The internet of today scarcely resembles the internet of 20 years ago, and Facebook has had no small part in defining that evolution. Still, no single company can dominate the entire web in that time and renewed antitrust vigor may actually lead to companies like Facebook needing to be a little less controlling than they’re used to.
Facebook’s new metaverse group:
A company spokesperson says the group will be hiring hundreds of lead roles within the metaverse group, adding to the thousands already working inside Facebook Reality Labs and the hundreds of open listings for AR and VR positions today.
Bosworth says the metaverse is “already here,” in reference to walled-off platforms like Roblox and Fortnite as well as Facebook’s own apps and services. As indicated above, Zuckerberg believes that no single company will be responsible for building the metaverse.
Critics think Zuckerberg doesn’t truly understand the metaverse idea and that he sees this as a way to build his own walled garden. Nonetheless, Facebook intends to shape just how open the metaverse will become, by playing an integral role in the hardware and software ecosystems supporting it. Given that Facebook created and reshaped the internet with Social Media programs and found ways to accelerate connections to squeeze value from the data and content that users shared on their accounts, he starts from a exalted position. If Facebook has its way, its AR and VR products will be among the most popular.
Facebook is creating a new Metaverse product group under Facebook Reality Labs. Andrew Bosworth’s, VP of FRL and the overseer of this new group, gave the metaverse a definition: “a collection of digital worlds each with its own physics to determine what’s possible within them.” The new product group will focus on building the “connective tissue” needed to make the metaverse work, which means knocking down the walls between its own products (and those of other companies) for everything to start coming together as a metaverse. This new group is Facebook’s clearest signal that it sees the metaverse as the successor to today’s internet—and in that regard, and not a new direction for the company. The internet of today scarcely resembles the internet of 20 years ago, and Facebook has had no small part in defining that evolution. Still, no single company can dominate the entire web in that time and renewed antitrust vigor may actually lead to companies like Facebook needing to be a little less controlling than they’re used to.
Facebook’s new metaverse group:
- Vishal Shah, formerly the Head of Product at Instagram, will report to Bosworth as leader of the newly formed metaverse group. Two of his new direct reports will come from Facebook Gaming, including:
- Vivek Sharma, who will lead the teams behind Horizon—Facebook’s latest attempt at a VR social app—and Unit 2 Games, makers of Crayta.
- Jason Rubin, who originally joined Facebook to lead content partnerships with Oculus before becoming a Facebook Gaming VP. He will lead the content team for the metaverse group.
- Since Instagram is Facebook’s most multifaceted app, Shah is an appropriate pick for a team with such an expansive mandate. Plucking talent from the Gaming division also shows that Facebook understands how building out a gaming platform in the vein of Fortnite might be a prerequisite for staking a real claim in the metaverse.
A company spokesperson says the group will be hiring hundreds of lead roles within the metaverse group, adding to the thousands already working inside Facebook Reality Labs and the hundreds of open listings for AR and VR positions today.
Bosworth says the metaverse is “already here,” in reference to walled-off platforms like Roblox and Fortnite as well as Facebook’s own apps and services. As indicated above, Zuckerberg believes that no single company will be responsible for building the metaverse.
Critics think Zuckerberg doesn’t truly understand the metaverse idea and that he sees this as a way to build his own walled garden. Nonetheless, Facebook intends to shape just how open the metaverse will become, by playing an integral role in the hardware and software ecosystems supporting it. Given that Facebook created and reshaped the internet with Social Media programs and found ways to accelerate connections to squeeze value from the data and content that users shared on their accounts, he starts from a exalted position. If Facebook has its way, its AR and VR products will be among the most popular.
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