Facebook has had its fair share of problems recently…
So, the company is rebranding.
Going forward, the company will be known as Meta Platforms, Inc. (FB) – a signal of CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s intention to own and operate the “metaverse.”
And starting Dec. 1, the ticker will change from FB to MVRS.
Zuckerberg has not been shy about his long-term plans for the company.
It started with the firm’s acquisition of Oculus Rift.
In 2014, Facebook acquired the virtual reality headset-maker for $2.3 billion. And ever since then, more and more resources have been allocated to the project.
As of March, nearly 10,000 Facebook employees (one-fifth of its workforce) were working in its augmented reality division.
You see, Zuck doesn’t just want to focus on developments for the metaverse, which is basically a virtual world.
He wants to own it.
Understanding the Metaverse
Now, if you haven’t seen the movie, “Ready Player One,” you need to.
It’s no cinematic masterpiece, but it paints what I believe to be a very real picture of what life will soon be like.
We already have large digital lives. Social media has taken life online. COVID sent people further into their hermit holes.
Wealthy millennials are paying multi-million-dollar sums for digital artworks known as non-fungible tokens, or NFTs.
Fashion designers are selling virtual outfits for video game avatars. Seriously!
In May, a digital Gucci bag sold for $4,000 on the Roblox gaming platform. That’s more than the price of a real one!
Gucci’s first NFT, a fashion film, sold for $25,000. And no, this wasn’t some darkweb transaction done with cryptocurrency. It was auctioned off by Christie’s.
As you can see, the groundwork for the metaverse is already being built. People are opting for digital art and 3D fashion over oil paintings and designer handbags.
The question then becomes, who will own the metaverse?
In a perfect world, no one would. It would be built on open-source code so people can move freely between digital worlds.
You would be able to walk your Gucci-clad avatar seamlessly from Roblox to Minecraft to Fortnite and anywhere in between.
But that’s not Zuckerberg’s dream. He doesn’t want an open universe.
The New Virtual Frontier
Zuckerberg wants to own the universe. He wants to control it and, more importantly, profit from it.
Today, the metaverse is the wild west. It is the digital equivalent of the American frontier. Men and women are staking their claims and pursuing prosperity in this unclaimed world.
What took place in the 1800s gave birth to the incredible country we live in today.
But imagine a different scenario…
Imagine a single person owning the western United States. They never sell a single acre of land.
You can move there. You can even start a business. But it will be on their terms. And they will get a piece of every dollar you earn.
They own the land. They can cancel your lease at any time. You can be kicked out of your home or have your business shut down for any reason they see fit.
This all-controlling dictatorship would have resulted in a very different America.
The man who owned it would essentially be king. He would have unfathomable power and wealth.
Nothing about that scenario is appealing…
Unless you are the king.
And that’s what Zuckerberg wants to be in the metaverse.
Embrace the Surge,
Ross Givens
Editor, Stock Surge Daily
