In 2012, Facebook gave Andrew Bosworth the task of building the company’s mobile advertising products. In 2017, he was replaced by Mike Isaacs as the head of the virtual reality division. In October, the company announced it would create 10,000 jobs in Europe over the next five years.
Employees at Facebook’s Reality Labs said that the company’s shift to the metaverse has led to several changes in the way they work. According to Meta, more than 3,000 jobs in virtual and augmented reality have been posted on the platform. Some of these positions are in cities such as Seattle and Shanghai.
Around December and January of 2018, the company started hiring for the metaverse’s teams. Some employees left the company, while others were not convinced that Meta was the right fit for them.
What is a Metaverse? Why Should it Matter?
The term metaverse refers to a fully digital world that’s beyond the one we live in. It was conceptualized by Ernest Cline in his book “Ready Player One.” During the pandemic, the metaverse became more prevalent due to the wide variety of experiences and assets that can be found in it.
Video games and social media platforms have also evolved into metaverse sections. If you own a virtual-reality headset or cryptocurrency, then you’re also a part of it.
Renaming the Company
Last year, Facebook took on the metaverse by renaming its platform Meta after announcing that it had shipped 10 million virtual-reality headsets. Many believe the metaverse will herald an era where our virtual lives will become more significant than the physical reality of our bodies.
Meta also attracted employees from other companies, such as Apple and Microsoft, which worked on various augmented reality projects.
Looking to the Future
Many believe that the metaverse will herald an era where our virtual lives are more significant than our physical reality. Meta hired former employees from these companies. Some of them worked on the Hololens project and the Apple AR glasses project.
In November, Meta asked its employees to participate in Project Aria, which is an effort to gather data for the future of augmented reality. To win prizes, the employees were asked to wear the glasses and collect data using the device’s sensors and cameras. They were also told to identify themselves as a research participant to minimize people’s privacy concerns.
Meta is also working on a smartwatch that can monitor health and fitness data, two people with knowledge of the company’s project said. The company’s Ray-Ban Stories smart glasses are also being used to make people more comfortable with wearing tech on their bodies.
During a meeting with employees, Facebook’s COO Sheryl Sandberg took questions from them about the company’s plans on the metaverse. Sandberg said she was excited about the possibilities of the metaverse and how it would allow people to experience new things. Many of the employees showed enthusiasm using heart emojis. However, one of them criticized the company’s transparency.