What is Meta, Facebook Company's New Name? A Possible Distraction Amidst Issues

I've just finished re-watching Mark Zuckerberg's 1-hour-17-minute-long presentation about Meta last October 28, 2021 -- and I think I understand it better now.

To put it simply, apart from being Facebook Company's new name, Meta - which is short for Metaverse - is an alternate virtual reality that users can enter by wearing VR glasses and a headset.

In the Metaverse, which is largely a concept for now, you can design your own home space, customize your personal avatar, connect to friends and loves ones as you currently do on Facebook but even while in augmented reality, purchase virtual products, play immersive games with users from around the world, watch virtual concerts, engage with brands, visit digital stores, and appreciate digital artwork with a group, among many other activities.

Personally, I'd say it's like an alternate universe that we can eventually enter at any time, offering a different set of experiences and "realities" from our physical existence.

Yes, it's a lot like the science fiction setting and concept of The Matrix, in which robots inject a fake reality into the brains of humans -- but less scary and nefarious, for now.

Apparently, you'll have a more plump behind in the Metaverse.

The Metaverse is certainly what a 5G-powered internet experience could look like and I think it's most likely where we are headed in terms of our digital lives. I believe Meta can also create more jobs in the future for software engineers, graphic artists, online entrepreneurs, and so many others, which is good.

However, currently, I'm inclined to believe that the announcement of Meta is just a distraction.

I mean, we are not even sure if the company can actually create a thriving metaverse in 10 to 15 years' time and if new internet laws would even allow it to exist in the first place.

For me, right now, it's more important for Facebook to announce what it's going to do to protect its users in the face of so many negative accusations by online security experts and former employees, including the recent whistleblower, Frances Haugen.

When will Facebook stop mining our data for profit via targeted ads? When will this social media platform stop promoting hate just to get more engagement from users? And finally, when will Facebook start being a force for the positive transformation of the world given that it has already made billions from taking advantage of our personal connections?

I think these are relevant questions that Facebook must answer with urgency. As many of you know, I am very active on my personal Facebook account so I do care a lot about these issues.

Honestly, when I watched Mark Zuckerberg's video for the first time, I was expecting him to address these issues. But instead, he just announced a Facebook rename and presented conceptual products that will most likely cause more problems for us if and when they become available for public consumption.