i'm just wondering how Meta will fair IF the metaverse doesn't take off the way they expect. I mean it's such a big bet. Google has made many bets in the past and some worked but most did not.
The biggest issue I see is the need for an expensive VR headset to fully experience the metaverse. While many people are willing to invest in a new phone every few years, I'm not sure that the metaverse holds the same appeal.
Even though phones started out as a mediocre experience, the iPhone form factor made them indispensable. I don't see how the metaverse will follow a similar trajectory, especially since it requires such a significant investment.
In hindsight, I wonder if Meta should have focused more on their AI learning, as I imagine they're using AI heavily to moderate the world's chatter. While it's not the kind of AI that's getting all the buzz right now, I think it has huge potential, and could be the valuable asset for Meta going forward.
A metaverse like community platform will probably gain major popularity one day, when headsets are seamlessly blended into a casual consumer product that people feel cool wearing in a room of people. Until then, social VR platforms are niche because the target market is niche too. The network effect is diminished as well because the barrier for entry is so high.
I really think the problem for mass adoption is coolness and seamlessless. By seamless I mean, not removing you from present company and not requiring more than a simple pair of fashionable goggles or glasses.
There's no plausible VR technology that can make it practical in the pipeline at all: it's an idea in the realm of "implanted cyberdecks are cheap and accessible" before it becomes the sort of thing anyone would need.