Facebook has rebranded to ‘Meta’, CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced on October 28, but more interestingly, he also announced the creation of a ‘metaverse’. In the founder’s letter, he wrote, “We are at the beginning of the next chapter for the internet, and it’s the next chapter for our company too". The letter goes in depth into the functioning of the metaverse where, he says, everything imaginable can be done. “In this future, you will be able to teleport instantly as a hologram to be at the office without a commute, at a concert with friends, or in your parents’ living room to catch up," it states. However, many social media users were of the opinion that the metaverse might not be the wonderland it’s being projected as. To the contrary, it might be quite like a dystopia. In fact, social media users seem convinced that Zuckerberg’s idea of the metaverse was inspired by Neal Stephenson’s dystopian sci-fi novel ‘Snow Crash.
»The concept originates from Snow Crash, a dystopian novel from the 1990s in which people flee the crumbling real world to be fully immersed in a virtual one. … Zuckerberg is trying to reclaim the #metaverse as a utopian idea …« https://t.co/cjEGiiL2gg— Roland Meyer (@bildoperationen) October 28, 2021
The term “metaverse” was coined byNeal Stephenson in his 1992 novel Snow Crash. It was a work of dystopian fiction. pic.twitter.com/FIhB3ocQO3— Jake Bleiberg (@JZBleiberg) October 28, 2021
Mark Zuckerberg reading Snow Crash pic.twitter.com/YcF3fcP5hG— 2 1/2 Sin Lines (@lordquince) October 28, 2021
The following paragraph from the founder’s letter became the subject of much conjecture: “The defining quality of the metaverse will be a feeling of presence — like you are right there with another person or in another place. Feeling truly present with another person is the ultimate dream of social technology. That is why we are focused on building this." Many thought it sounded straight out of a dystopian novel, particularly ‘Snow Crash’.
in light of the hellscape that Facebook constructed in social media, this description of the metaverse it wants to now build reads like pure sci-fi dystopia https://t.co/8y6Jlr5e66 pic.twitter.com/KnPs0Pigof— Gabriel Snyder (@gabrielsnyder) October 28, 2021
I would argue that instead of feeling truly present, feeling just somewhat present, only partly occupied by whatever conversation you're having, is exactly what most people want from social technology most of the time. Oh and yeah, sounds totally dystopian.— Antti Yrjönen (@anttiyr) October 28, 2021
How are we getting this Metaverse launch and nobody's managed to do a Snow Crash movie?— Matthew Yglesias (@mattyglesias) October 28, 2021
We get it, Zuck, you loved Snow Crash more than anyone; I promise you don’t have to prove anything https://t.co/CIgd6irfYt— Alexa Bee (@_Alexa_Bee) October 28, 2021
Zuckerberg really looked at dystopian sci-fi and went “Yea this seems rad let’s build that” huh?— Joe Hart 🏳️🌈 (@JoeHart) October 29, 2021
One user also shared a few passages from ‘Snow Crash’ that explain why the internet is convinced of the similarities between the two concepts. “Spare a thought today for Neal Stephenson, who has lived long enough to watch his term for a shiny digital distraction from increasingly dystopian reality become a corporate logo (and also a shiny digital distraction from increasingly dystopian reality)," they wrote. Below is the passage they shared.
And while we're at it, let's appreciate this remarkable prose passage from 'Snow Crash', published nearly 30 years ago. pic.twitter.com/Dc4mBn76mC— Regina Rini (@rinireg) October 28, 2021
The 1992 novel takes place in the 21st century in the aftermath of a worldwide economic collapse. It resembles an anarcho-capitalist society, and as per many social media users, the novel was also the origin of the term “metaverse". Many were also seen comparing the metaverse to The Matrix and Ready Player One as well.
Read all the Latest News, Breaking News and Coronavirus News here. Follow us on Facebook, Twitter and Telegram.
