Facebook is now Meta, and the platform is ready to open a line of retail stores to showcase its technology reach.
The retail stores are all a part of the company’s metaverse that will feature several virtual services. Before the name change, Facebook unveiled concept videos that included holograms playing chess, attending concerts, and participating in work meetings.
It is unclear if the brick-and-mortar locations will feature any of these holograms, but it will showcase the platform’s offering of tech devices such as the Oculus Quest virtual reality headsets, now known as Meta Quest, and the Facebook Portal video chat devices, which are now called Meta Portal. These gadgets have previously been sold at Best Buy.
While details surrounding the metaverse remain vague, Facebook and Meta co-founder Mark Zuckerberg says the virtual universe “will not be created by one company.” Instead, it will be “built by creators and developers” to introduce innovative experiences and digital goods. The move will also “unlock a massively larger creative economy than the one constrained by today’s platforms and their policies.”
So far, Meta has announced its partnership with Microsoft to integrate Workplace and Teams into its platform.
Many have criticized Zuckerberg in recent months, even accusing him of renaming his platform as a way of rebranding after several scandals. The latest one is a former Facebook employee detailing how the company placed profit over its users’ well-being.
