Inside Facebook’s shift to Meta By CBS News

Facebook’s pivot to the metaverse is reportedly sparking internal disruption and on the uncertainty the New York Times recently spoke with several current and former meta employees in a new report outlines the challenges of transitioning to the largely theoretical concept Meda currently employs more than 68,000 people and since the company’s Rebrand last fall when did recruitment for jobs related to the metaverse reporter for the New York Times and author of an ugly truth I think you so much for joining us great to have you here so Facebook appears to be going with the metaverse but as you point out in your peace is not quite like the time of transition from desktop to mobile a decade ago this is still a technology that not that many people are familiar with so. Can you please explain exactly what the metaverse is and give us an idea of Mark Zuckerberg vision for transitioning to this

Aerotek

right so this is all very theoretical but in Mark Zuckerberg is imagination and what he’s described his clothes confidence and employees at the company the metaverse is a virtual world where you can do and say and behave in the ways you do in the real world it’s just all done virtually so much like his Avatar which moved through this online world when he made the announcement people would be able to create avatars and to wearing sensors on their bodies and goggles on their faces they would really feel as if they were immersed in this online world and I think it’s not just Facebook that’s interested in creating this this metaverse online world we know that Microsoft Apple Google and a number of other companies want to be the first to Pivot to the metaverse they want to be the first people to create this online virtual reality for us go online reality or is this meant to be something more like another words are we all going to be just going to replace the zoom meeting for instance

I think they would love for it to replace the zoom meeting in the last few years the pandemic all of us are tired of zooms we probably be thankful for a break from that but I mean it’s everything it’s meant to be a place for you to work to me colleagues for children to go to Virtual schools is meant to be a place to play games in in realities that are that they can create on the spot I mean they’re imagining infinite possibilities word and that’s why Facebook and other companies are so Keen to be the first to swear to bring this life when you spoke with several current and former meta employees what did they tell you about this new Direction toward the metaverse that’s happening in you know it’s almost like Prince the the company formerly known as Facebook

right so that I met at a tech company formerly known as Facebook has really staked everything in the future Mark Zuckerberg has told his employees at this is where the future of the company is and so it’s either get on board and support this mission of creating the metaverse or really find yourself Edge. We spoke to quite a few employees who were being told by the managers that they needed to apply for new jobs on the augmented reality and virtual reality companies that are going to be creating a software and hardware for them and they’re being told that if they really want to continue to grow at meta if they want to have a future that’s where they need to be working it’s not that anyone’s losing their jobs yet but what a few of them told me was that they can see a future in which is they didn’t get on board they wouldn’t have a job within a couple years so they’re worried about it’s interesting as we went to the top there in your peace you compare this ship to the changes that took place when you know Facebook moved mostly to Mobile in 2012 that was a successful move correct I mean

Gru prophets immensely how does that pivot relate to the changes happening now if at all

I’m sure that Mark Zuckerberg is looking back at that 2012 move and saying you know people doubted me then they thought I wouldn’t be able to Pivot my company from one that primarily dealt with desktop computers to one that dealt with mobile phone and he was successful Facebook did really move quickly and efficiently to becoming a mobile-first company and that success you know Mark Zuckerberg their backs a lot of Silicon Valley he was heralded as a business genius and not just this boy ingenue and then packing bunch of that it first come up with Facebook and so I think he’s hoping that this pivot to the people that he has staying power and that Facebook is a company has staying power and he seems to believe in it enough to Stage his entire company on it do you know the respect of Silicon Valley but it also brought him the ire of lawmakers and a large swath of the public right I mean meta or the company Foreman on his Facebook has been under Fire for its role in the

platforms these issues are not going away and these issues don’t seem to be clearly addressed in this in the company’s pivot to the metaverse so is this shift also an attempt to sort of change the narrative in the hopes that people will move on and forget

books on Facebook’s own employees are worried about that one of the engineers that we spoke to who’s been at the company since 2012 and keeping a little bit longer said that he felt like they were trying to leave your past behind him and he’s over the quiz for interview he said you know what do people what do we think we can people are just going to forget about the security and privacy problems we have because we’re committing to something new he is not the only one at Meadow who’s currently worried they’re forgetting their commitments to better security or privacy getting a handle on misinformation and hate speech and all those other promises that they made to the u.s. election year we’re going to see the midterm elections at the end of this year and I think Facebook knows that it has to do better and it can’t just say well we were focused on the metaverse and so we didn’t have the time to secure these upcoming election like I say let’s see him dive into these problems with the same enthusiasm your diving into the metaverse right like it does thoroughly a lot of energy and on genuity there at meta like to use it to clean up what’s in the closet

other than moving forward I mean that’s what I think a lot of people might say but thank you so much for joining us and great piece in the New York Times

thank you so much for having me