Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has fallen from grace. In the past year, the Facebook creator has lost billions on his wish to realise the virtual world of The Metaverse.
As thousands of layoffs trickle through the company, the CEO’s Metaverse development is even more worrisome than usual. With vital investors turn against the project, why is Zuckerberg still chasing his pet project?
Yes, a vast number of people are completely uninterested in The Metaverse. However, the Meta CEO has reportedly surrounded himself with a crowd that believe he can do no wrong.
In a report released by Vanity Fair, an alleged insight into Zuckerberg’s life was published. In the words of a former Facebook executive, the company’s CEO has “surrounded himself with sycophants” that dare not tell him he’s doing wrong.
This backs previous reports regarding the CEO‘s hunger for realising The Metaverse. Previously, it was stated that the CEO‘s ego rests on the success of both VR technology and in-development AR glasses.
“The problem now is that Mark has surrounded himself with sycophants, and for some reason he's fallen for their vision of the future, which no one else is interested in," the ex-exec said. "In a previous era, someone would have been able to reason with Mark about the company's direction, but that is no longer the case."
Investors and the public are no alone in the hatred of the Metaverse. In fact, a number of Meta employees, aka MetaMates, are also against the virtual world, even the ones making it.
Recently, developers of Meta’s Metaverse have been criticised internally for not engaging with the product. Despite creating the virtual platform for the company, no one actually wants to use it.
In the Vanity Fair article, a number of statements from employees were shared. “Their metaverse will be our slow death,” reads one comment. “Mark Zuckerberg will single-handedly kill a company with the Metaverse,” reads another.
There’s always a chance that Zuckerberg will be able to make his Metaverse project work. However, it seems likely that the virtual world will become popular in the next five-to-ten years, at least Meta’s version.