Usually the open source community is very scattered, there are many groups developing similar projects like operating systems for instance. If all open source developers focused on the same system it would be miles ahead of the proprietary alternative but it’s usually the other way around. I think with the Metaverse is important that we focus early on a single project because if the Metaverse gains traction everyone may end up living in Facebook’s virtual reality and that would be the same as if we considered Mark Zuckerberg to be our god.
Eh, I think I’m at a very different place. Yes, it’s true that it’s in early stages, and the rollout and media talk at the current moment if probably influenced by public criticism of Facebook rather than the technology being ready.
However, one of the largest companies in the world is working on it, and elevating it to a central strategic objective. They are seeking to set the trajectory of the whole technology, possibly creating new cultural norms, possibly setting everything on a centralized framework instead of open protocols, and possibly creating a whole new set of issues relating to access, privatization, democracy, spread of misinformation, and power. We could easily look back in 20-30 years and say we wish that robust alternatives were opposed in the beginning.
So while I ate there’s nothing much to do and nutting to be done right now, I think facebooks involvement should be considered a significant thing to reckon with.