tl;dr: We’re about to fork society even more. The choices we make in the near future will have long-term consequences.

By now, a lot of digital ink has been spilled on the Facebook name change.

Honestly, I don’t care much about whether it’s a good name or not. It’s probably a good move from a “hey look over here and don’t look over there” perspective as far as all of the evils of Facebook and it’s a nice move from a positioning perspective to basically continue Facebook’s game.

That game is, for many people, Facebook=Internet and Meta= Metaverse.

However, in my view, that’s simply not possible. The Metaverse, like the Internet, should be something much, much larger than just one company.

Not only because something like the Metaverse should be owned by everyone, but because it should be open to everyone.

Facebook’s version of the virtual reality world is probably going to be very immersive, compelling, exciting, addictive, and extremely extractive.

If you think Zuck and Co are rich now, wait until they get a piece of every single digital asset that is purchased or traded in their vision of the future.

For me, Meta’s inevitable outcome is going to be a Ready Player One scenario complete with its own version of reality. If you think people live in different worlds, wait until some people “live” in Facebook’s, er, Meta’s version of that world and some people don’t.

Meanwhile, I’m sure Google and others will develop their own “flavors” of virtual reality worlds, which will have some limited interaction, portability to the others, but no matter how “rich” the experience is, the platforms on which these version of virtual reality will be built will be owned by private companies.

At the same time, ANOTHER version of reality will exist in the form of an open and interoperable set of interconnected, community-owned, community-governed experiences that allow for self-custody and data privacy.

THAT world, which I would call the “Metaverse” will be build on a Web3/crypto foundation.

Here’s the problem.

In the beginning, the open version of the Metaverse, from a user experience perspective, is going to really suck.

It’s going to have more friction, fewer apps, and will be clunkier.

A lot of people will simply choose for the “better, less friction” experience. Why wouldn’t they?

Heck, the web 3.0 version might even have small fees associated with it to get started. Why would anyone pay that?

And the Meta/Google/Microsoft version will be “free.”

Of course, as they say, “if you’re not paying, you’re the product” and that will be even MORE the case.

So, and I’m just guessing here, we’ll end up with an even more fragmented set of “realities” for people around the world.

Some will live in “Meta’s” reality. Some in Google’s. Some in Microsoft. And some on a Web 3.0 platform.

Some will be slaves. Some will be free.

Some will recognize the choice when it is presented to them and the implication of those choices for themselves and for their descendants.

Some will not.

As Ted Lasso said, quoting John Wooden (or as he calls him ‘John Obi-Wan Gandalf”)

“It is our choices, gentlemen, what show what we truly are, far more than our abilities.