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Facebook is struggling to make its own employees love the Metaverse

By Alan Martin last updated 10 October 2022 "The simple truth is, if we don't love it, how can we expect our users to love it?" (Image credit: Mark Zuckerberg/Facebook) WARNING! Over 1 million Facebook users' passwords compromised - what to do now. Meta - the company formally known as Facebook - has bet big on VR spaces being the next big thing. Unfortunately, it's having a hard time convincing its own employees to be equally enthused, with few spending much time in Horizon Worlds, according to leaked internal memos seen by The Verge (opens in new tab). "For many of us, we don't spend that much time in Horizon and our dogfooding dashboards show this pretty clearly," wrote Meta's VP of Metaverse, Vishal Shah, in a memo to the team on September 15. "Dogfooding" means using your own products or services to ensure quality. "Why don't we love the product we've built so much that we use it all the time?" Shah continued. "The simple truth is, if we don't love it, how can we expect our users to love it?" Answering his own question in another memo from September, Shah wrote that "the aggregate weight of papercuts, stability issues, and bugs is making it too hard for our community to experience the magic of Horizon." The plea for people to spend more time in VR clearly fell on deaf ears, as another memo dated September 30 promises to "hold managers accountable" for making their teams use Horizon at least once a week. "Everyone in this organization should make it their mission to fall in love with Horizon Worlds," he wrote. "You can't do that without using it. Get in there. Organize times to do it with your colleagues or friends, in both internal builds but also the public build so you can interact with our community." Highlighting ways that the experience currently falls short, Shah wrote that "our onboarding experience is confusing and frustrating for users," and that employees should be keen to "introduce new users to top-notch worlds that will ensure their first visit is a success."

Metacursed

On one hand, it's not surprising that the person whose job it is to make the metaverse the future is evangelical in pushing for more people to use it internally and showing a little frustration that others aren't as enthusiastic. But it does speak to a wider problem with betting the house on the Metaverse as the next big moneyspinner after Facebook. If the company really was on to the next big thing in computing, then it shouldn't have to "hold managers accountable" for usage - it would be natural. Before I went freelance, my former employers made the move to Slack. Nobody had to pressure me or others to stop sending emails - they just fizzled out as we naturally embraced the new software, which was easy, intuitive and actually quite fun. It doesn't sound like the same is true for the metaverse at this point. Will it ever be? I'm a touch skeptical. I bought a Meta Quest 2 and absolutely love it for how quick and easy it is to launch fun VR experiences. Despite that, it took me well over a year to get through the brilliant Half-Life: Alyx because of the hassle of making sure everything was charged, clearing a space and putting on the headset for an extended session. And that was for something fun! For meetings… well, can't we just book a room? I'd need a pretty compelling reason to don a VR headset for work and, bluntly, it doesn't sound like the company has much other than vague promises that it might be the future if only employees would try a bit harder to love it.Today's best Oculus Quest 2 dealsRecommended Retail... (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab)$399 (opens in new tab)View (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab)$399.99 (opens in new tab)View (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab) (opens in new tab)$399.99 (opens in new tab)View (opens in new tab)Show More DealsWe check over 250 million products every day for the best prices

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Get instant access to breaking news, the hottest reviews, great deals and helpful tips. Alan Martin Freelance contributor Alan has been writing about tech for over a decade, covering phones, drones and everything in between. Previously Deputy Editor of tech site Alphr, his words are found all over the web and in the occasional magazine too. When not weighing up the pros and cons of the latest smartwatch, you'll probably find him tackling his ever-growing games backlog. Or, more likely, playing Spelunky for the millionth time. More about virtual reality The best VR headset in 2022 The best VR games in 2022Latest Amazon Fire TV Cube (2022) reviewSee more latest ► Topics Virtual Reality See all comments (0) No comments yet Comment from the forums MOST READMOST SHARED1Amazon Fire TV Cube (2022) review2The best workout headphones in 20223Daily Quordle #274 - answers and hints for Tuesday, October 254The best business laptops in 20225The best laptops in 2022: 20 top picks tested and rated1Is a firm or soft mattress better?2Amazon Fire TV Cube (2022) review3The best workout headphones in 20224Daily Quordle #274 - answers and hints for Tuesday, October 255The best business laptops in 2022