By: Langstin Hendrix-Wright
Over the history of Facebook, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg
has purchased Friendster, Instagram, WhatsApp, and many others. On March 25,
2014, Facebook made another step forward by purchasing Oculus VR for $2
billion. Oculus VR is a company that develops virtual-reality technology by making
gear that enhances video gaming. This is an interesting investment since Facebook
is a social media network.
Facebook may have purchased this technology to enhance their
user experience when communicating with someone online, even though one is
already able to video chat with another on Facebook. This virtual-reality
technology may make the conversation seem as if the other person is right there
in the room with you.
The technology looks like goggles that you put on when you
go scuba diving. It has a built-in, high-definition 3-D display, which make it
look as though you are right there in the scenery of the opposite user. The
goggles also have an accelerometer, gyroscope and a compass, which will be
helpful to the user when moving around, so the goggles can track your head
movement and you can see everything in a 360-degree view. This will help the
user see and interact with what is being projected.
The virtual reality goggles make it feel as if you are right
there inside of a game or an environment. Facebook may transform this into a conversation
that makes it seem as if the person you are talking to is right there in front
of you.
In the future, Facebook make advance the goggles so that the
user can take a 360-degree picture or video where the viewer can see everything
the uploader saw. This new technology can drastically change the Facebook
experience.
This definitely has the potential to transform the way we interact on the internet. When skype, oovoo, and other video services were introduced it changed the game, so this could be the next big thing in regards to communication via social networks.
ReplyDeleteThis is a great post considering where the future is headed. Im sure every child has thought of something like this before and facebook is bringing virtual reality to real life. Great Post!
ReplyDeleteFacebook continues to be one of the most innovative companies in the world. The fact that they see themselves going in this direction says a lot about the future of technology and business. The thought of having 360 videos and images on Facebook reaches far beyond my imagination. I cannot wait to see what the future of this deal holds.
ReplyDeleteThe way in which a company innovates tells a lot about how they will perform in the future. Lately there has been concerns about Facebook and their ability to perform in a every changing market, so it is impressive to see them coming up with innovative approaches.
ReplyDeleteFacebook continus to expand by purchasing these new startup companies. At what point do you think one of these companies doesn't pan out like Facebook expects them too? Is Facebook facing pressure to stay relevant in the social media realm? Facebook's age demographic is increasing because of younger people gradually moving away from it. All of the purchasing of these companies is just an attempt to keep younger people active on Facebook. I think Facebook's downfall is inevitable and at some point the purchasing of these companies will have a negative impact on Facebook.
ReplyDeleteI do not like this idea at all and with the purchasing with all these tech companies I think Facebook is moving away from what has made them successful up until this point-simplicity. With the purchasing of all these start up companies and now this idea, Facebook looks like it is becoming a lot more complicated and less user-friendly. How is someone who is 50 years old going to find use of this technology? What is the true target market for this? These are questions that I think FaceBook must answer before moving forward with this idea.
ReplyDeleteI like the way that Facebook continues to be innovative and how they are moving forward. Hopefully they will be able to keep it up and not become too overwhelmed
ReplyDeleteWhoa! I see Facebook has been making countless power moves lately. Innovation is the name of the game, and Facebook might be winning!
ReplyDeleteWow... not only is Facebook worth billions but they just invested billions. It is not about moving with technology it is about leading the technological push in innovation. Be first. Facebook is taking the initiative to move the way we use internet technologies versus just going with the flow. Good move.
ReplyDeleteI'm not sure how I feel about this acquisition. While I support Facebook expanding its horizons, I don't see how this particular acquisition helps the company despite that fact that it is a very intriguing technology.
ReplyDeleteI just realized I did a report on this same article, news travels fast huh, aside from that it is interesting to see how people react to Zuckerburg's off beat investment. I personally see it as a seize the moment kind of investment, but most see it as a large social network company working outside its boundaries. There is always room for innovation and if there is real creativity inside of facebook's management they will make this work
ReplyDeleteIm not sure how this will keep Facebook relevant. Many of its recent purchases have expanded it horizons, but will they actually increase value?
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