The Metaverse Will Change How We Meet and Collaborate
People have been playing games together in virtual reality scenarios for years, but the game is becoming more real now. And, coming to an office near you.
Facebook has launched “Horizon Workrooms.” This is a virtual office using virtual reality (VR) to reimagine the office meeting.
The launch included an interview between Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and CBS This Morning co-host Gayle King. Each donned Oculus Quest 2 headsets and attachments to pick up on hand gestures.
This move takes Facebook from a social media company to a “metaverse company” as Zuckerbuerg describes it.
For now, your personally designed avatars will represent you in a meeting. But others can join the meeting in a video format. According to Facebook, in the workrooms, you can see your computer screen, keyboard, interact with co-workers, whiteboard, brainstorm and do multimedia presentations. However, it will not be long before your avatar can become more lifelike.
This takes Zoom to a more collaborative, lifelike feel. In the Workroom you can have multiple people around a table interacting just like in a real meeting—sans sleeping.
Mark Mathis
Mark wrote his first direct-mail fundraising letter in 1981 for the University of Iowa Center for Advancement. The effort raised a few million dollars in undiscovered wills and legacy gifts. From that day forward Mark discovered a love of the big idea that moves the needle. After 12 years at KWWL, Mark became a business owner as a co-founder of ME&V — rebranded as AMPERAGE in 2015. After 25 years of leading creative teams in video production, graphic design, PR, writing and web development, Mark transitioned out of ownership in 2021. Today he serves in an employee role as special projects consultant. He is creatively ambidextrous — son of an artist and engineer — and famous for distilling complex ideas down to a few words and a few visuals. Mark is a writer. When he found that many nonprofits struggled with complex branding puzzles, he wrote the book, “NonProfit-NonMarketing .” He also wrote a novel called “Reenactment.” Mark is an active blogger OneMinuteMarketer® with nearly 1,000 readers each week on LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter. One of his most popular YouTube videos is on “How to Look Good on Zoom.” One of Mark’s fondest business memories was being named to INC 500 two times and attending the INC 500 conference with other winners. Mark is considered by some a Civil War expert (and that explains his novel). Mark also served as an adjunct professor in the business and in the communications departments at Wartburg College. Mark is a graduate of the University of Iowa and is currently vice president of the University of Iowa Journalism and Mass Communications Advisory Board. Mark is married to state Sen. Liz Mathis, and the two love to travel, even when it means being trapped by a volcano in the Czech Republic for three weeks.
