Mark Zuckerberg touting an “open, interoperable metaverse” stands at odds with Meta using corporate partnerships and case-by-case permissions to build it

Mark Zuckerberg wants to own the future of computing — but not alone. That's the intended takeaway from this year's Meta …

The Verge 2022-10-13 Adi Robertson

Context & Ripple Effects

Meta’s interoperability pitch arrives while Roblox, Steam VR, and VRChat had already built metaverse-like experiences, leaving Meta in a catch-up position against established platforms. A day earlier, Zuckerberg’s keynote had also drawn criticism for not addressing skepticism about the metaverse strategy.

The gap matters because Meta’s stated openness is being implemented through corporate partnerships and case-by-case permissions, making access dependent on Meta’s decisions rather than broadly available rules.

First-order effects

Developers and platform partners seeking to connect with Meta’s metaverse offerings must negotiate permissions with Meta, rather than rely on interoperability as an automatic entitlement.
Meta retains practical control over which partners participate and on what terms, despite presenting the metaverse as open and interoperable.

Second-order effects

Roblox, Steam VR, and VRChat can contrast their existing metaverse-like ecosystems with Meta’s permissioned approach as they compete for developers and users.
Partnership negotiations become a gatekeeping lever for Meta, shaping which outside services can reach its metaverse users and which integrations remain unavailable.

Third-order effects

If major platforms define interoperability through bilateral deals, “open” metaverse standards risk becoming nominal commitments while access remains controlled by incumbent platform owners.
The contest shifts from building standalone virtual worlds to setting the rules for cross-platform access, with gatekeeping power concentrated in the platforms that approve integrations.

The trend: Metaverse competition is exposing the divide between interoperability as a public vision and interoperability as platform-controlled access.

Discussion

@mwseibel Michael Seibel on x
The folks who are shitting on Zuck re Oculus should shut up. He is trying to invent something new. Just give him some time to try. Why tear down someone who is actually trying hard?
@suhail @suhail on x
I applaud Zuck and Meta for trying something so bold and ambitious in the face of what it risks. It's easy to be a critic but much harder to build.
@richlightshed @richlightshed on x
Listening to @satyanadella on @stratechery podcast talk about how Zuck wants to be able to use Microsoft Outlook in VR while he is inside of a VR meeting — sounds even more distracting and less “present” than picking up your phone during in a meeting
@eclectichams @eclectichams on x
https://twitter.com/...
@audleyzdarke @audleyzdarke on x
1) Zuck isn't doing shit 2) VR has existed for a while now, no one is inventing shit 3) The tech revolution of the 90s-2000s produced tools that were both useful and easily used- Zuck's Second Life clone is neither 4) He's not going to let you suck his dick, Brad https://twitter.…
@caseytheva Casey Mongillo on x
PlayStation Home in 2007 [Image of PlayStation Home compared to Accenture's virtual office in the metaverse]
@markoff John Markoff on x
Zuckerberg's pivot to the metaverse may well go down as one of the greatest corporate strategic errors of our time, and his stubborn focus on expensive hardware and futuristic services suggest a leader increasingly out of touch with how consumers actually https://www.bloomberg.co…
@firstadopter Tae Kim on x
Going to ask the silly question. Why would anyone want to read email in VR? 2D screens work fine and you don't have to put a weighty headset on your noggin https://twitter.com/...
@reckless Nilay Patel on x
Really good @thedextriarchy dive into what Zuckerberg means by “open” when it comes to the Quest and VR https://www.theverge.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@gartenberg Michael Gartenberg on x
Might apples privacy settings which is cost as company somewhere around $10 billion dollars have colored his worldview? It's also hard to compete with someone that doesn't actually have a product in the space you claim your competing in. https://9to5mac.com/...
@nickstatt Nick Statt on x
Meta and Microsoft actually making good on trying to build some of the platform interoperability we keep hearing Zuckerberg and others say will be critical to building the metaverse. https://twitter.com/...
@wholemarsblog @wholemarsblog on x
Facebook acquired Occulus in 2014, 8 years ago. How much longer does Zuck need? $META https://twitter.com/...
@linkletter Ian Linkletter on x
Facebook's dream of controlling a metaverse monopoly isn't “open” just because it has an API and integrates with Microsoft Teams. Get outta here.
@dangillmor Dan Gillmor on x
What Zuckerberg means by “open” is not what the word actually means, needless to say. Read this piece by @thedextriarchy to see the cartel-meister's slippery language in more detail. https://www.theverge.com/...
@michael_abia_v1 Michael on x
This is what i'm waiting for, i've never had someone try the Quest 2 and not be convinced on the future of VR. Just that weight and GPU improvement is enough, this is already a good computing device. The rest will be software https://twitter.com/...
@jank0 Janko Roettgers on x
“I see our role ... as making sure the open ecosystem wins out.” Zuckerberg
@themetav3rse @themetav3rse on x
Mark Zuckerberg: “I strongly believe that an open, interoperable metaverse built by many different developers and companies will be better for everyone.”
@chetfaliszek Chet Faliszek on x
Nah, he's so desperate to own a platform, he is hurting VR. Left to grow naturally, VR would be smaller but stronger. Zuck so supercharged it... it's like he is forcing a 4 year old to perform a senior piano recital instead of praising them for reciting the alphabet. https://twit…
@quinnae_moon Katherine Cross on x
1) Powerful people deserve public scrutiny. 2) That entails criticism, some of it rude. 3) Calling that criticism something that “drives clicks/engagement” is so rich it could buy out Meta. https://twitter.com/...
@jonathanvanian Jonathan Vanian on x
Zuckerberg throwing shade on Apple: “Philosophically, we've always been about building in the open, we'd rather show the progress we're making and talk about the challenges we're still working through. We don't have all the answers, because some of them just don't exist yet.”
@ballmatthew Matthew Ball on x
Some highlights from @Stratechery's great Metaverse interview with both Satya Nadella and Mark Zuckerberg #1 - Nadella: Don't think of the Metaverse as excluding or substituting other devices, access models, or 2D interfaces https://stratechery.com/... https://twitter.com/...
@srikmisra @srikmisra on x
Hijacking Open. Web3 can head in a totally wrong direction - far away from the ethos of decentralized ownership, rights and living. The battle to keep web3 open and open finance really decentralized will be fought over the next 5yrs. Decide wisely. Great piece👍🏼 @thedextriarchy h…
@thedextriarchy Adi Robertson on x
Zuckerberg says every generation has a closed and open computing system — cites “Windows and Mac” and “Android and iOS.” I think Windows is the closed one in that pair?
@jezcorden @jezcorden on x
Ngl Microsoft makes the metaverse sound ten times less lame than Meta itself.
@tomwarren Tom Warren on x
it's fascinating to watch Meta, Microsoft, and others position VR and the metaverse as the future of work. We're so far away from this reality that everything feels so early and forced. Maybe Apple will help push this forward, but it's all very meh-taverse right now https://twitt…
@nekware @nekware on x
@verge He think it means we “open up our wallets for him to take what he wants”
@linkletter Ian Linkletter on x
Mark Zuckerberg: “In PCs, I think you'd say that Windows during the '90s and 2000s especially was really the primary ecosystem in computing. The open ecosystem was winning.” Number of times he mentions Linux in this interview: 0
@ronkjeffries Ron K Jeffries on x
Excellent interview. Good insights. You will learn a lot. At least I did.🌞 https://twitter.com/...
@punk6529 @punk6529 on x
IT IS TIME TO BUIDL AN OPEN METAVERSE
@swombat Daniel Tenner on x
Oculus lost me forever as a potential customer the moment they were acquired by FB, because it was 100% obvious this was inevitable. https://twitter.com/...
@bentarnoff Ben Tarnoff on x
The Microsoft partnership announced today seems to indicate that Zuck sees the white-collar workplace as a (the?) major channel for wider VR adoption. Wrote something about this last year https://bentarnoff.substack.com/ ... https://twitter.com/...
@thedextriarchy Adi Robertson on x
“We're at the beginning of a new era of computing,” says Zuckerberg as we near the end of Connect. We're discussing two values: the first is “putting people at the center of everything we build.” The second is “openness.”
@ballmatthew Matthew Ball on x
Mark on (virtual) stage with Satya Nadella at Meta Connect Lots of ongoing efforts to have an interoperable metaverse industry-wide https://twitter.com/...
@caseynewton Casey Newton on x
Loved this necessary pushback from @thedextriarchy on Meta's casual use of “open” to describe its VR ecosystem, and its ahistorical positioning of '90s-era Microsoft as a generous landlord https://t.co/Zlh0twq5Kx https://t.co/0z31ZuqK4I

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