Why is Facebook buying Oculus? I have no freaking clue.
I’m not trying to figure it out, someone else will eventually. What I can’t get over though is how instead of typically trying to compete with Google and the entire augmented reality/wearables movement, Facebook is taking of in the exact opposite direction.
Augmented reality and virtual reality are different technologies. But the difference I’m interested in here is not one of technology but of philosophy, about how people will want to interact with technology. As is characteristic of companies of this scale, Google and Facebook are playing the long game.
The main idea that Google is pushing with Glass is that computing has become more and more obtrusive, disrupting with our real lives. The biggest culprit of this disruption are our near ubiquitous mobile phones, with the an incessant stream of notifications that we just have to check and selfies we have to take. Glass is supposed to allow you leave your phone in your pocket. To make technology recede to the upper right corner of your vision, so you can participate more in the real world.
Mark Zuckerberg on the other hand — the use cases he envisions for Oculus are exciting. They also require you to stick your head in a computer, literally, and be there for as long as possible, “immersed” in the experience.
After games, we’re going to make Oculus a platform for many other experiences. Imagine enjoying a court side seat at a game, studying in a classroom of students and teachers all over the world or consulting with a doctor face-to-face — just by putting on goggles in your home.
This is really a new communication platform. By feeling truly present, you can share unbounded spaces and experiences with the people in your life. Imagine sharing not just moments with your friends online, but entire experiences and adventures.
These are just some of the potential uses. By working with developers and partners across the industry, together we can build many more. One day, we believe this kind of immersive, augmented reality will become a part of daily life for billions of people.
Hmm…is this what he meant?
OMG! Friend request on @facebook!!!! pic.twitter.com/jrRL4XVX62
— jason (@Jason) March 25, 2014
It’s easy to conclude that Facebook’s acquisition of Oculus’ virtual reality is a giant middle finger to Google’s Glass. But it really isn’t. Like everybody else, both companies are ultimately competing for share of mind. But this isn’t like when Google created Google+ because it missed the social boat. Google is using augmented reality to make technology as unobtrusive as possible, and hopes that in that way, their technology will follow you everywhere. Facebook instead wants to make it more immersive.
It is possible that humans will have enough cognitive bandwidth to accomodate both perspectives. It is also possible that one will go mainstream, and relegate to other to a rather nice curiousity.
