--- title: "Facebook Employees Seem Completely Confused by the Metaverse" description: "It's a big week for Facebook-turned-Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. After a few rough quarters, a dismal public reaction to a glimpse at the founder's Horizon Worlds metaverse, and an allegedly imminent round of mass internal layoffs, the founder is finally just days away from unveiling Meta's much-anticipated new VR headset, Oculus Pro. This stands to […]" date: "2022-10-11" modified: "2022-10-11" authors: - name: "Maggie Harrison Dupré" job_title: "Senior Staff Writer" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/mharrison" url: "https://futurism.com/facebook-employees-confused-metaverse" categories: - "Future Society" - "Metaverse" - "Virtual Reality" tags: - "facebook" - "mark zuckerberg" - "metaverse" - "oculus" --- # Facebook Employees Seem Completely Confused by the Metaverse ![Some Facebook execs have threatened to actively monitor Meta employee use of Horizon Worlds, which employees reportedly, uh, weren't using.]() *\Image: Meta\* It's a big week for [Facebook-turned-Meta]() CEO Mark Zuckerberg. After a [few rough quarter]()s, a [dismal public reaction]() to a glimpse at the founder's Horizon Worlds metaverse, and an allegedly [imminent round of mass internal layoffs](), the company is finally bearing down on the release of its Meta Quest 3 and Meta Quest Pro VR and AR headsets. This stands to be a make-or-break moment for Zuck, who's hinged his company's legacy on his AR-dependent metaverse vision. And by all accounts — not to mention [niche sport-related promos]() — Facebook's [katana-wielding]() overlord is thrilled about this product release. But [according to *The New York Times*](), there's one very telling group that may not be: the [metamates]() themselves. Corroborating a [leak last week](), the *NYT* reported that Meta has had a difficult time getting its employees on its Horizon Worlds platform. Some company staffers reportedly had to scramble to buy Oculus headsets — which, you know, you might expect them to have already owned — in response to new mandates that weekly meetings be held in the metaverse, and execs have even turned to threats to actively monitor their game play. Sounds, uh, fun. "Everyone in this organization should make it their mission to fall in love with Horizon Worlds," read a September commandment, [originally obtained by *The Verge*](), from metaverse VP Vishal Shah. "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." Shah has a point. It's difficult to drum up public excitement about a piece tech if those building it apparently don't care enough to even own the headset you need to use it. But the issue, it seems, isn't just that the employees don't *like* Zuck's metaverse. In an anonymous *NYT* survey of 1,000 Meta employees, conducted on the popular Silicon Valley app Blind, only 58 percent said that they even understand the strategy he's taking to get there — a sure recipe for chaos, confusion, and general unhappiness. Even more damningly, some employees have reportedly taken to labelling metaverse projects with the acronym MMH — which stands for Make Mark Happy (ouch) — while Oculus' former technology chief, who still works as a Meta advisor, [expressed during an August podcast interview]() that the many billions of dollars poured into the project made him "sick to \[his\] stomach." And back in August, the [head of the metaverse division resigned](). Zuck, however, appears hellbent on bringing his "North Star" to fruition — whether his metamates [get it or not](). "Being a cynic about new and innovative technology is easy," A Meta spokesperson told the *NYT*. "Actually building it is a lot harder — but that's what we're doing because we believe the metaverse is the future of computing." **READ MORE:** *[Skepticism, Confusion, Frustration: Inside Mark Zuckerberg's Metaverse Struggles]()* \[*The New York Times*\] **More on Zucko woes:** *[Mark Zuckerberg Is in Big, Big Trouble ]()* ## Author At Futurism, I've reported extensively on the rise of AI as a cultural and business force shaping the media industry, and more broadly how those dynamics are changing how we all consume and share information and relate to one another. I'm also fascinated by public health policy and ethics, the role of emerging tech in politics and governance — and the powerful people and forces at those intersections — climate change, and the environment. My investigation on Sports Illustrated's use of AI-generated authors with fictional biographies won a 2024 Mirror Award for "Best Story on Media Coverage of Artificial Intelligence in Journalism and the Media" from Syracuse University's SI Newhouse School, I contributed to Niemen Lab's 2025 Predictions for Journalism series, and I've discussed my work for Futurism during appearances on NPR, CNN, the BBC, the CBC, and more. I grew up in rural Pennsylvania and attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst, where I played Division I field hockey for the Minutewomen as a midfielder. Since then, I've lived in New Orleans, Louisiana and Manhattan, New York. I spend my free time running, reading, perusing archival fashion, and searching for the world’s best negroni. I also have a debonair tuxedo cat, Westley, who's named after "The Princess Bride." ### Author social links [Bluesky]()