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Mark Zuckerberg has recently integrated NFTs into Instagram stories through Spark AR (augmented reality) allowing creators and users alike to encompass their digital NFTs into their stories bringing to life a new lease of reality within the realms of Meta.  And what’s more, Zuckerbeg is currently planning to roll this out to Facebook with select US creators.

“Creators and collectors will be able to share their digital collectibles across Facebook and Instagram after we begin rolling out the feature on Facebook with select US creators at a later date.”

Mark Zuckerberg is fully behind full NFT integration into both Instagram and Facebook as he sees interoperability as key.  He sees a vision where one can buy a gadget, for example, in the popular free-to-play online Battle Royale style game ‘Fortnite’, and yet one can also display that gadget via their Facebook avatar quickly and seamlessly.  

We are currently a long way off from making this a reality but having recently launched Meta Pay, a digital wallet that will replace Facebook Pay, Zuckerberg had this to say on the launch date of Wednesday the 22nd June:

“In the future, there will be all sorts of digital items you might want to create or buy – digital clothing, art, videos, music, experiences, virtual events, and more. Proof of ownership will be important, especially if you want to take some of these items with you across different services. Ideally, you should be able to sign into any metaverse experience and everything you’ve bought should be right there. There’s a long way to get there, but this kind of interoperability will deliver much better experiences for people and larger opportunities for creators.”

The Twitter Effect

The launch of Meta Pay seems to be following in the same footsteps of its social media competitor, Twitter, who launched NFTs to its platform back in January on the Ethereum blockchain.  Twitter allowed Ethereum-based wallets to connect to the platform and display their NFT artwork as profile pics. eBay has also recently expanded its compass into Web3 having acquired the Ethereum-based NFT marketplace, Known Origin.

Zuckerberg had this to say on the integration of Meta Pay as he carves out his vision for the Metaverse:

“Ideally, you should be able to sign into any metaverse experience and everything you’ve bought should be right there. There’s a long way to get there, but this kind of interoperability will deliver much better experiences for people and larger opportunities for creators,”

A Metaverse Standards Body

One thing Zuckerberg is also keen on with all of this is establishing some sort of standards body within the Metaverse.  Meta is keen to join forces with other like-minded tech companies in creating this standards body.  These companies include names like Adobe, Epic Games, Microsoft, Nvidia, and Qualcomm, although, no Apple.  The intention of this group is to ensure that the next version of the web is developed with a shared ethos for web3 and the Metaverse.

One of the main benefits of this body of standards is that it means that all digital worlds, or Metaverses, will be compatible with one another.  Well, apart from Apple’s, which is predicted to be a major player within the scene, especially once the tech giant releases its mixed reality headset this year or next.  

Speaking of which, Meta themselves have also made plans for their mixed reality headset with a code name ‘Cambria’ which is set to be released later this year.