If you read this conversation article, the Metaverse is basically XR (extended reality), not Neal Stephenson’s Snowcrash.

The Conversation is full of conflicting opinions on what is or should be the Metaverse (and some flatly refuse to let Facebook control it, even if Stephenson won’t sue Facebook for stealing the term): here is an article that wanders around then ends on a decisive point I agree with:

What is the metaverse? A high-tech plan to Facebookify the world

The current version of Facebook may increase your ability to connect to other people and communities. But at the same time it limits how you connect to them

And the 22.7.2021 The Verge Zoom Interview with Mark Zuckerberg is interesting as well.