So, Facebook has acquired Oculus VR for $2 billion.
This is obviously big news. However, I find it shocking for a completely different reason: It proves to me just how out-of-touch I really am.
It goes well beyond my general refusal to play games online. It even goes beyond my disinterest in most new movies, music and books. $2 billion means the entire world is paying attention to two things I couldn’t possibly care less about, and that’s a very…weird feeling.
Facebook…hate it…Oculus VR…don’t care
Firstly, let me just say that I absolutely despise Facebook, and I’ve already made my concerns about virtual reality perfectly clear. Concerning the latter, I consider it little more than an evil virtual enterprise that has successfully enslaved the less intelligent and easily swayed. It has somehow managed to convince them that what you “do” on Facebook qualifies as communication. Of course, it doesn’t.
Now, I do understand the benefits. I get that if you’re separated from your friends and family by a large distance, something like Facebook can be appealing. It’s even easier to understand for military families, for instance. However, as usual, the manifest intent of a thing is never as diabolical as the latent intent, the latter of which has always concerned me.
As for virtual reality, it’s just worrisome on a number of different levels. I will never partake, and I’m okay with that. For more, click the link above.
And yet, obviously, a LOT of other people care
$2 billion is a lot of money. This means two things: 1. It means Facebook actually has $2 billion to spend, and 2. It means they think Oculus VR is worth $2 billion. Both of these things freak me out considerably. I knew Facebook was big, but I didn’t quite realize that it had become the insane machine that it is. I also figured virtual reality was coming (I think we all did), but I never thought a company would think this new tech was worth $2 billion.
But I guess I shouldn’t be surprised. Angry Birds is now worth a gazillion dollars, too, and I never would’ve guessed that, either. This just goes to show that I have no idea what will be popular, what people find “fun,” and what will earn people outrageous sums of money. For the record, concerning the latter point, I don’t begrudge those individuals one penny they earn. They knew things that I didn’t; they produced a product that this world was ready to embrace.
Me, I’m so far out of the loop that when someone says, “Let me know on Facebook,” I just respond, “Or, and this is just a thought, just email me. Or call me. I prefer the call, by the way, because that’s at least some form of normal human communication.” As for VR, just looking at people wearing that wacky headset gives me the creeps. Yep…dinosaur I am. Oh well. 🙁
Published: Mar 25, 2014 05:39 pm