Meta Spark

Discussing the Future of Spark AR

A roundtable discussion with creators across Asia Pacific

By: Craig Cook
December 3, 2021
Meta Spark

Discussing the Future of Spark AR

A roundtable discussion with creators across Asia Pacific

By: Craig Cook
December 3, 2021

As Meta expands and introduces more people to the metaverse, we want to build a digital space that is inclusive and creative, and that offers continuity across apps and services.

Recently, my colleague Liz Southwood and I chatted with six Spark AR creators across Asia Pacific about the upcoming possibilities for Spark AR applications that the metaverse will bring, and answered their questions about functionality, platform capabilities, usage insights, and what’s next for Spark AR creators.

Our creators use the Spark AR platform every day and see it as a unique product that enables them to create high-quality AR effects. More than 700 million people use augmented reality across our apps and devices every month. I absolutely love these chats with our creators – as they always bring a lot of insight, feedback, and fresh ideas about how we can improve our products.

Sharp questions and insightful feedback from AR creators

During the Q&A portion of our chat, the questions from the six creators highlighted their genuine excitement and passion for the Spark AR platform and its future.

Some of these were conceptual – how we envision AR to impact the education and health care fields, how Spark AR might work outside of mobile and with virtual reality, and whether unique, ownable augmented reality virtual objects or filters are a near-future possibility.

Others were specifically about frequent client requests, such as adding links and sales tracking to the AR effects. We also heard savvy ideas, such as the desire to bring business features currently available on Facebook and Instagram, such as product tagging and ads experiences, to AR experiences.

Product feedback

The product feedback we discussed included clients’ desire for deeper insights and networking capabilities. Many of our creators build AR experiences for advertising agencies and brands that want both high-quality effects and a way to measure the return on investment so that they have data-driven insights into the efficacy of the AR experience in engaging an audience.

Our creators also let us know that clients are looking forward to the possibility of monetizing AR effects by, for example, creating and selling unique AR effects or virtual objects for individuals via an online marketplace. A consistent topic that came up during the Q&A session was our plan for monetization opportunities and where that is in our Spark AR roadmap.

Internal support

During these chats, we also take on board critical feedback we hear about any difficulties or product issues our creators face when working with Spark AR or regarding our policies. Though it sometimes takes time to find a solution, we often hear that creators turn to Meta team members and are able to resolve issues.

It was my pleasure to give these talented creators a peek into the Spark AR roadmap, to answer as many questions about infrastructure and security as possible, and to listen to their ideas, insights, and wishes for the future of Spark AR – specifically regarding the metaverse and the truly exciting possibilities it will bring.

Hearing feedback directly from creators helps us better understand their needs and what their clients are asking for, and provides our team with direction for what should come next.

It was a great chat – I hope the creators are as excited about the future of Meta and Spark AR as we are!

We’re looking forward to sharing more creator conversions in the future. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram, and join the Spark AR Community to stay informed of everything Spark AR.

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