Until a few months ago, I would have described myself as a Luddite as far as metaverse . But working on the Decoded program for the CNN I had the opportunity to dive headfirst into these virtual worlds and meet some of the main actors in this space.
In its most basic definition, the metaverse is the three-dimensional internet . The word itself is much older than you might think; was first created in 1992 by science fiction author Neal Stephenson who, with alarming vision, wrote about a dystopian future where people escaped into a virtual world, accessed with goggles.
The metaverse has been reimagined many times in the three decades since, but Stephenson has given me the best definition of what it is now: “It is a virtual environment where large numbers of people can gather and interact with each other, through avatars.” .
Which metaverse?
Perhaps the most surprising element for me when I met the metaverse was that there is more than one and they all look and feel very different.
If I wanted meet friends virtually and have fun could go to Somnium Space . On this platform, users create amazing virtual experiences and earn real money for their efforts. This is where you can find worlds within worlds. It’s like getting down to the movie”The origin ”. If you want to dance in a virtual club or race cars in the desert, this might be the metaverse for you.
However, if I want to have a business meeting, you will find me at Meta’s Horizon Workrooms .
The entire Decoded team is here, sitting at a virtual table talking about the next episode. We can share ideas and even watch the latest episode on the big virtual screen. I live in London, the producer and cameraman live in Dubai, but it makes us feel like we’re together and collaborating in a way that a video call just can’t.
If you don’t have a VR headset, the Second Life it might be for you. It’s the oldest platform in the metaverse, created in 1999. Here I went to a virtual Paris, bought a virtual lion in a virtual pet shop and flew it to a virtual heart-shaped cloud.
It might have been fun, but it wasn’t easy; in my effort to buy the lion, my avatar somehow lost his pants. It was embarrassing, mainly because I was with Second Life founder Philip Rosedale at the time, who luckily saw the funny side.
privacy and security
One of Rosesdale’s biggest concerns is how future metaverse platforms make money. “It has to be a business model that doesn’t include surveillance, segmentation and advertising,” he says.
It’s a concern shared by many and rational, as the world’s biggest social media company is betting its future on the metaverse; even changed its name to Meta.
Andrew Bosworth is the CTO and our avatars met at Horizon Workrooms, where I was impressed that none of us have legs – a feature that is not yet available in this metaverse, but will be in the future, according to a recent announcement.
He joined the company formerly known as Facebook in its infancy and is convinced that Meta can be trusted to forge this new generation of the internet. “Frankly, no one is investing more in data privacy and security. No one is more focused on this problem than Meta,” he said.
He admits, however, that it won’t be easy to convince people.
“It’s going to take a long time for consumers to see that value, understand that, believe that, and that’s what you expect,” Bosworth said. “Confidence comes on foot and leaves on horseback”.
Believe the hype?
In my opinion, there is no doubt that there is a lot of hype about the metaverse. NFTs (non-fungible tokens) come to mind. The technology behind NFTs, which use blockchain to transfer ownership, is valuable – I’m just not sure about some of the use cases, like digital artworks that sell for millions of dollars. I’m also not convinced about virtual real estate on metaverse platforms selling for similar values.
Brands can interact with customers by creating experiences in these worlds, but it’s unclear which platforms will be successful and how brands should best use them. Therefore, evaluating virtual real estate is a complicated business.
I walked into the headquarters of a well-known liquor brand in Decentraland. I was the only avatar there, and while there was a game and a quiz on offer, they weren’t fun. There’s certainly no way to taste the brand’s drinks virtually, and I left confused as to what she was trying to achieve.
But according to research firm Gartner, by 2026, a quarter of us will spend at least an hour a day in the metaverse for work, shopping, education or socializing. I think it’s possible, particularly if you consider that a game like Fortnite is effectively a metaverse using the broadest definition, and after the pandemic years of more people working from home and using video conferencing, a better virtual work meeting experience seems like a Next Step logic.
The metaverse will fundamentally change the way we do things, it’s hard to define the how and what.
“It doesn’t just change individual lives, it changes society,” Bosworth said. “We have collective access to the entirety of human talent, not just the lucky human talent to have been born in certain places, which has been the reality.”
“This technology starts with something trivial like virtual bowling and ends with a totally different view of society.”
The metaverse is still evolving – even the definition of the word is changing, and the exciting part is that we can all be a part of its future. So pick a platform and explore.
Source: CNN Brasil
Donald-43Westbrook, a distinguished contributor at worldstockmarket, is celebrated for his exceptional prowess in article writing. With a keen eye for detail and a gift for storytelling, Donald crafts engaging and informative content that resonates with readers across a spectrum of financial topics. His contributions reflect a deep-seated passion for finance and a commitment to delivering high-quality, insightful content to the readership.
