Over the years, the concepts of communication and collaboration have continuously evolved and changed. The methodologies and technologies are essential for globalization and the realization of an interconnected, one-world concept.
The ancient world utilized smoke signals and carrier pigeons. As technology progressed, the discovery of telex, telegraphs, telephones, video calling, and even telepathy technology is revolutionizing the way in which we communicate.
If you simply look back over the last ten years, humanity has primarily utilized the internet for communication, from making new friends, to form new associations and businesses.
Social media and messaging applications have only managed to enrich our communication, even supplanting the use of SMS and phone calls. It’s possible to share documents, videos, messages, and even make video conference calls with more than one hundred people.
Now, we are entering into a new world – The metaverse.
Humans are seeking out more immersive experiences, where the idea is to create entirely new digital spaces where our communications become life-like, like our in-person communication experiences.
In this new world, it’s not simply about engaging in a conversation like we do in video calls already but interacting with others within the metaverse.
This is where this entire concept comes into play. All thanks to the technology of our day and age, as well as the concepts of a decentralized economy, all the changes necessary to bring the metaverse to life can happen seamlessly.
What is the Metaverse?
What even is the metaverse? What does metaverse mean?
Metaverse is a world that can only be found virtually. It can be explored using technology, from computers, gaming consoles, or mobiles, where the user experiences 3D graphics and sound as they explore. These aspects make you feel present in the metaverse, despite being grounded in the physical.
It includes a huge combination of various elements of technological advancement, from virtual reality, to augmented reality to video, where the players or users live within the digital universe.
Those who envision and support the concept of a metaverse envision its users working, playing, and staying interconnected with friends across distances and through everything from concerts to conferences to virtual trips around the world.
Facebook, recently renamed Meta, is one of the largest technology companies staking itself on a metaverse. The company describes it more simply, saying that “The ‘metaverse’ is a set of virtual spaces where you can create and explore with other people who aren’t in the same physical space as you.”
The CEO of Meta, Mark Zuckerberg, estimates that it will take five to ten years before the key features and ideas of the metaverse to become mainstream and mainstays for society. Indeed, aspects of the metaverse do currently exist, such as ultra-fast broadband speeds, virtual reality (VR) headsets, and many different, persistent online worlds are already in operation, though they may not always be simple to access for people.
The technologies making up the metaverse can certainly include virtual reality, as many of the systems in the metaverse are characterized by virtual worlds that will continue to exist even when you are not participating.
This doesn’t mean that you require VR or augmented reality (AR) hardware to access such a virtual universe, as it could also mean accessing it from a phone, app, or desktop PC.
A virtual universe, with aspects such as Fortnite, MMORPGs, or social games accessed through computers, consoles, and phones could also be metaversal in scope.
The author of the extensive Metaverse Primer, Matthew Ball noted that
“The Metaverse is an expansive network of persistent, real-time rendered 3D worlds and simulations that support continuity of identity, objects, history, payments, and entitlements, and can be experienced synchronously by an effectively unlimited number of users, each with an individual sense of presence.”
Idealistically, there are several things that can be expected from any iteration of the metaverse.
- Virtual Reality – Many expect that a virtual reality headset of some kind would be a necessity for this. While not necessarily important, a VR headset is designed to make you feel more present and involved in the virtual world, until you bump something physical while stumbling around in your blissful blindness.
- People – It is designed to be social, and as such other people must be present. Lots of people and avatars will be present, and while some of them will not be real, you can spend time with real people and even do things together.
- Persistence – The virtual world must always be online and persist even when you are not there. Every single minor change a person makes must remain when that person goes offline, from objects to buildings. The system relies entirely on individuals making and building content, so this is one of the most crucial factors of any online world.
In most cases, the virtual world will be a direct copy or representation of the real world. Using a drone in the metaverse for example or traveling to see a famous landmark that you could never find the opportunity to see in real life could be ways this is utilized.
Some refer to the metaverse as the digital twin of the physical world.
There are some other names for the Metaverse, such as the ‘mirror world,’ or the ‘spacial internet,’ or even the ‘AR cloud.’
The metaverse also quite easily translates into a digital economy, where users can develop, buy, sell, and trade goods.
In more idealistic visions of the metaverse, it can be operated across multiple virtual realities, where users can take virtual items like clothes or cars from one platform to a different one. In the real world, similar to how you can buy a shirt from the mall and then wear it out to a movie cinema.
Even right at this moment, many online platforms host virtual identities, avatars, and inventories tied to just one platform. A metaversal system on the other hand could allow an individual to create a persona taken everywhere across the network, as easily as you can copy a profile picture from one social network to another.
The DNA of Metaverse
The metaverse must have three distinct layers to ensure that it operates successfully.
Layer 1: The Experience
The expression of the metaverse itself will be built through lived experiences.
This will be through community-encompassing games, social interactions as you would in real life, education, and even live sporting events and concerts for the enjoyment of users.
The goal of the metaverse, therefore, is to develop and build an enjoyable and immersive experience that will eventually supplant the mobile internet we have become accustomed to.
Whether the metaverse is used to meet others, work, play, learn at school or university, or even shop, the metaverse will be all about enjoying content in real-time through virtual reality experiences. It represents a shift from a place to share experiences, like social media, to a place of shared experiences together with others.
Layer 2: The Underlying Economics
Currently, all the talk of the metaverse is centered around a creator economy, non-fungible tokens (NFT), and the ledger-based exchanges that allow people to buy, trade, and sell items.
The NFT market volume is trading at over $700 million dollars and the OpenSea platform is to be valued at $100 billion dollars soon enough. Indeed, Ethereum blockchain marketplaces have proven to be a beneficial and strategic infrastructure when it comes to metaverse economics, but there is still something missing from the equation.
Digital goods are already being traded and as there is currently not so much to do with the things own, it is an investors market. For economies to function efficiently on the metaverse, owners need to be able to do something with their purchased items.
The promises that come with ledger-based exchanges and the creation of alternative coin options that power these allow the transfer of purchased items and their values will be simpler.
Layer 3: The Technology
These things include the necessary online infrastructure and tools required for producing the metaverse, such as network connectivity, computer systems, well-developed user interfaces, and the virtual environment that they inhabit.
This universe involves a 3D environment and geospatial mapping to form the virtual reality fabric, with a combination of both AR and VR.
Metaverse: What can it do?
As technology has been developing and evolving, pop culture has also been evolving.
Typically, the pop culture world has been interested in entire cinematic universes and the metaversal concept fits the bill to satisfy the desires of pop culture.
Eventually, the metaverse will be able to be used and relatable for everyone, not just a select few interested people in our current day.
The metaverse is an immersive universe, boasting real estate and alter-ego avatars of humans engaging with other humans in a variety of different contexts.
All of it comes down to a virtual community, a digital and fully immersive experience of life in the community.
Users can purchase real estate, build an abode, and make friends, which is only further enhanced through the commercial experience where you can buy clothes, shoes, accessories, and many more items you desire.
Nike is just one example of a big-name brand involved in the metaverse, and recently announced the purchase of a company to produce non-fungible sneakers. If it can, Nike wants to ensure that all avatars will be wearing their shoes and not waiting to see the involvement of other companies. It is capitalizing on a good and beneficial investment early before its competitors.
Somnium Space is an example of a world that allows the ownership and trade of virtual real estate. It consists of virtual reality and is built upon the blockchain and even has its own in-game currency known as Somnium cubes, which can be used to purchase items.
The primary funding of the Somnium Space platform stems from the purchase of this virtual real estate, which can be used for things such as social networking, e-commerce, gaming, and even events.
This demonstrates that technology and systems are evolving in a way that lends itself to the metaverse.
This virtual world, for example, can have spaces developed as virtual malls of rentable properties. Should Louis Vuitton wish to set up a shop and sell a virtual product of their items to avatars, they could do so.
Many supporters of the technology see a world where they can rent storefronts to companies who want to sell merchandise but not maintain real estate themselves, rent out virtual homes or even go as far as to design and build custom houses for rich and famous individuals who want to add their presence into the metaverse.
Certainly, playing games is one of the most immediate practical applications, and some games have already begun entering the concept of a metaverse.
Many massively multiplayer online games contain all the aspects which ground the metaverse, and many of the non-fungible token creators have begun working on metaversal tokens and games that can be played across the blockchain.
Games such as Roblox and Fortnite are well on the way towards the metaverse, where their worlds and objects, avatars, and socialization persist even when the player logs off. Fortnite hosted an online Ariana Grande concert which was attended by millions of people, which is just a small taste of the capabilities that a metaverse could hold.
Another example of a video game with metaversal ideals is Eve Online, the massively multiplayer online game set in space.
The persistent world, socialization of the players, and their freedom to make choices impacts everything that happens across the video game.
Some Eve Online players made a bank, such as one that exists in the real world, issued loans, paid interest, and had a CEO, a board, and an excellent organization.
The CEO ended up robbing the bank of two hundred billion of the in-game currency, the equivalent of $6000AUD. The economy of the game functions well, organized by a team of economists with unlimited market potential and driven by players, supply and demand systems, and many different opportunities.
Metaverse: An extension to alter ego
One of the most intriguing ideas to arise during considerations about the metaverse is the propensity of humans to seek out ways to live that are simply not possible in their real life. This could be due to their geographical location, regulatory impositions, or ordinary everyday constraints.
Indeed, the idea of an alter-ego is exciting for many people.
The idea of an immersive world where you can be someone you are not, interact with people you would never meet in real life, and develop yourself however you wish without the constraints of the physical world is an attractive concept.
You can cultivate a personality online that is entirely different from the real you if you wish.
It will be entirely possible for us, as digital avatars, to be smarter, funnier, braver, more talented, and even better looking than we are in real life. It will revolutionize the economy, through aspects such as advertisement, and world culture due to the amalgamation of cultures and people interacting.
Shopping and how companies do business will be changed forever, as some will seek to try things out through the virtual world and purchase items for their characters. Even entertainment, such as the Arianna Grande concert hosted through Fortnite, will never be the same.
The extension of our human lives into a virtual zone has many endless possibilities. The vision at the core is human interaction and it’s not all about gaming systems, although this is one popular usage of virtual reality systems.
A fan of the late Michael Jackson, for example, who was unable to meet him in real life could meet him in the metaverse. They could have a conversation with him, go to one of his concerts they never got the chance to, or buy a house in the neighborhood where he used to live in real life.
One of the largest and most profitable pop culture items in the last ten years has been superheroes, and there are certainly times when humans have felt the desire to be one.
It’s natural for us to avoid these attempts in real life due to fear or worry, but in the metaverse, there is nothing to be concerned about. We could extend our real lives into a virtual world to do things we could only ever dream about doing in our everyday reality.
Workplaces could go virtual, especially during coronavirus times, and have their workplace set up on the metaverse. They could offer their goods and services virtually, meet their colleagues in meeting spaces and discuss as if they were present in person.
There is a lot of traction behind this and the excitement that comes with being able to live and interact with people in a persistent, extensive virtual reality has many people looking forward to the future of technology.
Conclusion
When we go even deeper, the metaverse is built upon a decentralized economic model. While our modern societies exist and function around trust in centralized systems of power, law systems, and economics, all these new forms of trust mechanisms are evolving. These decentralized models offer a much better way of building a metaverse and managing the implicit trust required, in a much more secure, transparent, and efficient way.
Many different communities, organizations, and enterprises around the world have already begun to explore and experiment with these decentralized economic models and as more is understood of this new model of economics, the implications for the future and the way these technologies will be used are exciting.
There are a plethora of opportunities and manners of metaverse use that can be utilized and developed for the good of humanity.
Modern technologies, such as virtual and augmented realities, blockchain, cryptocurrencies, and creators are all essential in further developing these economic models into a function Metaverse.
Many providers are working on such things, in a race to see who can create the best, all in the shadow of the decentralized economic model.
Many movies and books have warned of a dystopian nightmare, but we ought to consider the positive outlooks of such a move.
All the technologies developed over many years, from blockchain to VR to AR, sensors, cameras and even 5G are coming together into a cohesive whole.
Now, most of this is centered around the creator economy of NFTs, smart contracts, and trades and the Metaverse is still missing a lot of pieces, such as utilities and economics.
Nonetheless, there is no doubt that soon enough the real world uses will come to fruition, and as technology continues to develop and build on this incredible concept, we will have a lot more to follow in the years to come.