What is the Metaverse? Why should you pay attention to it?
With Facebook’s recent rebranding to be now called Meta, the concept of the Metaverse has been thrust into mainstream discussions out of the tech community where it had been a thing for a while. The Metaverse is not a new concept as it had already been covered in a 90s novel Snow Crash where people escaped the real world to fully immerse in a virtual world. Many blockbusters including the famous Matrix trilogy and Avatar, have touched on one or more aspects of the metaverse. However, there have been varied descriptions of the metaverse;
An array of interconnected digital spaces (The Verge)
Real-time rendered 3D worlds and simulations (Metaverse Primer)
A set of virtual spaces where you can create and explore with other people (Facebook)
In my view, the Metaverse is both virtual, 3D and most of all, a melting pot of all modern technologies in the digital age to create an immersive alternate reality and an alluring escape for humans. The human experience of the metaverse will make use of the advances in Virtual Reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR), AI, Machine Learning, Big data, IOT, smart wearables, 5G communications as well as Cryptoassets and Blockchain technology. It truly presents an overwhelming picture when one considers the interaction of all of these different technologies and the balance one has to maintain with life in the outside world. How much of a separation will eventually exist between the metaverse and the real world? Augmented Reality through smart wearables will somehow narrow the gab between the metaverse and our everyday operations and allow for us to experience the metaverse every waking hour of our day. Furthermore, the adoption of Cryptocurrencies in mainstream transactions (it will happen) will further merge our world with that of the metaverse.
NFTs, Metaverse and gaming
Gaming is set to explode with the introduction of NFTs (non-fungible tokens) and play-to-earn NFT games brought on by recent innovations in Blockchain technology. This decentralised ownership of unique digital assets such as gaming characters and accessories, and the bragging rights in owning these rare NFTs, is set to introduce a new wave of economic rewards for gamers and non-gamers. Players will be able to create digital assets, trade them and earn in-game Cryptocurrency tokens that could be exchanged for fiat currencies. NFT assets will be portable across platforms, are unique and cannot be stolen. For example, Sandbox (token SAND) is a play-to-earn virtual world where you can own and trade digital land and build your own game. Augmented reality and wearable technology will enhance experiences, engaging all of the human senses and in turn provide for the perfect escape into the virtual realm with huge economic rewards which can be converted to real-world income. The appeal to youths will be irresistible and opens a wide arena for content providers. From an investment perspective, crypto platforms or tokens that deal with this aspect of NFT gaming and play-to-earn have a good upside potential.
In the near future with the aid of wearables, people will be able to accessorise their clothing and footwear via augmented reality. This phenomenon will take over fashion runways and street fashion with cool fashionable items in the digital realm mixing with physical fashion. The budding fashion designer who is not known will be able to commit their designs into the blockchain as NFTs and distribute to their friends to wear as fashion accessories viewable via smart goggles. The possibility of a virtual changing room where one’s avatar is able to try on potential outfits before adding to the shopping basket becomes very apparent. The potential financial rewards are enormous for any budding entrepreneur to develop skins for avatars in the metaverse as well as augmented wearables for street fashion.
Entertainers of today ought to be considering the metaverse seriously as the demand for content will grow exponentially with this new paradigm. YouTubers, filmmakers, Vloggers etc. will have to extend their offering to accommodate the metaverse. I came across a YouTube channel, xanadu, already creating in this space with its star avatar, Blu. It is believed that most big studios and tech firms are already very heavily invested in building the metaverse. Facebook’s move to rebrand is only an indication of what has already been in full speed at several R&D departments of the tech giants. Google and Apple and others are making strides in wearable technology, AI and AR.
Sure, others have spoken out for the perils of this new world of AI and now the metaverse, not just as a threat to mankind’s domination over our habitat; rather, also to the dangers of big monopolies and the control they wield in the impending big data war, selective censorship and surveillance capitalism. This should be what keeps policy-makers and regulators awake at night. I believe technology should be for humans to collectively advance our species and not as a control tool of a few over the masses. This is why I am bullish on the decentralised aspect (read blockchain innovations) of it. On a micro scale, escapism isn’t normally the panacea for facing real life challenges and our children should be made aware not to fall into its trap.
Whilst there are many articles out there with in-depth coverage on the metaverse, it is often missed as to how the everyday Joe and Jill will capitalise on this inevitable stage of our evolution — The Internet 4.0. It is evident that this new world has tremendous financial rewards for those in the creative sector of the economy and anyone wanting to hone their skills in creative design and/or content production. There is hardly an imaginable future where one will not benefit from developing their creative side. Obviously, programmers, game producers as well as crypto entrepreneurs are faced with vast opportunities to venture into. We are living in very fast-changing times and having an attitude to learning new concepts and applying what has been learnt cannot be overemphasized.
