Facebook is already leaning into the metaverse, and because it is a platform with one of the biggest crowds, the term Meta or Metaverse is becoming fast popular. It is hoped by those who promote the term that this latest buzzword will capture tech’s imagination to the point that Facebook wants to be the champion of this futuristic idea.
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When the whole thing is figured out at the beginning, Facebook will be known as Meta Platforms Inc. or Meta in the simplest term.
What is Metaverse?
Promoters of metaverse want people to see metaverse as the internet brought to life. It is a virtual environment rendered in 3D that one can go inside of it, not just looking at it on a screen, such as a computer or a phone screen.
Metaverse is a world of endless, interconnected virtual communities in which individuals are able to meet, work, and play, using virtual reality headsets, augmented reality glasses, smartphone apps, or other devices.
Simply put, this is the next big thing in connectivity making it possible for an individual to live his or her virtual life as he or she lives the physical life. Virtual reality will incorporate online aspects such as shopping, and social media.
Since the world has been ravaged by climate change and a fossil-fuel crisis, the metaverse is seen as a way to solve these problems.
How Metaverse benefits you
As you enter the virtual world, you may be able to go on a virtual concert, take a trip online, view or create artwork, try digital clothing before you purchase it. There will be aspects that benefit the work-from-home aspect, that has seen more promotion during the COVID-19 period.
Those who have been joining a meeting via Zoom, or Google Meet, will be able to join fellow employees in a virtual office. Toward this end, Facebook has created an Oculus VR headset, which is still in the review stage.
As a metaverse user, it will thrill you to be able to teleport from one virtual experience to another. Imagine a world in which your children can attend school through virtual reality!
Metaverse will not be owned by one company such as Facebook. Already, several companies, tech giants, and videogame companies have started to build their own metaverse platforms but they do these with different elements. That is one way to show that metaverse will not belong to only one tech company.
2 Ways to make Metaverse work
- Tech companies must figure out how to connect their online platforms with each other.
- They must agree on a set of standards so everything is in full unity. The unity can also mean that people can watch a UFC fight from any angle, from the fight’s perspective.
Another great possibility is that people will be able to do unimaginable things like trekking on the moon. Already, virtual concerts have been held by musicians. That experience serves as the beginning of metaverse but there is still a lot to experience in the coming virtual reality of metaverse.
Who are the Champions of Metaverse?
Meta is probably the most famous company building its software and hardware for the metaverse. However, it is not the only company doing that. The following companies are also developing hardware and software on their own.
- Nvidia Corp
- Microsoft Corp
- Unity Software
- And Meta Platforms Inc, the new name for Facebook.
Main tools for Metaverse
There are several devices for the platform, such as smartphones and computers. But virtual-reality headsets will give a more immersive experience when it comes to using or experiencing the virtual reality and experiences that users will share online. Improved reality overlays computer-generated objects onto the user’s view of the real world.
At the present time, there are ways to enjoy the virtual experience. Meta, Microsoft, and Snap are ahead in selling augmented reality glasses designed for consumers and businesses. It only assures us that there will arrive more ways people can enter the metaverse in the future. Videogames will offer the best path into metaverse because the platforms are already ripe for it. Among the videogames companies that have promoted it is Roblox, having celebrated Gucci’s 100th anniversary through a virtual event.
Also, there have been video games and online games that have championed the virtual reality aspect as far back early 2000s. There was the videogame “The Sims” and “Second Life”, an online game in which people control avatars in a virtual world.
Perceived Downsides to Metaverse
As in all things technology, some experts have begun imagining what challenges will erupt concerning privacy and security issues in the metaverse. Another concern is that of health. How will it affect users’ mental health? Is there no potential for people to prefer the virtual world over the real world, and therefore neglect their real-life needs?
Another challenge to making metaverse successful and full-blown is the cost. Apart from the cost, slow internet will make progress to drag because the time for data transfer from one point to the other, and back is deeply a hindrance for having a full-fledged metaverse.
Metaverse virtual products & NFTs
There are now virtual products that are exclusively digital representations of a product. Some of these virtual products also have a real product out there in real life. People have started spending money on these products. Metaverse will grow this business realm in the future.
The world in which we are living presents many opportunities. The virtual one will also do the same. So, someone wearing an expensive suit in the virtual world may gain the same benefit as someone wearing an expensive suit in the real world.
It goes without saying that if you manufacture and sell products in the real world, you can also do the same in the virtual world. An artist is thus able to sell his work virtually.
NFTs come into the metaverse realm in the sense that they will be used to maintain and enforce scarcity, and exclusivity with virtual products. NFTs or non-fungible tokens are generated and protected through blockchain technology.
Conclusion
The metaverse presents a lot of future opportunities in technology. Definitely, there will be challenges. But the question that dominates the minds of tech experts is: Who will identify metaverse’s value and reap the greatest reward, and who will scramble to catch up before it is too late?
