Metaverse, the next generation of the internet.
What is the Metaverse, you ask?
A metaverse, to put it simply, is a space where individuals can participate in a shared virtual universe. Meta’ is a prefix that means ‘beyond,’ and ‘verse’ comes from ‘universe,’ making the word ‘Metaverse.’ The term can refer to digital spaces which are made more lifelike by the use of virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR).
The Metaverse, with a capital M, is the idea that there will be one single virtual reality that individuals will become avatars in. These individuals will engage in this shared virtual reality space, talk to each other, hang out, play games, watch movies, even browse the web. It will be a new internet.
The Metaverse will have texture, dimension and color, according to the website cryptonews.com. People will meet, watch shows, hang out, visit virtual museums, ride virtual parks, go to websites all within the same Metaverse.
Investment bank Jefferies defines the metaverse as “the convergence of physical and digital in a way that is persistent, real-time rendered, and infinite in its ability to offer shared experiences allowing for a total sense of presence to the point where it embodies us.”
Metaverse might use AI, AR and VR technology to create artificial world
Think of the metaverse as an artificial world created by new technology like artificial intelligence, augmented reality and virtual reality. It’s a virtual world that looks, feels, tastes and smells like the real world.
The movie Matrix depicted a storyline where a future society is unknowingly trapped inside a metaverse called the Matrix, which intelligent machines have created to distract humans while using their bodies as an energy source.
Facebook (FB) founder and CEO Mark Zuckerberg intends to rebrand the FB enterprise with a new name that focuses on the metaverse. And, Zuckerberg expects FB to be seen primarily as a metaverse company and not just a social-media company in the coming years.
At its heart of the rebranding is the concept that by creating a greater sense of “virtual presence”, interacting online can become much closer to the experience of interacting in person. The metaverse has the potential to help unlock access to new creative, social and economic opportunities.
No one company will own and operate the metaverse, Facebook reported. Like the internet, its key feature will be its openness and interoperability. Bringing this to life will take collaboration and cooperation across companies, developers, creators and policymakers, Facebook explained.
Currently, the metaverse is extremely speculative concept. It will take significant time, corporate collaboration, financial and technical resources to create and to make operational.
References:
- https://cryptonews.com/guides/what-is-the-metaverse.htm
- https://www.barrons.com/articles/metaverse-facebook-tech-stocks-51634943295?mod=past_editions
- https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/best-stocks-etf-for-the-trillion-dollar-metaverse-2021-08-16
- https://www.equities.com/news/what-is-the-facebook-metaverse-think-of-the-matrix-movie-jeff-kagan
- https://about.fb.com/news/2021/10/creating-jobs-europe-metaverse/