Ever Since Mark Zuckerberg changed the name of Facebook to Meta, many of us have been wondering what the big deal is with the Metaverse!
So what is the metaverse?
The metaverse brings together, in one experience, a number of technologies that include Virtual reality (VR), Augmented Reality (AR) and the ability to to track where your eyes are looking.
You may have heard of Roblox (https://www.roblox.com) or the Sandbox, (https://www.sandbox.game/en/) all of which are online gaming apps that create virtual, multi player”universes”.
In order to fully “get” the experience you need a VR headset such as those made by Oculus (https://www.oculus.com), but you can also use your phone, tablet or computer as well as popular gaming platforms such as the xbox.
The term “metaverse” has its origins in the 1992 science fiction novel Snow Crash as a portmanteau of “meta” and “universe.” (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metaverse)
Did you see the movie Ready Player One? If so, you probably already have a good idea of how people will interact and use virtual reality. If you haven’t seen it, I recommend doing so. It’s available on Netflix or Amazon Prime Video.
NPR has this to say about what the Metaverse is: Think of it as the internet brought to life, or at least rendered in 3D. Zuckerberg has described it as a “virtual environment” you can go inside of — instead of just looking at on a screen. Essentially, it’s a world of endless, interconnected virtual communities where people can meet, work and play, using virtual reality headsets, augmented reality glasses, smartphone apps or other devices.
It also will incorporate other aspects of online life such as shopping and social media, according to Victoria Petrock, an analyst who follows emerging technologies.
“It’s the next evolution of connectivity where all of those things start to come together in a seamless, doppelganger universe, so you’re living your virtual life the same way you’re living your physical life,” she said.
(https://www.npr.org/2021/10/28/1050280500/what-metaverse-is-and-how-it-will-work)
How do I enter the metaverse?
Since there isn’t ONE metaverse (after all, the name implies many universes!) There isn’t one way to do it. I found a useful article here https://editorial.mintable.app/2021/12/12/5-metaverse-platforms-you-can-join-right-now/ that will give you a quick overview on how to join Roblox, Decentraland, The Sandbox, Stageverse and Spatial.
That ought to get you started. Which leads me to the next section…
Why is the metaverse important?
I’m still not 100% convinced that this will get traction in what I have left of my lifetime, but given the huge popularity of the metaverse with the under 18 year old crowd, you can bet that it will become mainstream over the next view decades.
The metaverse is important because it will allow people to get together, from anywhere in the world, at any time, without leaving the comfort of their homes or offices.
You can do many of the things in VR that you can do IRL (In real life) such as owning property, starting a business, getting together with friends and family and so on. If you think about it, we have been doing something like this in real estate with our VR home tours!
The end game is that the metaverse will allow us to remove physical barriers to interacting with each other!
What currency is used in the metaverse?
Pardon the pun, but this is the $64,000 question! And the answer is CryptoCurrency! You have heard of BitCoin I’m sure. It may have been the first and most widely known CryptoCurrency, but it is not the only one! Different MetaVerses will use different CryptoCurrencies so to participate you may need to own several flavors! Learn more about CryptoCurrency here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cryptocurrency
Bottom Line
I hope that this has given you a better understanding of the metaverse. More info is only a Google search away, so you might want to get ahead of the curve and get on board soon!
