What is the Metaverse?

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structure (rough);

  • what is the metaverse?
  • market size & statistics
  • company uses / how companies can use metaverse
  • social uses / how people will use the metaverse
  • opinions from various people of all ages & professions
  • the future?
  • notes:
    meta verse – capitalistic haven for the rich, companies capitalising on this
  • readyplayer.me – avatar creator sponsored by many clothing brands
  • microsoft deal with US army in 2018 – simulate war zones – In 2018, Microsoft and the US army have signed a contract worth $480 million to manufacture over 100000 HoloLens headsets.
  • simpsonize yourself – early avatar creations from a photo
  • Meta Plans to Take a Nearly 50% Commission on Purchases Made Inside the ‘Metaverse’ Despite Complaining About Apple’s 30% App Store Cut
  • roblox / the sims -> vr chat -> meta

statistics:

from statistica
  • More than 34 million VR headsets will be used across the world by 2024. -https://www.statista.com/statistics/1282492/consumer-attitudes-metaverse-
    brands-internet-users-uk-us/
  • 1623 respondents, 18+

draft 1: very rough

The Metaverse — a term now bandied about in technology and marketing circles, laden with high hopes of defining a new era of the Internet. To help you understand how complex and vague the term ‘metaverse’ truly is, here is an exercise: replace wherever you see the term “the metaverse” with “cyberspace”. Most of the time, the meaning won’t considerably change. That is due to the fact that the term doesn’t really refer to any one specific type of technology, or product. Rather, it is a term that signifies the shift in how we interact with technology. As the next predicted evolution of the internet, the metaverse is a concept of a more immersive, digital future where users can create avatars to explore different online, 3D worlds, with the help of virtual reality (VR). The idea of the metaverse, one could argue, is to enhance our social connections and make our online experiences so immersive that it mimics reality.

Anything that can be done digitally is going to be impacted by the metaverse. The metaverse is essentially a network of 3D virtual worlds which are solely focused on the social aspect. For those of you who may remember it, it is like a modern version of The Sims. The difference being that the user (or their avatar) is deeply involved with the world and can interact with others, buy goods, use services, and enjoy events in this virtual world. A good example of this being, your favourite band is performing a virtual concert in the metaverse. This can only be viewed by those who attend the exclusive event and pay the cryptocurrency entrance charge. 

The way we work, how we interact, socialise is going to be reshaped, similar to how Covid affected us in the previous years. The biggest misconception is that many people assume that the metaverse is only VR. VR is important, and has some great uses, but the metaverse is more than that. It is about how any interface and any access point gives the user a 3D, immersive world. Furthermore, the metaverse is misconceived to be purely about gaming, or a toy. In fact, Goldman Sachs predicted that the metaverse exists as a $8 trillion global market opportunity. In a report released by Citi Global Perspectives and Solutions (Citi GPS), the metaverse could even represent a total addressable market worth of $13 trillion by 2030. 

Meta is a Greek word that is used as a prefix for when something transcends itself. The term metaverse, then, suggests a world beyond our current one – a new digital or virtual world. The first account of the term being used was 30 years ago – in the 1992 novel by Neal Stephenson called Snow Crash. The author predicted a future where users connected to a VR space using the internet, and how they interact with objects and other human beings through augmented reality (AR). Players were represented by their avatars, with computer programs (software agents) acting on their behalf.

So, put briefly, the metaverse refers to a digital world in which everyday experiences such as working, socialising, gaming and shopping take place. According to Bill Gates, in two or three years all virtual meetings could be held in the metaverse.

“The metaverse really is an evolution of how we communicate,” says David Whalen, CEO of Engage XR, a metaverse-building platform. “If we were inside the metaverse today and you were wearing a VR headset, I could walk over and shake your hand,” Whalen says. “If I put my face really close to your face, you’d feel like I’m invading your personal boundary. If somebody is standing behind you it sounds like they’re behind you.” 

“This space is still forming, and gaps remain between the visions being woven about what a metaverse-infused future could look like and what exists today” says journalist Jule Pattison-Gordon. “While definitions vary over what, exactly, constitutes a metaverse, they are commonly described as immersive, persistent, interactive digital environments, and often one that mimics the real world to some extent.”

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link to survey :

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/SRRPPHQ

survey questions: age , location, see below for continuation;

I will use the results gathered by this survey to present the results of each each age group, to show who understands what the metaverse is and some opportunities the metaverse offers in most detail. This is only one of many surveys/interviews I intend to carry out for this article.