Introduction.

Meta defines the metaverse as “the next evolution in social connection and the successor to the mobile internet.”While this definition is generally true, it’s important to know that Meta doesn’t control the metaverse; no company does.In fact, rather than thinking of one virtual space called the metaverse, it’s more appropriate to use the plural form, metaverses, at the current stage.In this article, we will explore what exactly the metaverse means, where it came from, and how it has evolved – and will continue to evolve.

Let’s dive in.

What Is The Metaverse?

A metaverse can be any 3D virtual space powered by technologies – including virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), artificial intelligence (AI), the Internet of Things (IoT), and blockchain – that allows people to interact with each other (and in some cases, with non-human avatars).There are many metaverses existing today.

Most of them were created by individual companies and serve a particular purpose. There is little to no interoperability among metaverses, as the standards of sharing user identities and data across different metaverse spaces haven’t been developed yet.

The History Of The Metaverse

The term “metaverse” was first used by sci-fi writer Neal Stephenson in his 1992 novel “Snow Crash.” In the novel, Mr. Stephenson describes a 3D virtual world that people could, in a sense, occupy.

The novel’s main character, Hiro, accesses the metaverse via a personal terminal that projects 3D virtual reality images to his goggles. Hiro’s avatar interacts with other people’s avatars in the metaverse, and in fact, “Snow Crash” is the name of a data file Hiro’s avatar received in the metaverse.

Fiction aside, digital gaming is how the metaverse was introduced to and adapted by consumers in scale. Launched in 2016, Pokémon Go, which incorporated augmented reality into mobile gaming, took the world by storm.

Since then, multiplayer games, such as Fortnite, Minecraft, and Roblox, have provided a virtual environment where players can interact with each other in the form of avatars – creating the foundation of the metaverse.

In 2023, the development and adoption of the metaverse has gone beyond gaming and into other industries.Metaverse marketing is becoming a buzzword among consumer brands. Major multinational companies, from JP Morgan, Nike, and Adidas, to McDonald’s, all have initiatives to capture the marketing potential of the metaverse.This creates another level of interconnectivity and a new dimension to our global economy.The management consulting firm, McKinsey & Company, estimated the metaverse could generate $5 trillion in revenue for businesses by 2030.

Understanding the seven layers of the Metaverse

Entrepreneur and author, Jon Radoff, has suggested that the Metaverse comprises seven distinct layers, with each layer influencing one aspect of the user experience:

Experience: Physicality’s limitations will be removed as physical space is dematerialized in the digital world. The Metaverse will provide people with a wide range of experiences we cannot currently enjoy.
Discovery: Through app shops, search engines, and rating websites, customers can learn about new platforms thanks to this layer. Finding new technology and communities requires this crucial step.
Creator economy: To produce digital assets or experiences, developers use various design tools and apps. Numerous platforms are developing more straightforward creative methods over time, for example, drag-and-drop tools.
Spatial computing: It blends mixed reality (MR), virtual reality (VR), and augmented reality (AR). Over time, it has developed into a significant technology category that enables users to interact with 3D environments for enhanced experiences.
Decentralization: There won’t be a single authority that rules the Metaverse. Scalable ecosystems will support business owners in providing a more comprehensive range of specialized digital items as the Metaverse expands, enabled by blockchain technology.
Human interfacing: The hardware layer of the Metaverse must include human interfacing. Any virtual world can accept a person’s body as a 3D, realistic avatar.
Infrastructure: The technology that powers people’s gadgets, connects them to the network, and distributes content is part of the infrastructure layer. Over time, 5G networks
will dramatically enhance the capacity of the Metaverse.

Difference Between The Metaverse and The Internet.

Even though the metaverse is often considered the next evolution of the internet, there are significant differences between the two.The internet, as we know it, is a network of websites.Initially, websites were created for information distribution only.

Today, websites serve various purposes, from shopping, entertainment, to communication. The emergence of social networks made the internet a channel for people to connect and share their lives with each other.Even as enormous as the internet is, it’s still a place for storing and sharing information its users generate about what happened in the “real world.”

On the contrary, the metaverse is a virtual world where its users “live” their virtual lives. The activities happening in the metaverse and the data it stores may not have any connection with the “real world.”

In other words, the internet is an extension of the real world, while the metaverse is a virtual space that exists in parallel with the real world.

To understand this difference, consider posting pictures of a dinner gathering with your friends on social media versus having a virtual gathering with your friends in the metaverse.

In the metaverse, you can go about many of your everyday life’s day-to-day interactions and occurrences in your avatar from.Your avatar can interact with other people’s avatars. You can conduct many activities in the virtual world as you do in the real world, such as buying and selling goods, attending concerts, going to museums, building or renovating a house, and more.

CONCLUSION

The metaverse is still in its infancy stage. While its infrastructure is still being set up, some companies and brands are jumping at the opportunity to be a part of this new world.As the proliferation of websites highlighted Web 1.0 and the adoption of social media represented Web 2.0, the metaverse could be the signature for Web 3.0.No one knows how the metaverse will evolve in the future. But one thing is certain – it’s no longer science fiction. It’s already here.

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