Despite a very extensive and complete presentation by the company now known as Meta (formerly Facebook), the general public still has many doubts about what the metaverse stock is.
In the words of this company, the metaverse will be a platform where the combination of immersive technologies (such as virtual and augmented reality) with social networks will allow us to have a virtual experience almost as attractive as the interaction in real life. This world will allow users to interact with each other, play games, and go to events such as concerts and work, within an almost infinite multitude of virtual communities. And these interactions will be accessible through virtual reality viewers through different hubs such as Meta’s Horizon or Microsoft’s Alt Space.
These may seem like lofty promises, but this is not the first time a company has come to market with high hopes. Linden Labs launched Second Life in 2003: an application that allows you to create your virtual avatar to interact with others in a large virtual world full of freedom. A concept very similar to MMORPGs (Massively Multiplayer Online Role Playing Games), we are part of a large community.
The metaverse simply takes that concept and elevates it to the next level. We could say that its true origin was in 2014 when Facebook bought Oculus for $2 billion. At that time, Zuckerberg realized that his internet empire had to evolve into something more than just static photo and video sharing. The main idea was to achieve interactions that went beyond what we achieve in real life. Social Networking 2.0.
The metaverse takes that concept as a step in a natural evolution. This, at the same time, makes it one of the most ambitious projects at the moment. People will have virtual office spaces, where people working from home will be able to interact with others in a way that makes them feel part of a community.
There will also be virtual homes where you can meet your friends, then enjoy a concert or an online event together. You will be able to play games together, meet people and even visit other cities virtually. In addition, we will see more functions being incorporated, such as e-commerce and the mix of augmented reality and reality. Where what we buy for ourselves can be used in AR and with our avatar in the metaverse.
Features of the metaverse
- Interactivity: The user can communicate with other users, as well as interact with the Metaverse. This also implies that their behaviors can influence objects or other users.
- Corporeality: The environment that is accessed is subject to certain laws of physics, and has limited resources. In addition, such access is made in the first person.
- Persistence: Even if no user is connected to the metaverse, the system continues to function and does not stop. In addition, the positions in which the users were when they closed their sessions will be saved, to load them again at the same point when they log in again. If the concept of the metaverse is analyzed in a broader sense than the definition of the virtual world given by Stephenson in 1991, we can distinguish the different synthetic worlds as belonging to four different types.
- Games and virtual worlds: To this type belong those most similar to the one discussed in the novel Snow Crash. These are vivid virtual conditions, in which the client is submerged in an encounter of contact with different clients and components inside a virtual world. This contact can be game-oriented (e.g. World of Warcraft or Tibia), or more oriented to the social aspect of the metaverse, as in Second Life.
- Mirror worlds: These are detailed virtual representations of one or more aspects of the real world. The clearest example is Google Earth, which represents the world’s geography through aerial images.
- Augmented reality: They consist of the application of mirror worlds technology for real applications, which solve certain situations in our daily lives. These tools expand the physical world perceptible by users, establishing a new dimension of useful information.
How does the metaverse stock operate?
- If with the Internet it is possible to interact through the computer screen, smartphone, tablet, or other devices, without restrictions of time or space -that is, from any time and place-, with the metaverse the limit of that screen vanishes, offering an immersive experience, as if we were inside a video game and we were moving through an avatar that represents us, and that can touch and move objects, to interact with other people (or avatars) and to influence the environment.
- Although it is possible to enter the metaverse from a computer, devices such as virtual reality and augmented reality glasses, for example, offer an even more realistic experience. But beyond how we access it, the key to the metaverse lies in what we can do within it, thanks to web 3.0 or web3, as the third generation of the Internet is known.
- While web 1.0 was based on hypertext -links- and web 2.0, on interaction -social networks-, web 3.0 is based on the creation and exchange of digital assets -NFTs- using blockchain technology. Exactly the blockchain is the reason for the metaverse to be decentralized and clients and engineers can be the owners of their data and content, as well as own and trade non-fungible tokens, for example.
What can I do in the metaverse?
As the metaverse is still in a development phase in which companies such as Facebook (now Meta) are creating the necessary infrastructure for its operation, the limits on what can and cannot be done are unclear.
Moreover, its developers intend that users can contribute ideas and implement them in the metaverse as technology allows.
What does seem clear is that it will be the evolution of what we know today as the Internet, so some of the main changes will occur in the way we consume and create content, and in how we relate to each other socially:
- Work. During the presentation of his metaverse, Zuckerberg made it clear that one of the objectives is for it to become a workplace, where people can meet in virtual spaces as if they were physically there, and have the necessary tools to hold meetings, work, make presentations, among other things.
- Have fun. Attending a concert and feeling as if you were sharing the same place with the artist and the audience, but without leaving your living room is one of the examples of how the entertainment industry could change. Mass events would have the option of being face-to-face, virtual, or hybrid, depending on the needs of the audience.
- Buy. Although it is already possible to shop online, with the metaverse this practice would be much more real, since each user’s avatar would be used to try on clothes virtually and thus know how we would look with them. It would also be possible to interact with the seller in the same way we do in a real store, asking questions about the items or asking for their opinion.
How to take benefit of the options of the metaverse?
Like Meta, companies such as Microsoft, Google, Apple, Epic Games, and many others in the world of technology are working on the development of applications and tools to be part of the new virtual universe.
But there are also companies from various sectors that have become interested in taking advantage of the business opportunities offered by the metaverse, which will configure a new financial ecosystem based on blockchain and cryptocurrencies, which could be similar to that of the physical world.
For example, the multinational fashion company Nike presented Nikeland, a parallel reality located on the Roblox gaming platform, which allows users to exercise or wear the brand’s clothes using their avatars; the BMW car brand has plans to create a replica of one of its factories and conduct virtual tests that they would then transfer to real life; the real estate company Metaverse Property sells plots in several of the metaverses that have already been created, in addition to managing the rental or care of virtual properties.
NFTs (non-fungible tokens) are also part of the metaverse economy, so they can be bought, sold, and displayed in these virtual worlds.
When will the metaverse be ready?
Knowing when it will be available is one of the most frequently asked questions about the metaverse. The different platforms that are working on metaverses still need software and hardware developments to deliver the experience they promise. The founder of Facebook, for example, assures that it is a long-term project, so it may take between 10 and 15 years to be ready.
It is even possible that there is no specific date for its launch and that, on the contrary, the necessary technological advances will be incorporated as they become available.
How do you buy land in the Metaverse?
For anyone familiar with the world of cryptocurrencies, buying land in the metaverse is a matter of minutes.
The first thing to do is to store cryptocurrencies in a digital wallet. There are different types, although the most popular platforms are MetaMask, Coinbase, and Exodus.
If you have already set up a cryptocurrency wallet, buying a parcel is as easy as clicking on it and selecting buy. If the plot has not been purchased before, the funds will go into the metaverse itself. Otherwise, the funds go to the landowner.
