What is the metaverse and why is it important for entrepreneurs?

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In recent years, you’ve probably heard about the so-called “metaverse,” along with a host of imprecise descriptors like “it’s going to be the next internet” or “it’s going to revolutionize e-commerce.” In reality, the metaverse is both more and less than what many commentators say.

So, what is the metaverse? What does it mean and why is it so important? Why is it especially important for small businesses and entrepreneurs? Read on for answers to these questions and more.

So, what is the metaverse?

The metaverse is the interconnected, VR-enabled digital world that persists through the internet and cloud technology. Think of it analogously to the internet.

Related: Brace yourself for impact: it’s time to usher in the metaverse

When you create an account on Google, you can take that Google account with you to many other websites, such as YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram. Similarly, you can create an avatar on the metaverse, which you can take with you when you visit different domains, platforms, or worlds connected to the metaverse network.

For example, you can:

  • Create a metaverse avatar for work purposes.
  • Take that metaverse avatar to an all-digital work meeting so people around the world can collaborate.
  • Take that metaverse avatar into a game where you play with your friends.
  • Take that metaverse avatar to a digital store to purchase digital items for your avatar, such as new clothes.

In many ways, the metaverse is intrinsically linked to Web 3.0: the next “iteration” or version of the Internet. Web 3.0 focuses more on preserving user identity across domains and websites and includes more VR and AR technology, further blurring the line between the online world and the real world.

People often confuse the terms Web 3.0 and metaverse; however, they are fundamentally different. Many metaverse platforms are now accessible with Web 3.0 technologies and are integrating decentralized finance (DeFi) into their economies in the form of cryptocurrencies and NFTs.

Web 3.0 is based on the idea of ​​decentralized control and ownership over the Internet. The metaverse is not concerned with technology ownership, but instead with creating a shared digital reality.

Related: The new wave of Web 3.0 Metaverse innovations

The metaverse as it stands today is part theoretical and part accessible – for example, you can buy a VR headset, create an avatar, and jump right into a virtual reality world.

However, the metaverse is not yet fully connected and the different platforms or domains are still largely isolated. That said, the metaverse is well on its way to reaching its ultimate potential.

How does the metaverse work?

The metaverse works by combining new hardware technology, such as fully immersive VR headsets cheap enough to be commercially available to the average person, and cloud technology and improved servers.

Basically, the metaverse is a linked set of worlds or digital domains that people can access using the same user ID. Because the metaverse relies on VR technology, your user ID is connected to a digital avatar that is 100% unique.

Related: Why your business should prepare for the metaverse

What is the history of VR and AR technology?

The earliest examples of VR and AR technology emerged in the 1960s and 1970s. Over time, as people began to understand the full range of computing capabilities, they began to imagine what it would be like to wear hardware headsets that displayed fully digital or virtual worlds before their eyes.

In the 1980s and 1990s, new technologies became available with headsets projecting fully realized 3D worlds, mainly as novelties or training equipment for military personnel. It wasn’t until the 2010s that VR headsets hit the market for the average American, usually for playing games or immersing themselves in virtual worlds.

The idea of ​​a “metaverse” is not new. In the Neal Stephenson novel Snow crashprotagonists interact with a fully immersive virtual reality environment and movies like The Matrix also demonstrate metaverse-like technology.

However, it is only in recent years that technological advancements have become powerful enough to emulate and bring these ideas to life.

VR vs AR technology

Note that there is an essential distinction between VR and AR technology.

VR, or virtual reality, technology superimposes a digital, virtual world on top of the real one, usually using a headset such as the PlayStation Oculus.

AR, or augmented reality, technology adds digital or virtual elements, icons and other things to the real world. AR technology can include wearing smart glasses or playing a smartphone game, such as Pokemon Go.

Possible applications of the metaverse

While it’s still early days, the metaverse has many potential uses, some of which you can already see in the real world.

Working remotely

For starters, many can use the metaverse to work remotely. You’ve probably heard about companies requiring their employees to attend virtual meetings using 3D avatars on the metaverse. Or maybe you have already participated in these meetings yourself.

Related: Why remote work will fully embody the metaverse

Anyway, the metaverse allows employees to collaborate as if they were in the physical world, even if they have offices all over the world. Real-time Zoom meetings in virtual rooms or corporate real estate are closer than ever, similar to the environments in movies like Ready Player One.

Employees with the ability to work remotely, as well as their managers, report increased productivity and work-life balance. These and other benefits help paint the picture of how metaverse technologies can improve efficiency and productivity for small business owners and entrepreneurs.

Playing games

Of course, many people already use metaverse technology for playing games. VR games are already popular among those who can afford VR headsets. While the graphics and controls are still in their earliest iterations, that tech will likely only improve as time goes on. Eventually, VR gaming may become the most common way to play games.

Video games like Fortnite, Roblox, and Second Life can bring NFTs (non-fungible tokens) and other developments to the gaming side of the metaverse, driven in part by social media. This would allow players to sell virtual items for crypto, giving real value to in-game economies.

Gamers can expect to see metaverse tech companies pushing the boundaries of gaming further into sci-fi territory, as virtual reality headsets like the Oculus Quest have already done.

Related: The metaverse and future of gaming

Socializing online

More people are likely to use the metaverse to socialize online. Digital hangouts, such as metaverse coffee shops or dance clubs, can pop up on certain platforms or in certain virtual worlds. In the future, people will be able to use the metaverse to go on dates, interview job applicants, or hang out with friends without leaving the comfort and safety of their homes.

Related: Metaverse: A Breakthrough Innovation for Entrepreneurs

Online shopping

The metaverse will almost certainly be used in online shopping for real and digital items. There are already metaverse stores that you can browse with your avatar to purchase digital items for your character, such as clothing or accessories.

But imagine visiting a metaverse car dealership to see a graphically realistic version of a car you want to buy before going there in person. That’s a possibility that can bring the metaverse to fruition.

On a side note, the metaverse could expand into using cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin.

“Replacing” real life.

In the long run, the metaverse may continue to replace aspects of real life. Whether this is good depends on your philosophy and how you look at technology and the internet.

In general, there is no absolute limit to what the metaverse can do and what it can allow people to achieve.

Is the metaverse growing in popularity?

There’s a lot of discussion and discussion about whether the metaverse is popular now and whether it will become more popular in the future.

This is reported by Pew Research, the metaverse is currently at the lower end of its popularity level compared to where it is likely to rise in the future. In other words, the metaverse, especially as it becomes a necessary part of many workplaces, can only become a more integral and regular part of everyday life.

Of course, this doesn’t necessarily mean that the metaverse will look exactly as Mark Zuckerberg, Microsoft, Apple, and others predict. However, it seems inevitable that the metaverse and Web 3.0 will likely both become more popular as time goes on and as adoption becomes widespread.

Current metaverse platforms

Even today, there are plenty of metaverse platforms for you to experience and watch. Here are just a few examples:

  • Decentralized: A blockchain-based social environment where you can explore virtual worlds, build things, trade or earn money.
  • The sandpit: A 3D virtual world hosted on the Ethereum blockchain network. You can build things, earn money, communicate with others and enjoy new virtual experiences.
  • Bloktopia: A VR world rendered as a 21-story structure “built” out of 21 million Bitcoin.
  • Meta Horizon Worlds: A VR platform that allows users to hold and host business meetings, socialize and participate in various virtual activities such as games.
  • metahero: A unique metaverse platform that allows users to scan objects from the real world and move them to the metaverse instead of building them in the virtual world.

The importance of the metaverse

All this leads to the million-dollar question: Is the metaverse important?

It’s hard to say whether the metaverse will completely reinvent the workplace. However, it’s safe to say that the metaverse is incredibly important and may become more critical in the future.

Representing yourself graphically and accurately online can be appealing to many. More importantly, the metaverse may eventually allow people to interact around the world in a largely physically realistic virtual environment.

Even though the metaverse’s graphics are relatively simple now, you can bet those graphics will probably be fantastic in a few decades.

The metaverse could lead to people spending more and more time online, which could have far-reaching implications for socialization, the economy, and other key industries.

Bottom line: The metaverse has the potential to change the way the world works, just as the internet did in the 80s and 90s, if not more.

Related: The Metaverse is the future of business. Here’s how to schedule it.

What does the future hold for the metaverse?

Ultimately, the metaverse is the next iteration of digital technology, combining VR or virtual reality hardware with advanced, cloud-based software platforms.

In theory, the metaverse has the potential to revolutionize the way humanity works, communicates, and plays games. But it remains to be seen whether the metaverse will be as successful as proponents like Mark Zuckerberg hope.

Looking for more? Guides for entrepreneursglitches and resources can help you understand the metaverse as it develops.