Introduction
Mark Zuckerberg bet the future of Facebook on the metaverse in July 2021. He renamed the business “Meta” and pledged to spend billions of dollars creating a metaverse platform to show that he was serious. He is not alone; other businesses are also developing their strategies for the metaverse, which is predicted to be the next major development in the internet.
What is the Metaverse?
The term “metaverse” is ambiguous, although it is typically used to refer to online communities where individuals interact, do business, and have fun using avatars, or digital representations of their identities. In contrast to a zoom conversation, the slots remain for someone else to utilize once you have finished using them. The concept of the metaverse is still hazy to many outside of the IT sector, despite its frequent mention in that community.
The metaverse, promoted by Meta and other businesses, is a virtual environment that simulates real-world existence. However, it is a concept that has been tested and discussed for years. One further perspective on the metaverse is that it has previously existed in certain regions of the planet. There is a case to be made that the metaverse already exists if you have participated in other online communities and have played games, whether they were multiplayer experiences or highly immersive ones. Since years, games like Roblox, Grand Theft Auto 5, and others have been creating virtual worlds. These games all employ virtual augmented or mixed reality to provide players a realistic gaming experience.
However, skeptics claim that more effort is necessary before the technology can achieve the fidelity the metaverse requires. Software advancements have given consumers more realistic experiences through increased degrees of fidelity, the degree of real world exactness that is digitally recreated.
Who will build the metaverse?
Who creates and maintains the metaverse is a matter of concern in addition to its technological features. Creating a corporate metaverse by current tech corporations runs the danger of compounding the issues that already exist with social media. Some individuals believe that because the metaverse is an immersive environment, bigotry, bullying, false information, and harassment could even be amplified there.
Companies working together
The existence of industry standards for the metaverse as of today indicates that major corporations are fighting to build the framework that others will have to adhere to, a pattern that was established with the growth of the internet. It is unclear if the metaverse will exist as a single platform.
According to Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who is undoubtedly the metaverse’s largest supporter, “interoperability across applications is vital to persuade people to utilise the metaverse,” businesses will need to work together to allow users to easily switch between platforms and experiences. It would be wonderful to be able to utilise the same avatar while switching to a Microsoft platform, but this is trickier said than done if you have an avatar in Meta’s metaverse.
Among the businesses engaged in metaverse-related or related initiatives are Qualcomm, Nvidia, ValvE, Epic Games, HTC, and Apple. How or when these initiatives develops is anyone’s guess. A metaverse-like environment has been used by game and entertainment firms like Stageverse to virtually recreate concerts and festivals for years. However, as more businesses switch to hybrid work models, the metaverse may potentially affect the workplace.