The Metaverse 101

I’ve had a lot of questions over the past few months, since my last post on this topic. As such, here is a quick intro to the concept of the Metaverse!

Learning about the Metaverse can be complicated when you are first beginning because things might seem confusing. Once you have started to learn the most important parts though, the Metaverse becomes a simple world to understand.
Here are 10 facts that are easy to understand that can help you get started.

  1. Metaverse is an Artificial Universe
    When talking about the metaverse, people are discussing an artificial universe that allows people to be in a three-dimensional experience to help people interact in a more immersive way. Basically, it fuses both the real and virtual worlds.
    While you won’t be in the metaverse physically, you might feel like you are when using a VR headset. Many companies are starting to use things like VR headsets because it allows a person to attend business events or conferences without actually needing to travel and be there for real.
    You will also have a 3D space to meet with other people in the same profession or the same walk of life as you. It’s more than just the internet though. In the metaverse, you use more technology such as VR or gaming to have a sense of really being in the space even though you are not there physically.
    People are even starting to use the metaverse to attend concerts other events that they might not otherwise be able to go to. Since people are in an artificial universe, they are able to learn quickly and make more business opportunities than just using the internet alone.
  2. The Metaverse is for Everyone
    Some people might think that the metaverse is exclusive and only available to those with money or certain kind of businesses. This cannot be further from the truth though. Entering the metaverse is much easier than people might think, especially once you have your foot in the door and have learned the basics of what the metaverse is.
  3. The Metaverse Can Be Used for Many Different Purposes
    Many people have not become involved in the metaverse because they think it’s mostly for gamers. This isn’t true though, although many people use the metaverse for playing video games and for meeting visitors from all over the world.
    If you aren’t a gamer though, there are still many different opportunities for you to use the metaverse and some are even better than gaming. If you like to go to concerts but aren’t able to physically attend many of them, you can use the metaverse to see your favorite performer sing or dance.
    Some people even use the metaverse to travel. Since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, many people have begun to travel online through virtual tours. With the metaverse and VR, you can easily take virtual tours of historic sites, museums, and many more places.
    If you are conducting a business solely online, you will also find that using the metaverse will encourage employee participation because it allows them to be more involved with each other and everyone around them.
    As an owner of a company, it’s important to make sure your employees are working together and that they know one another despite maybe not working face to face.
  4. You Can Make Money
    Although VR and some other things might necessitate you spending money to start, you can earn the money back through metaverse with some people even making regular incomes. Since metaverse is growing with more and more opportunities to work, you will also be making an investment with any metaverse and VR that you do.
    There are also marketplaces in the metaverse world where you can buy, sell, and exchange items including avatars, NFTs, event tickets, and virtual clothing. You can also use the metaverse to purchase event tickets and to do things like advertising, digital events, and e-commerce.
  5. You Can Own and Sell Land
    Most people do not know that there is such a thing as digital property. Most people say this is an asset you can expect to appreciate and make more money as time goes on. Metaverse coins are also continuing to grow and will be more and more lucrative as time goes on. They also give you an opportunity for a potential return on your investment.
  6. Metaverse is Not Owned By Anyone
    You would be surprised to know that most things you use, even online, are owned by someone. Some things are even owned by major companies or business owners. Metaverse on the other hand is not owned by anyone making it one of the only things in the world really that you can participate in without worrying about the owner and other things.
    All of the users in metaverse decide who controls their own private data and no one tells you what you can do and not do with your data which is very appealing to most people.
    There is a board that controls the metaverse though to protect people and to ensure there are no illegal activities. The standards of the metaverse are decided by W3C (World Wide Web Consortium). This is overall led by the man who made the worldwide web-Tim Berners Lee.
    Although there is leadership, there is not much control over the metaverse which gives you the freedom to do as you please.
  7. The Metaverse is a Safe Place
    You might think because there is no clear ownership and no real leadership that some parts of the metaverse might not be safe. This is not true though. The metaverse is very secure though because they use a special blockchain technology that makes the virtual world public. This also means that all transactions can be tracked keeping you safe when you buy or purchase something.
    Some people still have some concerns about the cyber security issues though and this is understandable with anything you might be doing online. Since the metaverse is online, there is always the possibility for attacks as with anything online.
    The underlying systems of the metaverse are usually the places that are targeted for being attacked and for stealing data. Since metaverse is not as popular, there are fewer security measures in place than you might find on other popular platforms.
    As metaverse comes becomes more popular and has a better outreach to people, these security measures should increase and your data will be more protected as time goes on.
  8. Working Will Soon Be Impacted By the Metaverse
    Many people work online these days, but that does not mean that they use the metaverse necessarily. Many people work online but just do phone calls or other methods of communicating without really doing VR or other metaverse technologies.
    If people continue to work more and more online and do not return to the office, it’s predicted that employers will want to engage their employees more often and some turn to metaverse solutions such as Horizon Workrooms which are a part of Facebook.
    More and more people are also saying that their jobs are starting to use VR when working from home and even when at the office for those who cannot attend certain conferences other events that the company might be hosting.
    VR is also estimated to have more than 23 million jobs. Metaverse has also allowed employees to work in broader areas and to strengthen their skills in different areas so that they are more diverse to enter the workforce. Metaverse has also shown the potential to make society more productive and to encourage different types of work throughout the workplace.
    Metaverse is also cutting down on duplication efforts and helping people work together from across different companies and specialties. This can save time in the workplace and make companies more open about work procedures and how things are done.
  9. Metaverse Cannot Exist Without Blockchain Technology
    This part of metaverse is still not developed as much as the other parts, but it has to be used for the metaverse to exist. The concept of blockchain is well developed though and is central to the metaverse and how this online world works around the globe.
    Blockchain technology is used for many different things including digital collectability, transfer of value, governance, accessibility, interoperability, and digital proof of ownership.
    Blockchain technology is also used to record transactions and track assets throughout the business network. An asset can be anything including a house, car, land, or cash. It can also be things not seen including intellectual property, patents, copyrights, and branding.
  10. Metaverse Isn’t Complete Yet
    While the world of the metaverse and all the potential it has is very exciting, the metaverse still has a long way to go until everything is truly in place. It might be another few years before you see it in your workplace or before you are using it every day. Some people even say that a full-fledged metaverse is over a decade away which means you might be waiting for a long time before you see its full effects of it.
    Most of the innovations that have to come are technical problems. For example, the current infrastructure does not support millions and billions of people being on metaverse at the same time.
    There also has to be a better internet connection, especially in underdeveloped parts of the world so that more people have access to the metaverse. Internet connection has to be stronger and more reliable for metaverse than for regular internet usage. Using a metaverse that is glitchy or slow is not reliable for what the metaverse should be like.
    Luckily, 5G is getting stronger and more useful every day, but it’s still under construction and development which makes it harder to use currently. However, it is currently not developed enough to meet the real-world needs of the metaverse and will leave people hanging when it cannot work properly or does not function.