The metaverse, should you care?
It is astonishing how rapidly the concept of the metaverse has recently attracted public attention, even though it is not entirely new. Also, it appears that the concept of the “metaverse” is changing daily as more and more well-known businesses begin to incorporate it into their long-term business plans.
The metaverse buzz was started by Facebook, despite participation from everyone from celebrities to major corporations like Nike. The business, which was a pioneer in social media and, in a way, the first iteration of the metaverse, just underwent a significant overhaul. Facebook has made the transition to being Meta and has big ambitions for the future in the metaverse.
All of this raises the issue of what the metaverse actually is. The solution is simultaneously quite complex… and something that you unknowingly already know. It combines social media, the internet, online shopping, and video games.
Find out more about the metaverse and whether you should join the craze by reading on.
What is the Metaverse?
In the metaverse, users, companies, and digital platforms can exist and communicate with one another. NFTs, also known as non-fungible tokens, and virtual social and gaming platforms like Roblox are all included (more on those later).
A long-held science fiction fantasy, the metaverse is now a reality. Digital worlds with equal weight to the actual one have long been envisioned in movies like Tron and Ready Player One. The metaverse is exactly what it sounds like: a virtual world that can be accessed through virtual reality headsets, where actual people coexist with limitless possibilities and frequently show up as digital avatars.
Although the idea of a multi-platform digital world may seem new, it has actually been around for quite some time. It has been used in everything from video games to social responsibility. From World of Warcraft and Runescape to MySpace, the first prototypes of the metaverse have existed in our world for a very long time. The metaverse of the 2020s just develops and builds upon these ideas.
Why did Facebook rebrand to Meta?
Mark Zuckerberg revealed that the dominant social media platform Facebook would change its name to Meta in October of 2021.
To be clear, Facebook has continued to be Facebook (the social network). Its parent corporation, under which, among other things, Facebook, WhatsApp, and Instagram are run, changed its name to Meta.
The reason? It’s easy. According to Zuckerberg, we’re effectively changing from being a company that puts Facebook first to one that puts the metaverse first.
What can you do in the metaverse?
Now that the general definitions have been covered, let’s look at some specific actions you can already perform in the metaverse.
1. Network
It seems that the main use of Meta’s metaverse will be as a social network. For all, a virtual “reality” wouldn’t be much if users didn’t have the opportunity to connect in some way.
It’s true that this has something to do with NFT transactions and blockchain exchanges, but it also has to do with more conventional social interaction.
The online game platform Roblox is a fantastic illustration of this. More than half of young people under the age of 16 played it in 2020. A library of video games that were all created by other Roblox users is available to users of the Roblox platform. There are already over 20 million games in its collection, many of which might be profitable for the developers.
One example of networking in the metaverse is Roblox. Professionals have long used social media to connect with one another and potential clients. It is a natural extension, and the metaverse frequently offers fresh and intriguing methods to achieve it.
2. Invest and do business
NFT and cryptocurrency are terms that, unless you’ve been living under a rock for the past year, you’ve probably heard about. Both are important elements of the metaverse and great ways for users and businesses to do sustainable investing in the technology.
Several digital currency systems are referred to as “cryptocurrencies” in this context. The two most popular of these are Bitcoin and Ethereum. Cryptocurrency, an unregulated digital currency, is powered by blockchain technology. It’s worth swinging frequently, but enduring platforms, especially those mentioned above, have witnessed significant value growth over time.
Regarding investing, NFTs have emerged as a key component of the metaverse. This phrase means non-fungible token. In essence, this means that an NFT is a special digital signature that is utilized as a form of ownership document for digital products. An NFT could be a work of art, a picture, music, or even some digital space.
NFTs are a fantastic place to start if you’re trying to enter the metaverse to invest. As they become more well-known, the value of the majority of NFTs will probably continue to rise.
A perfect opportunity to mint some of your own is now. An NFT can be created from almost any digital media. Your prospective NFT portfolio may already be larger than you think if you or the company you work for has a library of music, photographs, or works of art.
3. Shop
Nowadays, you may use cryptocurrency to pay for nearly anything in real life. Even the New York mayor, Eric Adams, accepted Bitcoin and Ethereum as his first payment. There are countless alternatives for shopping in that part of the metaverse.
But, there is another type of shopping that is far more closely related to the metaverse. There is plenty of shopping to be done in this new virtual environment, whether you’re expanding your collection of NFTs or creating your avatar’s world on a platform like Roblox.
We already discussed “digital real estate.” Pieces of virtual land in developed online worlds like the one Roblox has created are precisely what they sound like. Building identity in the metaverse begins with digital real estate. When the market expands, platforms like this one will become quite significant. One of Meta’s current projects is called Horizon Worlds and has been dubbed “Minecraft meets Roblox.”
There is still plenty of buying to be done if you are more interested in the game features that platforms like Roblox offer. It already plays a significant role in daily living in the metaverse, from purchasing games to upgrading your collection.
Bottom Line
Virtual stores are being used by numerous brands and merchants as a portal into the metaverse. Customers find these 3D machine learning to be quite fascinating when they purchase there. In reality, 70% of people have bought anything from an online store. Companies see virtual reality as a way to enter the metaverse for the first time, increase customer interaction, and produce a return on investment.
