We will try to explain to you what Metaverse is the concept of the virtual world that Facebook or Google, Nvidia, and Microsoft decide to bet on until Facebook recently changed their company name to Meta. Done, This is by no means a new concept and we have seen it in the literary and cinematography worlds flirting with films like ‘Ready Player One’Â or ‘The Substitutes‘.
In Mix With Marketing Basics, we will try to explain it in the simplest way possible. Therefore, we can all get an idea of ​​what this metaverse really is. In addition, we will also try to tell you about some of the opportunities it offers and let you know how much this concept does not actually change and what is needed.
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What is Metaverse?
Metaverse is a virtual world with which we connect using a variety of tools that make us feel that we are actually within it, interacting with all the elements within it. It’s actually like teleporting into a whole new world through virtual reality glasses and other tools that allow you to interact with it.
Virtual worlds are nothing new and so does the video game industry in particular. You create a character or avatar and enter that world through your computer to do an adventure. Of course, Metaverse does not want a fictional world, but a kind of alternative reality in which we can do the things we do outside the home today, but without leaving the room.
The term Metaverse comes from the 1992 novel Snow Crash and is set to describe the vision of three-dimensional or virtual realms. Therefore, the meaning of this metaverse is the virtual world in which we can interact and it is designed to resemble external reality.
For the exact concept of Metaverse that Facebook and other companies are betting on. Its idea is to create a parallel and fully virtual universe that we can access with virtual reality and augmented reality devices so that we can interact with each other in it and with the external content we have.
The key to this Metaverse is that it can be completely immersed or at least much higher than current virtual reality. Yes, we have mirrors present to sink in, but there are also sensors that record our body movements so that our avatar in that Metaverse is exactly the same.
The tools we use can also understand our facial expressions so that our avatar in the Metaverse can recreate us so that the rest of the people we are talking to can understand. To find out how we feel. Come on, body language is also part of these virtual interactions.
One of the main ideas of Metaverse is that we have complete freedom of creation, transforming our incarnation into our physical person and giving it a different look and doing the environment and our professions and rooms the way we like.
Imagine how the internet is now. It is full of virtual communities and social networks that we access from different devices. We interact with more people than we do physically. Well, the Metaverse takes another step in reducing the physical and virtual worlds, merging both of them into a new universe managed by the company that runs its metaverse.
How Metaverse is different from Facebook?
Meta By Facebook is a totally different concept. The brand Facebook does not solely focus on virtual reality the use of AR-VR was minimal. Whereas, Metaverse is a whole new concept the technology has a greater shift on a virtual world where experiences such as gaming, shopping, and even interaction would involve virtual interaction with the help of virtual devices.Â
However, many critics say that it may have positive as well as negative effects on the coming generation if not used properly.
What Metaverse is going to offer?
Metaverse can give us the next great evolutionary leap of the Internet … or nothing will come of it because it failed. These are still very early days, and companies like Facebook have just begun to develop the infrastructure and startup concepts that will lead us to a future with tools that can take us there. Therefore, it is a concept, a blank canvas rather than reality, which we relate to today.
Facebook hopes that in its vision, with the ability to build our own businesses, Metaverse will provide as many opportunities as the real physical world. Imagine being able to walk the streets of Zataka city and chat with the virtual incarnations of other people who have opened some shops and give us the opportunity to buy and sell virtual clothes, virtual cars, or virtual devices.
Everyone can also have practical applications such as work meetings that share a virtual office that connects to the home and they do not have to worry about getting ready for a meeting. It does not matter if you are in pajamas or confused, what others see is your avatar, your virtual character.
Metaverse also has its own economy, with some kind of virtual currency we can buy with our real money or earn in some way from the interactions it provides. Maybe jobs can be created too. “What does your nephew do? He’s a virtual store manager in Metaverse .” hehe
5G, cloud, and virtual reality headsets
Even from a technical standpoint, building metaverse today is much easier than it was 20 years ago, thanks to the increasingly powerful digital infrastructure. According to the company IDC, investment in cloud devices could reach $ 718 billion (6,619 billion) in 2021 and $1,300 billion (121,122 billion) by 2025. In addition, the gradual expansion of 5G offers unparalleled speeds. , It is imperative to take full advantage of all the features of the virtual world.
Another major improvement should be in favor of metaverse arrival: consumer immersion will soon not be limited to traditional smartphone or PC screens. Many players in this race firmly believe in the rise of virtual reality, although at present it is difficult to impose on the masses. Facebook spent $2 billion to buy the Oculus headset in 2014 and recently partnered with Ribbon to develop augmented reality glasses.
Tough competition
But the Mark Zuckerberg group, which sees Metaverse as the “successor to the mobile Internet”, is not the only group that wants this futuristic market. Fortnight, a video game with over 350 million followers worldwide, has already hosted virtual concerts by Travis Scott and Ariana Grande and previewed movie trailers (such as the latest Christopher Nolan). Its creator Tim Sweeney initially announced a huge investment to turn the fighting game into a virtual world.
Microsoft also has serious assets to become a leader in this field. In addition to owning both Minecraft and the professional social network LinkedIn, he specializes in designing cloud services and digital twins in recent years. Manufacturer BMW, which has a partnership with graphics chip giant Nvidia, should also grow small-scale programs. To develop virtual replicas of your factories. Finally, Chinese giants such as Alibaba, Tencent, and TikTok have also begun to show interest. Thus, according to a recent report by Bloomberg Intelligence, the annual metaverse market weight may already be $ 800 billion in 2024.
When does Metaverse be real?
Right now, Metaverse is more than a concept that has begun to build. Meta, formerly known as Facebook, came up with the idea and announced a strong investment to make it a reality. But it remains to be seen whether other companies will join the effort to develop technologies that make this possible.
Because we still do not have the technologies to make that concept come true. We do not have the virtual reality devices that move us as we actually do in that universe. There is also no complete infrastructure in terms of design. It is a universe that needs to be created, but it still has no areas, roads, or anything else, just a few virtual rooms used for the first tests.
Over the next few years, we’ll see how new devices are launched that want to connect us to this new virtual reality. The idea is that in the future they will be much more complete and less expensive, but until this becomes true they may not allow for great interactions and will be too expensive.
So, we’re still a long way from connecting to the interacting metaverse. We still need to develop this virtual universe and also develop technology to connect to it. Wherever it is, it is also necessary to make that technology accessible to all. Learn about augmented reality from here.
However, in the next few years, you will often hear and read about metaverse, as most companies expect us to start developing everything we need to connect to it. It’s an interesting concept and is packed with business opportunities for companies, so let’s take a look at how it looks.
