Not everyone knows what the Metaverse is. Facebook founder Marc Zuckerberg has renamed his company Meta and Fortnite maker Epic Games is also pursuing the vision of a Metaverse. For many people, however, the term is and remains abstract.
Metaverse: Brave New Digital World as Unlimited Space
Metaverse is a term that one or the other has certainly heard before. But what it is exactly is not immediately clear to everyone. The term was first used in 1991 – in the science fiction novel “Snow Crash” by Neal Stephenson. In the book, the metaverse is described as a kind of global virtual reality in which people can move around as avatars. It is a digital alternative to the physical world.
- The metaverse of our time is similar. In principle, it is a virtual world that is supposed to integrate the physical world in which we move every day. What sounds like science fiction is increasingly becoming reality. The Metaverse is still a vision of various companies – but it is getting closer and closer and is already knocking on the door of our reality.
- The Metaverse can be described as a digital and interactive environment in which users can move, act, work and play as an avatar, i.e. a digital self. In general, everything is possible in the metaverse that is also possible in the real world. Nevertheless, it is not a parallel universe, but a complementary one.
- Everything happens in real time. Users can therefore meet friends live for a (virtual) coffee and exchange ideas. The participants do not have to be physically in the same place. While one person takes part in the virtual meeting at home, another joins in during his train journey.
- The metaverse is unlimited. It never pauses and has no end, but runs on and on – much like real life. Moreover, it consists of the content and “experiences” of the users, companies and groups that meet and operate there.
Microsoft, Epic Games and Co. are tinkering with their Metaverse
The Metaverse fascinates many brands and companies. In April 2021, Fortnite maker Epic Games announced a funding round of one billion US dollars. The amount is to be used to realise the Metaverse vision. Only a short time later, Facebook founder Marc Zuckerberg also got involved and announced that his company is now called Meta and will become a Metaverse in the future. Microsoft boss Satya Nadella also announced that he was building an “enterprise metaverse”. In addition, Microsoft has already introduced “Mesh” – a kind of office in virtual space.
- But companies we encounter in everyday life, such as Kaufland, Walmart, Adidas, Nike or H&M, also have Metaverse products on their agenda. Products here are predominantly sold as NFTs, i.e. as unique digital objects on the blockchain.
- The user could get access to the respective metaverse via VR glasses. Virtual reality and augmented reality thus play a decisive role. Via this access, users can then go shopping, meet friends or even go about their work – all in the form of their own avatar. Another access option would be holograms that appear in a real environment, such as an office or a living room, for example.
- Each metaverse will have its own economy. Companies and individuals will have the opportunity to invest, buy and sell there or get paid for work within the metaverse. The content comes from the companies, individuals or groups. There is no limit to participation. Since the metaverse is infinite, much like the universe, it will also never be “crowded. “
- In terms of pricing, not much is known yet for the payment structures. That will be determined by the individual providers. For example, users may have to pay something monthly for their Metaverse access or pay per access or time unit.
Differences between Metaverse and the classic Internet
We have been moving around on the Internet for years as a matter of course. However, it always remains clearly distinct from the real world. The Metaverse, on the other hand, is supposed to be more three-dimensional, more interactive, more tangible and more tangible than today’s World Wide Web.
- The whole thing is a kind of physical Internet in which the user is literally immersed. Whereas with the classic internet he sits in front of the screen and looks at the content from the outside, in the metaverse he becomes a part of this virtual world.
- The metaverse is supposed to contain elements of the real world, making the experiences there feel genuine and real. There is also a vision that data and information can be seamlessly transferred and taken into reality.
- While in real life, for example, you move from one room to another with a newspaper, in the metaverse digital objects, for example from video games, should be able to be used in a different context. So far, objects from a video game stay in that video game and cannot be “taken” to another digital content.
- Today’s internet, on the other hand, is divided into platforms that set a fixed boundary. For example, you can’t watch Amazon Prime content on YouTube and vice versa. In the Metaverse, these boundaries are to be dissolved.
- The blockchain, which is the basis of many cryptocurrencies, will also play an important role in the Metaverse. Bitcoin and Co. are likely to be one payment method. NFTs can already be purchased with these digital currencies.
