The Metaverse is a topic of much discussion lately. It’s essentially the next evolution of the internet, moving beyond our current mobile-centric experience. In the Metaverse, the internet will become more immersive, social, and 3D, breaking away from our reliance on phones and desks.
To achieve the Metaverse, various technologies like AI, AR, VR, 5G, 6G, cloud computing, edge computing, and possibly blockchain will play a crucial role. Major companies like Meta (formerly Facebook), Nike, Gucci, Walmart, Apple, BMW, and Epic Games are already investing heavily in the Metaverse.
Despite the hype, some critics argue that the Metaverse still has a long way to go. However, its potential impact on the younger generations, who find virtual experiences as real as the physical world, cannot be underestimated.
Companies like Apple are launching mixed-reality headsets, while others like BMW have created virtual factories. The ultimate goal of the Metaverse is to be platform-agnostic, allowing seamless experiences across various technologies.
The future of the Metaverse remains uncertain, as it will continue to evolve with advancing technology, wearables, and new ways to engage with the internet. One thing is clear, though: the Metaverse is here to stay, and it holds the potential to revolutionize how we interact with the digital world.
By now, you’ve probably heard of the metaverse. From now on, we’re going to be metaverse first, not Facebook first.
But even with all this hype … And many are betting big that it could change the face of how we interact. And we have to say, it’s pretty amazing the metaverse might still be a little confusing.
What is the metaverse?
The metaverse is basically the successor state to today’s mobile internet. It’s an internet that is going to be a lot more immersive, more social possibly, a lot more engaging, more 3D. So it’s almost like the internet’s going to be all around us in some ways, breaking away from our phones, our desks.
The metaverse is going to offer, at least in the way that we define it, let’s say it’s going to be web 3.0. It’s going to be a world that’s going to be more seamless.
It’s going to give more opportunity for much better experiences, much more immersive experiences. And to get there, there are a lot of different technologies involved. Hackl: You know, it is enabled by many different technologies.
So AI, obviously, which is really hot right now, is part of the future state of the internet. AR and VR, 5G, 6G, cloud computing, edge computing. There’s an element of blockchain as well, possibly.
So, yeah, it’s kind of how we will experience the future state of the internet. So that to me is part of that beginning idea and concept of how do we make the world more immersive? I am proud to announce that starting today, our company is now Meta.
Mark Zuckerberg made this announcement in late 2021 saying that his company is now going to be … Zuckerberg: Metaverse first, not Facebook first.
And other major brands and companies proceeded to join the metaverse party. Fashion brands like Nike and Gucci created virtual experiences for customers to explore their history, products, and designs. Walmart built a virtual world called Walmart Land where people can play games, attend concerts, and buy virtual merchandise for its avatars. But some people argue that the metaverse still has a long way to go.
Hackl: You know, as much as I don’t necessarily always like seeing those headlines that proclaim the death of the metaverse, I understand that it was overhyped. It was just a lot. I think it’s important to kind of understand that especially for the younger generations, for Gen Z but more so Gen Alpha, whatever happens in these virtual spaces is still very real, right? Just because it happens in “Fortnite” doesn’t make it less real to them. It’s very real.
It’s this continuum of the spaces they inhabit, which can be virtual and the physical world. The friends, the relationships they make are real. For a lot of us that are in this industry, it’s also making sure that we explain to people, like, this is a long-term vision. It’s a long-term play. We do have one more thing.
And there are some notable companies making long-term plays on the metaverse. Apple unveiled in June 2023 its long-awaited … Tim Cook: Vision Pro. Narrator: A mixed-reality headset scheduled to be released in early 2024. Tech website The Verge demoed it and called it … The best possible version of a VR headset.
Also in 2023, BMW opened what it calls “the world’s first virtual factory,” a digital twin of a factory that it can run simulations on before actually opening the real physical factory. BMW did this using Nvidia’s Omniverse platform, which its CEO has compared to the metaverse. Epic Games, the developers of the hugely popular “Fortnite” game, is also deeply invested in the metaverse after raising $2 billion to “advance the company’s vision to build the metaverse.”
The Lego Group, which announced a metaverse partnership with Epic Games, is also bullish on the metaverse space. Goldin: Firstly, I don’t think that metaverse is going to be just one platform. I think metaverse, at least in my view, should be platform-agnostic. I think that’s the benefit of it, is the fact that it’s going to actually be agnostic to a particular platform. It’s going to exist in different technologies, and it should be interoperable. And I think what’s going to power it up is if people are able to move seamlessly through the experiences in the metaverse versus actually being siloed into one particular platform.
So whether it’s on Roblox, “Fortnite,” Nvidia’s Omniverse, and through a Meta or Apple headset or something else entirely, there are a lot of different directions the metaverse could go. And that’s the point, as technology, the internet, and the way we use both of them evolves. Hackl: This is not going to go away. The internet will continue to evolve. The hardware is going to continue to evolve beyond our phones, with that post-smartphone future. New wearables are going to potentially open up new ways for us to engage with the internet.
Those are all things that brands look at towards the horizon. So, yeah, the long-term value is that things are moving fast, technology is converging, and a whole new generation that is going to change things is slowly growing up.
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