What is the Metaverse and why is it important for entrepreneurs?

In recent years, you’ve probably heard the so-called “metaverse” inaccurately described as “becoming the next internet” or “revolutionizing e-commerce.” In fact, the metaverse is more or less than what many commentators are saying.

So what is the metaverse? What does it mean and why is it so important? Specifically, why is it important for small businesses and entrepreneurs? Read on for answers to these questions and more.

So what is the metaverse?

The Metaverse is an interconnected, VR-enabled digital world, sustained through the internet and cloud technologies. Think of it like the Internet.

Related: Preparing for Impact: It’s Time to Usher in the Metaverse

Once you create an account with Google, you can bring that Google account to many other websites such as YouTube, Facebook, Instagram, etc. Similarly, you can create an avatar on the Metaverse and bring it with you when visiting various domains, platforms, or worlds connected to the Metaverse network.

For example, you can:

• Create a metaverse avatar for work.
• Bring that Metaverse avatar to a fully digital workplace meeting to enable people around the world to collaborate.
• Take that Metaverse avatar to the games you play with your friends.
• Take that metaverse avatar to the digital shop and buy digital items for your avatar, such as new clothes.

In many ways, the metaverse is intrinsically tied to Web 3.0, the next “iteration” or version of the Internet. Web 3.0 will focus on persistence of user identities across different domains and websites, and will further incorporate VR and AR technologies to further blur the lines between the online and physical worlds.

The terms Web 3.0 and the metaverse are often confused. However, they are fundamentally different. Many Metaverse platforms are now accessed with Web 3.0 technologies, integrating decentralized finance (DeFi) into the economy in the form of cryptocurrencies and NFTs.

Web 3.0 is based on the idea of ​​decentralized control and ownership over the Internet. The metaverse isn’t about technology ownership, it’s about creating a shared digital reality.

Related: A New Wave of Web 3.0 Metaverse Innovation

The current metaverse is part theoretical and part accessible. For example, you can buy a VR headset, create an avatar, and dive into virtual reality today.

However, the metaverse is not yet fully interconnected and its various platforms or domains are still largely isolated. That said, the Metaverse is well on its way to achieving its ultimate potential.

How does the metaverse work?

The Metaverse works by combining new hardware technology, such as fully immersive VR headsets affordable to the average person, with cloud technology and hardened servers.

Simply put, the metaverse is a set of linked worlds or digital domains that people can access using the same user ID. As the Metaverse relies on VR technology, a user ID will be associated with his 100% unique digital avatar.

Related: Why Businesses Need to Prepare for the Metaverse

What is the history of VR/AR technology?

The earliest examples of VR and AR technology were created in the 1960s and 70s. Over time, people began to grasp all the capabilities of computers and imagine what it would be like to wear a hardware headset that displayed a fully digital or virtual world in front of them.

In the 1980s and 90s, new technologies, including headsets projecting fully realized 3D worlds, became available primarily as novelty or training devices for military personnel. It wasn’t until the 2010s that VR headsets became commercially available to the average American. Usually for playing games or immersing yourself in virtual worlds.

The idea of ​​a “metaverse” is not new.In the novel by Neil Stevenson snow crashwhere the protagonist interacts with a fully immersive virtual reality environment, creating cinematic matrix It also introduces technologies like the Metaverse.

However, it is only recently that technological advances have become powerful enough to emulate and bring these ideas to life.

VR vs AR technology

Note that there are inherent differences between VR and AR technology.

VR (virtual reality) technology overlays a digital virtual world on top of the real world, typically using a headset such as the PlayStation Oculus.

AR (Augmented Reality) technology adds digital or virtual elements, icons, and other things to the real world. AR technology includes wearing smart glasses and playing smartphone games such as Pokémon GO.

Potential applications of the metaverse

It’s still early days, but the metaverse has many potential uses, some of which are already in use in the real world.

work remotely

For starters, many people may work remotely using the metaverse. You’ve probably already heard of companies requiring their employees to attend virtual meetings using her 3D avatar in the Metaverse. Or maybe you have already attended these meetings.

Related: Why remote work perfectly embodies the metaverse

Either way, the Metaverse allows employees to work together as if they were in the physical world, even though they have offices around the world. Real-time Zoom meetings in virtual spaces and corporate properties, as well as cinematic environments like Ready Player One, are closer than ever.

Employees and their managers who have the opportunity to work remotely report improved productivity and work-life balance. These and other benefits help you understand how Metaverse technology can improve the efficiency and productivity of small business owners and entrepreneurs.

playing the game

Of course, many people already use metaverse technology to play games. VR gaming is already popular among those who can afford a VR headset. Graphics and controls are still in their infancy, but the technology may improve over time. VR gaming may eventually become the most popular way to play games.

Video games such as Fortnite, Roblox, and Second Life bring NFTs (non-fungible tokens) and other developments to the gaming side of the metaverse, some of which may be enhanced by social media. This allows players to sell virtual items for virtual currency, bringing real-world value to the in-game economy.

Gamers can expect Metaverse technology companies to push the gaming frontier further into sci-fi territory, just as virtual reality headsets like the Oculus Quest have already done.

Related: Game metaverse and future

socialize online

More people may use the Metaverse to interact online. Digital hangouts such as Metaverse coffee shops and dance clubs may appear on certain platforms and in certain virtual worlds. In the future, people will be able to use the Metaverse to go on dates, interview job candidates, and hang out with friends without leaving the comfort and safety of their homes.

Related: Metaverse: Breakthrough Innovation for Entrepreneurs

online shopping

The metaverse will almost certainly be used for online shopping of real-world and digital items. There is already a Metaverse shop where you can browse with your avatar and purchase digital items for your character, such as clothes and accessories.

But imagine going to a Metaverse car dealership, seeing a graphically realistic version of the car you want to buy, and then going there in person. This is a possibility that the metaverse will realize.

As a side note, the Metaverse could grow to require the use of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin.

“Replace” real life

In the long term, the metaverse may continue to replace aspects of real life. Whether this is good or not depends on your philosophy and how you view technology and the internet.

Overall, there are no absolute limits to what you can do in the metaverse and what people can accomplish with it.

Is the Metaverse growing in popularity?

There is a lot of discussion and debate about whether the Metaverse is popular now, and whether it will become even more popular in the future.

According to Pew Research, the Metaverse is currently at the bottom of its popularity level compared to what might rise in the future. In other words, the metaverse may only become a more integral and regular part of daily life, especially as it becomes a necessary part of many workplaces.

Of course, this doesn’t necessarily mean that the Metaverse will be exactly what Mark Zuckerberg, Microsoft, Apple and others predicted. However, it seems inevitable that both the metaverse and Web 3.0 will become more popular over time and as adoption grows.

Current metaverse platform

Even today, there are many metaverse platforms to experience and see. Here are some examples:

• Decentraland: A blockchain-based social environment where you can explore virtual worlds, craft things, trade, and earn money.
• sandbox: A virtual 3D world hosted on the Ethereum blockchain network. You can create things, earn money, interact with others, and enjoy new virtual experiences.
• Blocktopia: A VR world represented as a 21-story structure “built” with 21 million bitcoins.
• World of Meta Horizon: A VR platform that allows users to create and host business meetings, socialize, and participate in various virtual activities such as games.
• Metahero: A unique metaverse platform that allows users to scan real world objects and move them into the metaverse instead of building them in the virtual world.

Importance of the metaverse

All this brings us to the million-dollar question. Is the metaverse important?

It’s hard to say whether the metaverse will completely reinvent the workplace.

Representing yourself graphically and accurately online may appeal to many. More importantly, the Metaverse will ultimately allow people from all over the world to interact in virtual environments that are almost physically real.

The graphics in the Metaverse are relatively simple today, but there’s no question that they’re likely to be great in a few decades.

The metaverse could lead people to spend more and more time online, with far-reaching implications for socialization, the economy and other key sectors.

Bottom line: The Metaverse has the potential to change the way the world works, much like the Internet did in the 1980s and 90s.

Related: The Metaverse is the future of business. Here’s how to plan for this:

What will the future of the Metaverse look like?

Ultimately, the Metaverse is the next iteration of digital technology, combining VR or virtual reality hardware with advanced cloud-based software platforms.

In theory, the Metaverse has the potential to revolutionize the way humans work, communicate, and play games. However, it remains to be seen whether the Metaverse will be as successful as supporters like Mark Zuckerberg would like.

Looking for more? entrepreneur guidebreakdowns, and resources to help you understand the evolving metaverse.