Krisp is an endeavor to simplify the tech stories and share what is easy to understand and relevant to our audience in under 3 minutes.
Metaverse, up to the present time, is an amorphous idea of which no one is aware of and doesn’t know how things will pan out.
The only thing we are aware of in this context is that it’s an ambitious project and may have the potential to change our lives forever.
There also exist people who believe that it could be built within our time of existence.
The hype surrounding Metaverse is as real as it gets.
How?
Microsoft, for instance, has already started working on building the “enterprise metaverse.” Gaming company called the Roblox is calling itself “the shepherds of the Metaverse.” Then you also have Epic Games, the makers of Fortnite, who have promised to invest a billion dollars in fulfilling their metaverse ambitions.
All of these companies are deeply invested in the concept of Metaverse.
And can you guess who has been the most vocal and vehement proponent of Metaverse so far?
It’s none other than Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook!
What is the Metaverse?
“Metaverse is a virtual environment wherein you can be present with people in digital spaces. You can kind of think of this as an embodied internet that you’re inside of rather than just looking at.”
The Metaverse is a virtual environment, or augmented reality, where you can be present with people in digital spaces. The idea of the Metaverse was first conceived by Neal Stephenson in his 1992 novel “Snow Crash” and later popularized by Jaron Lanier in the late 1980s. The idea has since been adopted by contemporary technologists, entrepreneurs, and cultural thinkers as a realistic representation of what the future internet will look like.
And I believe this, by far, is the best explanation I’ve heard of Metaverse so far!
While on the internet, on any app, talking to your friends, you’re mostly interacting at an extremely superficial level. You could be chatting with your friend typing “ROFL” while you’re not even smiling. Video calls are a better option. But the concept we’re talking about here, the Metaverse, takes this idea to a whole new level.
A practical example of the metaverse is the game Upland– is a blockchain-based game in which users can buy, sell, and trade virtual properties mapped to the real world. By becoming a “digital landowner,” users can build properties and earn UPX coins. The project utilizes blockchain to tie each property within the Upland platform to an NFT.
Now imagine this.
You logging into a virtual universe using an AR headset, calling up your friends to meet at a virtual destination. All of your friends show up as virtual avatars near a serene waterfall, obviously, not a real one, only the digital representation.
Though the representation would be virtual, you could still theoretically hear each other, feel each other and also interact with other elements surrounding you.
Soooooo amazingggg right?
Though all of this is still a futuristic dream, many believe that it could actually come true one day.
Now you’re probably thinking- WHY WOULD ANYONE WANT TO DO THIS?
When you could just meet your friends in the real world! Talk to them for hours, shake their hands, hug them, shout like maniacs and interact with your surroundings. WHY DO THIS IS SOME DYSTOPIAN DIGITAL UNIVERSE?
Well, because a few just love inventions, are in awe of the idea, and just like it.
And why do people believe it might come into reality?
Because some of it is really happening. Like people spending ludicrous sums of money on virtual land parcels. People have already started to spend time and money inside of a virtual universe, and the likes of Facebook aren’t content with being left behind. They desire to be the masters of this universe. Just imagine the kind of influence they’d have in an unregulated virtual environment that is bereft of any regulation and competition.
It would be crazzyyyyyy!
So, even if the regulators and other policymakers think that the Metaverse could ever take off; Or even if you feel that this is a stupid idea lacing common sense; and even if you’re convinced that this tech is still 20 years away from making a dent, all of it is still worth looking into.
This post is part of TECHKZAR’s Krisp Series, each of which is an endeavor to simplify the tech stories and share what is easy to understand and relevant to our audience in under 3 minutes; browse through all the posts here.
