Undeniably, the metaverse is the new buzzword of recent years. Yet for all the fascination this word carries, there is a lot of debate over what the metaverse is, how significant it might be, when it will arrive, and how it will work.
For some, it is the future, while others think it’s nothing more than a passing fad. For now, the metaverse is an interface or a platform that allows digital realities of people to come together to work, play and collaborate. That said, there are plenty of misconceptions out there about the “future of the internet”. Here are just a couple:
The metaverse will arrive someday in the future.
The metaverse has been called the next phase of the internet as we know it: the currently two-dimensional, flat internet will be changing into a three-dimensional, spatial form. In the future, people can meet as avatars in the metaverse, to socialize, to network, provide services, collaborate, relax, game, shop and consume. The metaverse also offers the opportunity to build, create and participate in a virtual economy. In the future, we won’t be going “on” the Internet, but “in” it.
While this metaverse vision will take years to mature fully, the building blocks to begin this process are already in place. Today, early versions are emerging and the metaverse era has begun boasting everything from social gaming platforms to fully immersive virtual reality worlds on VR headsets to augmented-reality smartphone experiences. Although some experts believe we are still 5 + years away from this reality, the metaverse era is certainly happening now.
You can only visit the metaverse through augmented reality or virtual reality.
There are some virtual worlds that require a VR headset to fully immerse in their experience. However, others do not. This is a good thing since VR headsets are not always accessible to all users (presenting both financial and physical obstacles).
Today’s metaverse can be accessed by any number of different platforms. Just like jumping onto the internet from a smartphone, laptop, or tablet, the same will apply on how users can and will enter the metaverse.
There is more than one metaverse.
Just as there is “the internet,” the same should apply to “the metaverse.” There isn’t “an internet” or “the internets,” and likewise, there will only be one metaverse.
Much like today’s internet, the metaverse isn’t a single virtual space or entity, but rather a multitude of digital platforms that metaverse builders envision will someday be stitched together to form a cohesive, interoperable or interchangeable whole.
When Facebook famously changed their name to Meta, they did that to reflect their commitment to their evolving platform. They were not (at least we hope they weren’t) claiming on being the sole entrance to the metaverse. When companies build a metaverse, what they are actually doing is starting a company, not constructing the whole global economy.
You don’t need cryptocurrencies to participate in the metaverse
Well, yes and no…..
Several of the biggest blockchain-based platforms, such as Decentraland and Sandbox use their own digital currencies in order to buy or trade virtual assets within them. Other platforms such as Meta, do not. Although it might seem that cryptocurrencies and blockchain are not requirements to participate in the metaverse, almost everyone agrees that the futures of these technologies and the metaverse are interlinked. Blockchain allows for fast and secure confirmation of information as well as protected transactions. In order to support and actualize a fully functional metaverse, blockchain and crypto assets could be a fundamental and integral aspect of how the metaverse is built and deployed in the future.
The metaverse will replace the real world.
In a dystopian science fiction world, we’ll all be living in some barren wasteland, “plugged in” to a virtual world (i.e., the metaverse). However, in a less-bleak reality, the metaverse won’t replace the real world. It will be an additive to the here and now, an expansive virtual environment where you can do any number of different things: work, socialize, play, create, explore and more.
The metaverse that is taking shape today, includes many ways to layer virtual experiences over physical spaces. Metaverse builders believe that these new technologies are an opportunity to expand our uses of physical spaces, not run away from them entirely
Bio: Karyn Gorman is a published author of 7 titles and a freelance journalist talking about the metaverse, Web 3, and NFTs. She currently lives in Europe and is willing to learn about any kind of new technology if it means keeping up with her 11-year-old son.
