What exactly is the metaverse? And how will it change our lives ?

The next generation of the internet: The “metaverse”

The buzzword of the moment  happens to be “metaverse” The metaverse has become an increasingly popular concept in the tech world, following Facebook's announcement on Thursday, October 28  that it has changed its company’s name to Meta, to align the company with its ambitions to build the "metaverse."

This change of name was announced by Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg at Facebook’s annual Connect augmented and virtual reality conference. 

So what exactly is the Metaverse itself?

Origin: Looking at the concept, "meta" is a Greek word meaning "after, beyond." The metaverse is derived from the combination of the word "meta"  and "universe", meaning "beyond the universe.”
The concept was first mentioned in a sci-fi novel titled Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson in 1992. In the book, the 3D virtual world with avatars of real people was called the metaverse. The metaverse is not yet a reality, but it could be the next evolution of the internet.
What we refer to as the “metaverse” is a common fictional universe in which all digital worlds are located.

Several science fiction books and films such as Ready Player One are set in a metaverse- alternative digital worlds which are indistinguishable from the real physical world.
At this point, you might be wondering about what we can define as the metaverse, well the Metaverse defines a collective virtual sharing space created by combining physical reality, online gaming, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and cryptocurrencies to enable users to interact virtually.
Central to the concept of the metaverse is the idea that virtual, 3D environments that are accessible and interactive in real time will become the transformative medium for social and business engagement. If there are to become practical, these environments will be dependent on widespread adoption of extended reality.

The stimulated interest in the metaverse can be seen as an outcome of the Covid-19 pandemic. As more people have begun working and going to school remotely, there has been an increased demand for alternatives to make online interaction more lifelike.
But is a large-scale metaverse really possible in the future? The massive investments being pumped into the concept is a strong signal that it may soon be a reality.

What will the metaverse do? What will it look like?

How will the “Metaverse change our lives?

1. The metaverse is expected to be an experience that spans both the digital and physical worlds, private and public networks/experiences, and open and closed platforms.

2. It’s also predicted that the Metaverse will be without any cap to concurrent users, while also providing each user with an individual sense of “presence” – everyone can be a part of the Metaverse and participate in a specific event/place/activity log.

3. The metaverse will likely expand the online fields significantly and interactions can be more multi-dimensional. Augmented reality will be a normal part of daily life. Virtual companions will provide information, commentary, updates and advice on matters relevant to you at that point in time, including your assets and activities, in both virtual and real spaces.

Currently, virtual reality is  predominantly in use in the gaming world through VR headsets. Users have avatars that walk around and interact with other players.

4. The metaverse is also expected to have a strong connection with the real-world economy – and eventually become an extension of it. In other words, the metaverse must have the ability for companies and individuals to participate in economic activity in the same way they do today. Simply put, this means being able to build, trade and invest in products, goods and services.

To a certain extent, this may rely on non-fungible tokens (NFTs) as the foundation for value creation. A NFT is a claim of ownership for a unique, non-interchangeable digital asset that is stored on a blockchain. If NFTs become a commonly adopted tool for trading such goods, they could help accelerate the use of XR ecosystems as places people go to combine elements of the digital economy with their offline lives”

5. Be populated by “content” and “experiences” created and operated by an incredibly wide range of contributors, some of whom are independent individuals, while others might be informally organized groups or commercially-focused enterprises.

Focus: On: facebook’s decision to change its company’s name to Meta align to the company with its ambitions to a build the "metaverse."

The company has invested heavily in virtual/augmented reality, developing hardware like its Oculus VR headsets, working on AR glasses and wristband technologies, and buying a bevy of VR gaming studios, including BigBox VR.

The future of the company would go far beyond its current project of building a set of connected social apps and some hardware to support them.

“In this future, you will be able to teleport instantly as a hologram to be at the office without a commute, at a concert with friends, or in your parents’ living room to catch up,” he said.

“This will open up more opportunities no matter where you live. You’ll be able to spend more time on what matters to you, cut downtime in traffic, and reduce your carbon footprint.”

Zuckerberg stated that ;

Our mission remains the same — it’s still about bringing people together. Our apps and their brands aren’t changing either. We’re still the company that designs technology around people.

“But all of our products, including our apps, now share a new vision: to help bring the metaverse to life. And now we have a name that reflects the breadth of what we do.

“From now on, we will be metaverse-first, not Facebook-first. That means that over time you won’t need a Facebook account to use our other services. As our new brand starts showing up in our products, I hope people around the world come to know the Meta brand and the future we stand for.”

Characteristics and challenges of the metaverse

•”There are of course questions about what the metaverse will mean for privacy, whether it will be inclusive, and how to mitigate harmful content and environments that could be created. Because the metaverse is in the early phases of development, there is an opportunity now to build in these attributes by design.

The idea of the metaverse may sound promising, which is why many of the world’s leading technology companies are investing in its development. If it can come to fruition, it is conceivable that it will transform consumer and enterprise behavior”