The Future of Digital Marketing

You might have heard the word 'Metaverse' or 'NFT' but what do these really mean? Well, you might be surprised when I tell you we have already been living in the metaverse for years. People already have identities online, we make posts on Instagram, and make conversations with other users online. Is that it? Do we already live in the metaverse without realizing it?

The podcast I listened to the other day was called "The future is going to be weird as hell" with Derek Thompson where they discussed their opinions on the metaverse and NFTs. They say "in a landscape of reproducibility this [NFTs] is technological proof of scarcity"

What are the Metaverse and NFTs?

First, what is the metaverse? As a whole, the word "metaverse" generally refers to a virtual world that lies beyond, on top of, or is an extension of the physical world. Specifically, the metaverse will be accessible through most devices and will allow you to work, shop, socialize, watch movies and play games.

What is an NFT? NFT or Non-Fungible Token is a digital asset that represents real-world objects like art, music, or videos. Each NFT is a 1/1 token that has one owner at a time, secured on the Ethereum blockchain. With the blockchain being decentralized, each member in the network has the exact same data, meaning security risks are lower, and ownership of the token is clear.

These are Cryptopunks which are collectible characters on the blockchain and one of the earliest examples of NFTs. Cryptopunks are all generated algorithmically.

In the future, the metaverse won't change how we interact with the internet but will become more inclusive and secure when working on the internet. With NFTs businesses will be able to sell 1/1 assets online and ensure ownership of this item. NFTs will be able to display ownership of assets, and may be used for items like cars and houses in the future.

What are AI and ML?

Artificial learning or AI originally set out to make computers more useful and capable of independent reasoning similar to human reasoning. AI is driven by data on the internet that learns over time through examples of how to solve a problem given.

Machine learning is a subset of AI that automates analytical model building. It uses methods from neural networks and big data to find insights within the data that arent explicitly available. Machine learning is used to give AI more tools how to adapt and offer new solutions through previous experiences and collected data.

Both AI and ML are similar yet different. AI is the broad term that encompasses machine learning, deep learning, and the neural network that it relies on. But machine learning is only one part of artificial intelligence.

The use of AI in Business

AI can be used for big computational tasks or even smaller tasks like automating customer service or content creation. I believe we will see a big wave of AI being used to personalize online experiences and better target customers with advertisements. With this new tool, new ways will be found to automate business needs while freeing up time for digital marketers to focus their energy on more pressing issues.

In 5 years it's hard to say where AI will take us but I believe that AI will be used heavily in the metaverse. AI may be used to help create photorealistic characters that use real photographs to recreate the features digitally. AI has already created NFT projects so I wouldn't be surprised to see AI becoming commonplace in this coming metaverse.

I hope you learned a bit more about the coming metaverse and how AI may have some involvement. As always have a wonderful day!

-Kyle