Happy Birthday,?Metaverse!

"We will transition from people seeing us primarily as a Social Media?company to being seen as a?Metaverse?company."?

-Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook, The Verge, July 22, 2021

"People will primarily think about us as a?Metaverse?company,?rather than a Mobile Internet company."

-Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook, The Verge, July 22, 2021

"We've had?Metaverse?aspirations for a very, very long time. … only in recent years have a critical mass of working pieces?started coming together rapidly."??

-Tim Sweeney, Epic, June 13, 2021

"The Court generally finds Mr. Sweeney's personal beliefs?about the future of the?Metaverse?are sincerely held."??

-Epic v Apple Court Ruling,?Sept. 10, 2021. (After which Apple lost?USD 85 BN?in Market Cap.)

I have lived "One foot in the Metaverse, and one onshore" ever since running Ultima Online, Richard Garriott's breakthrough Virtual-world game (MMORPG). UO pioneered digital currency, crafting, housing, and many other Metaverse elements.

As the Metaverse is suddenly cool again, and many people, especially Mark Zuckerberg, seem a bit confused, we should clarify the concept and point out what has remained unchanged and what has evolved since its original inception.?In other words, the core idea versus the current implementation of the Metaverse.

Let's celebrate the?30th birthday?of the?Metaverse, one of humanity's most important ideas.

But first, let's raise our glass and celebrate the?30th birthday?of the?Metaverse, one of humanity's most important ideas. In 1991, Neal Stephenson thought of, and in 1992 first introduced, the?Metaverse?in his novel?Snow Crash,?along with real-time GPS navigation, electric cars, mobile computing, VR & AR-headsets, digital Avatars, fiber-optic broadband, wireless Internet, digital currency, smartphones, and (Google) Earth.? After three decades of intensely stimulating research & development in technology, entertainment, and design, the?Metaverse?is now genuinely transforming our lives.

Neal's original?Metaverse?is an online, dynamic, persistent, 3D,?Virtual World populated by its participants'?Avatars?and AI-generated?NPCs?(non-participant characters such as "demons," "librarians"). Anyone following its rules can realize their ideas in the?Metaverse, from housing to clubbing, performances, offices, stores, games, and so on, all with?full interoperability.??

What is the earth-shaking significance of the?Metaverse? It unifies?the best of the Real World?with the powers of the Virtual World. Here, rich 3D 'natural' environments, realistic bodies and faces, the persistence of achievements and creations, free collaboration, and commerce. There, freedom from space and time, from status and physical appearance, from scarcity, injury, and death.?

The?Metaverse?unites?the best of the Real World?with the powers of the Virtual World.

Indeed, "in recent years have a critical mass of working pieces started coming together rapidly," as Tim Sweeney pointed out correctly. Virtual-world games have grown dramatically since Ultima Online, and even since RIFT and Defiance, which we created at Trion Worlds.?(RIFT pioneered huge live Virtual-world events; Defiance combined a TV show and an MMO for one extensive Meta-universe.)

Today, Minecraft, Fortnight, Roblox, FIFA Online, Animal Crossing are all mass-market products. Moreover, they include many elements of the Metaverse beyond gaming, such as housing, clubbing, concerts, political campaigns, 3rd-party content, and IP. In addition, they are increasingly interoperable, if only between platforms like PCs, mobile phones, handhelds, and consoles.

The Metaverse?in 2022 no longer exists only within one?Virtual World for all, but has escaped those confines.

However,?the?Metaverse?in 2022?no longer exists only within one?Virtual World for all of humanity. Instead, the Metaverse has escaped those limitations and lives in a combination of the?Virtual,?Social, and the?Real World. So today, you can create/sell/buy a dress, sneakers, or a horse in a?Virtual World, wear it/show it off on?Social Media, and entice others to buy something similar for themselves in the?Real World.

And increasingly, we can overcome physical limitations?right here in the Real World?and not only bring digital objects but the powers of Virtual Worlds out onto?Social Media?and into the?Real World.

Now, we can overcome physical limitations right here in the Real World.

Cryptocurrencies are the equivalent of USD 3 TN+ of Metaverse currencies created for the?Real World. And they are every bit as accessible, global, community-driven, and government-independent as digital currencies in Virtual Worlds.

Cryptocurrencies are USD 3 TN+ of Metaverse currencies for the?Real World.

NFTs?(non-fungible tokens) are used to authenticate ownership of unique digital assets so that Metaverse art and recordings, real estate, pets, and even loot can be owned, bought, and sold across different worlds.?(https://www.platformer.news/p/loot-is-a-viral-social-network-that .)?

In other words, NFTs crush the boundaries between Virtual-, Social-, and Real World assets, such as capital, labor, knowledge,?and wealth.

NFTs crush the boundaries between Virtual-, Social-, and Real-world assets.

AI?(Artificial Intelligence) no longer just powers Metaverse plants, pets, and NPCs in?Virtual-worlds. Instead, celebrities and regular people are beginning to create their own?personal AI?in the Real World. They are training their intelligent Avatars that can seamlessly move between the worlds and allow their creators to "import" ever-more?Virtual powers?into the Real World.?

Many of us increasingly live (in) the Metaverse.

Many of us increasingly live (in) the Metaverse. None of us should be left behind due to an ever-growing, ever-more harmful generational- and digital divide.?Happy Birthday!