Meta-verse or Meta-averse?

At EY wavespace we have been getting metaphysical in exploring what the metaverse means for the future of business and the Better Questions we should be asking ourselves in context to the metaverse. The most pressing question should be... What are the possibilities and risks within the metaverse and alternatively, what are the possibilities and risks for businesses who choose to be meta-averse for the moment?

You've probably seen enough videos and posts with?opinions about the metaverse and meta-physical experiences, exploring the business use cases. While there seem to be so many opportunities for the community aspect of the metaverse, it also offers a completely new platform for innovation in the context of emerging business models, brand experiences, and channel approaches ?for organizations willing to take on the risk associated with being a standard bearer with a perceived new technology. If we look closer, we see that this technology has existed for some time, and that meta is a new way of experiencing and interfacing with the integrated possibilities emerging within technology and web 3.0.

Imagine what 6G will bring in the future to the metaverse!

Best to be an early adopter or a late one?

There will always be those who will be early adopters, and like any normal Normal Innovation Adoption Curve, we are talking about metaverse in terms of what it means Now, Next (2-3 years) and Beyond for (your) business. The reality is that the metaverse is a very real experience for those who are long-time gamers. Thomas Psychny, a former professional gamer and an EY colleague, told me this is old news for anyone who already has VR goggles and a gaming set up at home. However, for a regular Joe/Jasmin on a laptop, is the experience ready for prime time? The metaverse might be just as “exciting” as Bitcoin but it has taken blockchain half a decade to develop into a technology ready for the enterprise. But since half-life is faster in tech, the maturation of the metaverse might take 2 years or less! There is hope. The hope is that like Bitcoin & blockchain, metaverse becomes a means to a new ecosystem. One of positive possibilities for the world, people, society, and businesses at large as part of the larger web 3.0 wave.

What do you think?

And while we are all zooming into the metaverse – there are many questions yet to explore around the health, wellbeing, and community aspects of the new world, is there research on cyber-sickness? Video fatigue is a real thing, we all know that by now. But are there aspects of immersion that we just don’t know the effects of as yet. What about inclusion? Will this make the world more accessible or less accessible? The great equalizer or the have/have-nots? GDPR is here to protect us, but is our legislation moving fast enough to protect privacy in the meta?

What are your Better Questions for the possibilities and risks associated with the metaverse?

At EY wavespace we are focused on answering Better Questions faster and smarter by creating user experiences that drive value for people and businesses at scale.

The views reflected in this article are the views of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the global EY organization or its member firms.