The metaverse is dead ??
One year ago, the idea of the metaverse was exciting, with many people eager to live out perfect virtual lives and find new ways of working.
However, since then, interest in the metaverse has dwindled, as evidenced by the 80% decrease in Google search traffic for the term. Instead, artificial intelligence that generates text, images, or other data has become a more popular investment for venture capitalists.
Even Meta's investors are unenthusiastic about the metaverse, with CEO Mark Zuckerberg having to clarify that it is not the company's main focus. In fact, Meta's Reality Labs, which produces the Meta Quest headsets, lost $13.7bn in operating costs last year, yes you did read that right $13.7bn!
Microsoft, too, has abandoned plans for its "industrial metaverse team" and laid off 100 staff members only four months after forming the team.
One of the major issues with the metaverse is that no one seems to agree on what it is. Some, like Zuckerberg, see it as a virtual reality world where people have video meetings as avatars in virtual boardrooms, while others believe it's an internet that uses blockchain and non-fungible tokens.
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Even those who consider themselves metaverse leaders can't seem to agree on a definition. I believe the biggest problem with the metaverse, as with any new product release, is that no one seems to want it.
Even if the technology improves, people are not likely to flock to it, as evidenced with Metas Quest Pro headset (yes I also jumped on that hype train). If I look at some of the applications I've used with Quest - it all just centres around gaming and streaming, it was fun to begin with but I've naturally defaulted back to my trusted console and TV.
While it's possible that the internet will become more immersive as technology advances, it's unlikely that the metaverse will suddenly become a reality.
In the end, the metaverse may be a post-covid concept that had serious legs, but never truly took off.
B2B Content & Copywriter | Creating long form content and the copy that drives it. Campaign assets for enterprise and agencies.
1 年Nice article, Ashley – and something I've been talking with a few people about recently. IMO, the challenge with the Metaverse (if we consider that to mean Meta & MS's virtual reality for a minute) and the VR tech typically required, is that it completely strips the physical world dimension away. Watching TV, gaming on any device – even listening to a podcast – doesn't require the removal of the analog world around you. The Metaverse requires that departure; it's one I think people are realising they don't want to take. Especially when the AI space is hotting up the way it is ??