Metaverse explained: Intro to the most popular term

Facebook got its new name, ‘Meta’, last year along with the introduction of Metaverse, which is the next big thing to ever happen to date. The hype around the term ‘Metaverse’ has presented various miscellaneous theories & definitions to understand what exactly Metaverse means? All the speculations & discussions around Metaverse are just presumptions about its evolution and impact on the internet & technology world.?

Just we have moved from Web1.0 to Web 2.0 & now anticipating embracing Web 3.0 which clearly indicates how the innovation of Metaverse is framing the mature version of the internet with the indulgence of new tech genres.?

Being an individual, you can browse through hundreds of articles on the “introduction of metaverse”, but isn’t it too early to pretend how metaverse would appear in the next world? Forget the definitions for a while & let your imagination dive into the virtual space, where you can have all-in-one experiences, beyond every boundary & limitless possibilities.?

Gartner observes Metaverse among the top five emerging trends & technologies to watch out for in 2022 and the predictions??

Umm, it sounds great when you hear about Metaverse but is it worth wondering about such incidents that usually happen in science fiction or movies? Well, Metaverse is somehow much similar to this but still distinct in many ways.???

What is the Metaverse?

Let's start with a basic definition as an introduction to Metaverse.

The term 'metaverse' can be defined as a highly scalable, massive, never-ending network of interconnected virtual worlds, as a place where people can work, interact, socialize, transact, play and even create.?

Along with real-time interactions, Metaverse uses immersive virtualization, technologies (AR, VR, Haptic Sensors, etc.) & tools like IoT to fully divulge the user into the virtual world.?

Users can interact in real-time with a world on Metaverse & connect with others whenever & wherever they want to.

Most spectators believe that the most ideal futuristic version of “The Metaverse” would be like one platform where one can have a unique persona, identity, & a platform of connected services, where one can visit many virtual worlds & also create a similar one, once having an access to do so.?

A simple answer to the question, of what a Metaverse is, is a description of a world that comprises numerous sub-worlds to visit, leave, & even create.

Here some factors are noteworthy to define the concept of digital identity, digital ownership, digital currencies, & universal transferability of digital assets – responsible to shape the fully-functioning economy in a virtual world.

In this way, the metaverse could transform the way tourism works, what it means to attend a live concert, how to discover art exhibitions without giving a physical visit to that place, and most importantly, how people learn, study, interact, & even connect with friends.

Jaw-dropping Metaverse Statistics to Know

Metaverse is going to change everything around us, not just our virtual experience but the way we used to connect & visualize the virtual world.

We can see the consistent evolution of the Metaverse, which combines several virtual spaces to impart more complex interactions.?

Let's look at some metaverse facts, figures, and stats.?

Metaverse Facts & Figures

• The phrase "metaverse" is actually derived from the prefix "meta" which means beyond & the stem "verse" is taken from the universe. Both co-jointly means "beyond the universe" i.e Metaverse.?
• The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic spiked the interest in the metaverse among businesses & experts.
• As per a survey report, most online gamers and streamers aren't all that different from their real-life friends. This implies individuals tend to play with online friends who are more like them in real life.?
• The most recent investment of Meta for the expansion of the Metaverse market was valued at $50 million & made for non-profit funding groups. The investment from Meta Reality Labs has already raised an amount of $10 billion in the metaverse.?
• Epic Games, a gaming company, raised $1 billion to benefit the long-term goals of Metaverse.
• North America recorded the biggest marketplace for Metaverse in 2020.?
• The net value of the Metaverse market will be worth $800 billion by 2024 due to its emergence in the pandemic, which is $47 billion higher in 2020.
• A 3D virtual world browser-based platform, Decrentraland raised $24 million to leverage Metaverse in Feb 2020, generating $7.5 million in just 3 months from its games Casino feature.?
• The hardware segment dominating the Metaverse market observes that the global AR, VR, & MR market will reach beyond $300 billion by 2024. While the AR market alone will rise to $26 billion by 2025.

Source: influencemarketinghub

Today, most tech businesses see Metaverse as a profitable opportunity to broaden their market reach. The concepts of the Metaverse are enormous & they're still evolving.?

As Mark Zuckerberg said, Metaverse could be the next big thing to teleportation, and the world is amused to witness its unprecedented interoperability.?

Curious to know more about metaverse examples? Move on to the next section right here.?

Metaverse Examples

Metaverse seems to have a social & economic system joined in one virtual platform or space. Inspired by the concept of using Metaverse, the majority of industry leaders from gaming, healthcare, blockchain, retail, & arts, are constantly looking out to position themselves as the next big players in the industry.?

Well, there are many big companies that claim to have created their own Metaverse. Let's check them out!

#1 Meta Horizon Worlds

It's a virtual meeting room environment launched by Facebook, which can only be accessed by Oculus VR headsets and the Horizon worlds.?

Users on Meta Horizon worlds can interact with peers in virtual meeting rooms with their own avatar and it will feature more add-ons & offerings coming from Oculus and Meta in the coming time.?

#2 Microsoft Mesh Platform

Microsoft mesh platform presents another Metaverse example, with that innovation of mixed-reality elements into its Teams app in 2022.

Aiming to emerge in the areas of mixed & extended reality space (XR), Microsoft launched a feature to use avatars & holograms everywhere, across events, meetings, retailing, & of course gaming.??

#3 Roblox

Roblox began its journey as a gaming world where one can create as a user & let other users access them.?

This made it possible for gamers to bring their imaginations into a virtual game that portrays their creativity in a version of Metaverse.? Roblox collaborates with brands like Vans & Gucci to offer exclusive assents to buy for your virtual self.

#4 Minecraft?

Around 140 million gamers are active in Lego-like game worlds like Minecraft.?

Minecraft is launched & developed by Microsoft, as a unified platform where players create their own characters or avatars along with unlimited virtual worlds using their digital assets & more.?

#5 Second Life?

Second Life was launched as the first virtual reality platform in 2003. It allows players to create their own identities.?

Even after years of development, Second Life is all the way ahead to expand marketplaces, digital assets, and more.

Most prominent Metaverse Uses cases & Digital Marketplaces?

As already defined, the necessity of a well-defined digital marketplace & diverse economic ecosystem is greatly fulfilled in the domains of Metaverse. Such online marketplaces & business models have somehow directed virtual paths to several practices such as auctions that are now accessible to everyone in the world.

Just imagine the moment when you would be able to visit Amazon’s web shop, alongside experiencing the real-life feel with every session of viewing virtual products, right in front of you.

#1 Art and Culture Venues

From hosting virtual events to attending cultural venues, the pandemic brought a new way to keep us connected & entertained around the online art & music world.

But what about experiencing a live concert or performance while sitting at your place? With Metaverse, you can virtually visit an online venue, and meet & interact with other participants rather than just watching it on your device.?

Creating a parallel universe of digital events, museums, exhibitions, etc. is a noteworthy Metaverse use case for people who love to consume art & culture in a completely new way.?

Just like witnessing the portrait of the Mona Lisa in a form of a digital Louvre – not just from a picture on the internet.

#2 Digital Art Creations

Both Roblox & Minecraft are perfect examples of Metaverse use cases in the form of a virtual universe where one can build their own world.?

It allows users to bring their imagination to life with their creativity & experiences. Mind that NFTs will play a significant role in shaping this kind of environment which will impart a virtual view of digital art.?

#3 Augmented and Virtual Workspaces

Augmented workspaces are way beyond virtual meetings. This made it possible to be in the virtual room, interact, brainstorm, & even write on a whiteboard rather than having virtual team meetings on a normal day.?

One can also change the room according to the preferences. Augmented workspaces allow users to participate in physical meetings through a virtual mode.?

It also implies the fact that one can use holograms or different avatars to experience real-time interactions in augmented workspaces.

#4 Virtual Travel and Tourism

Ever imagined traveling across the world without stepping out of your living space?

It may sound impossible or unrealistic for a while but thanks to Metaverse, that actually made it true for anyone to travel virtually to any place or destination they want.?

When traveling was restricted due to the pandemic crisis, people are forced to stay indoors for their safety. But the introduction of Metaverse brought an interesting option to let users access a game-like environment where they can move around the Swiss alps, trek on the hills of the Himalayas or just walk down the streets of Times square.

Not just across the globe, Metaverse technologies make it possible to land on other planets or virtual worlds like Lord of the Rings or many other places we can maybe not imagine today.

#5 Education & Schools

The idea of interactive learning is now transformed into virtual school classes. Education institutions & schools switched to online learning with features like interactive walls, educational games, online courses & tutorials, and much more.?

No doubt, such an interactive world of learning could be a big asset for schools, learners, & teachers for smart learning.?

When it's about learning physics, science concepts, or the solar system, Metaverse will possibly be the best technology to virtually observe how things actually happen around us.?

This aspect of Metaverse is a typical game-changer for education & learning environments, to make it easy, impactful, & fun to learn new concepts not only for children but also for people in rural & remote areas.??

Key Takeaways on Metaverse

The Metaverse is natural yet the most influential progression of the internet & technology.? As far as the revolutionary innovation of “The Metaverse” is concerned, its evolution is all set to transform the integral aspects of virtual experiences but still, many critics see it as an unreasonably hyped science fiction. It’s nearly unclear to say the Metaverse will bring what it’s supposed to be.

Well, there is no end to discussions on Metaverse as it's constantly evolving on the verge of digital transformation.?

If you want to make the most of Metaverse applications then you must get experts to implement this groundbreaking technology in your business strategy.?

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