The Metaverse v1.0 Is Already Here

The metaverse is all the buzz these days but most people I speak with still can't define it. Those of us who have been in the XR (AR/VR), IoT, and blockchain/crypto/decentralization industries for the last decade, see it coming together right right before our eyes not by the mega-companies but by passionate developer experiments and a confluence of other emerging technologies (i.e. XR, IoT, AI, Blockchain, IPFS, etc) coming together at the same time.

Many of my engineering friends would agree that the metaverse is already here and it's just an evolution of the Web transitioning from 2D websites to 3D web spaces. Others would go on further to say that the metaverse was the original vision of the term "cyberspace".

If you stop and think about it, we already have all of the Web protocols in place to build the metaverse as an open extension of the Web today. I've invested in a number of bootstrapped startups such as XRPA.NET (https://xrpa.net), GroupRoom (https://grouproom.io) and Metaverses (https://metaverses.io) building metaverse platforms today using the following Web protocols available today:

• WebRTC (https://www.w3.org/TR/webrtc/) provides end-to-end encrypted HD audio and video in Web browsers.
• WebXR (https://www.w3.org/TR/webxr/) provides immersive AR and VR capabilities in Web browsers.
• Web3 (https://web3js.readthedocs.io/en/v1.5.2/) provides access to Ethereum wallets and blockchain transactions such as NFTs and smart contracts.
• WebSockets (https://www.w3.org/TR/2009/WD-websockets-20091222/) and decentralized PubSub alternatives provide MMO player movement and tracking.
• IPFS (https://ipfs.io) provides decentralized storage of assets such as avatars and wearables. It can also be used as PubSub and database storage alternatives.

So why all of the hype from the mega-companies now about building the metaverse? Could it be that they see this confluence in technology and major market shift coming too? You bet! As the world shifts from accessing the Web from 2D mobile devices to always-on 3D wearable glasses, their advertising opportunities will be limitless. They will also have access to your eye tracking, heart rate, and speech data to develop AI models of your behavior for monetization too.

History has also proven that these mega-companies intentionally build their experiences as "walled gardens" as they do not want their users leaving their platforms for competitors' platforms. Is that what we want? Ask yourself what would the Web look like today if we only knew it as AOL still...

My advice to the world would be to support your local/favorite metaverse platforms and projects and guide them to become 3D extensions of the Web as we know and love today - not more walled gardens of control and advertising. There are many interesting ones to support including: Webaverse, Cryptovoxels, Decentraland, Hubs, and Open AR Cloud. Here's a great list of more projects: https://github.com/M3-org/awesome-metaverse

If you would like to learn more about the Metaverse v1.0, I'll be delivering the keynote speech at tomorrow's virtual PHX Mobi conference - https://phxmobifestival.com. You can RSVP here - https://www.meetup.com/phxmobi/events/281252821/

See you in the metaverse!