There seems to be a lot of confusion surrounding the Metaverse. This is something that is feeding into a lot of the hype. We have people making YouTube videos detailing the "Top 5 Metaverse Stocks To Buy". This is a very dangerous situation.
For this reason, I wrote The Metaverse hype in an attempt to dispel a lot of the rhetoric that is out there.
Nevertheless, much of it continues leading the barrage of articles and videos coming.
Therefore, we will look into what the Metaverse is so we can comprehend it.
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Dematerialization
This is going to come as a shock to people. Yet, at its core, the Metaverse is nothing more than a shift towards dematerialization. It is the moving away from the physical realm to the digital one.
One way that I like to describe this is bits not atoms.
Of course, under this frame of reference, we can see how this started long ago. Hence, a case could be made that the Metaverse started to form with the Internet. It might be applicable to say that is where the beginnings were forged. When we consider how information was moved from the physical realm to the digital, we see how it fits.
The Internet today is naturally far more advanced than it was a few decades back. This is where the potential is increasing exponentially. We have the infrastructure operating at a much faster pace (cheaper as well). Our communication systems are much improved. Finally, the mediums are superior and more diverse than what was around at the turn of the century.
Bringing it back to the idea of dematerialization, we can see how the idea of virtual worlds enters the picture. Anything we see around us is a candidate to have a "digital twin". This could be something that is part of a game or as a training mechanism for machinery.
When we think about it, this is going to be as radical a shift as the addition of two-way communication to the original Internet.
Spatial
The term "logging on" is now losing its relevance. Many who are older remember a time when you actually logged onto the Internet. In other words, the devices has to be connected.
Now, we see that done automatically. Most of our devices connect as soon as they are turned on. There is no reason to disconnect them like in the past (people had to free up the phone line).
What the Metaverse will make the Internet spatial. This is going to be all around us. It will transform from a flat surface. At present, the Internet is still separate from us.
The Metaverse is going to allow us to be "in the Internet". Eventually, everything will be connected. With the cost of chips continuing to head down, more devices are becoming "smart". This will keep growing as time passes. Within the next 5 years, we will see clothing connected.
Under this realm, physical space, distance, and objects will be removed.
Hopefully we can see how this is a world that we are not even close to achieving. The Metaverse is a lot more than just virtual reality or 3D access.
We can also see the enormous potential. It is true that this can literally rework all of our social structures.
Evolutionary Change
We know technology is moving faster than ever before. However, it is best to keep in mind that it is all evolutionary. The Internet is in the process of "waking up". By this, I am not referring to some of the ideas out there that if we connect enough nodes together, suddenly they will become conscious. Instead, I am citing how we are going to be immersed in this world. The line between physical and digital is going to keep blurring.
Also, over time, we will see the capabilities grow. The Metaverse is going to be an assortment of technologies. Each will follow its over development curve. Whether we are focusing upon mixed reality, blockchain, cryptocurrency, quantum, or energy, all are progressing forward.
For this reason, everything will be evolutionary. This is common with complex systems. Growth will be organic, even if this is not a biological system. It will take decades for many of the components to be ready for mass adoption (like edge computing).
Our world is going to be filled with data. It will always be available to us, when we need it. Today, the mechanism used for that is the search engine. Here is an example of how far things have to go. Consider how often what we get from a search is not what we are looking for. That is going to be unacceptable in the future.
Another thing to keep in mind is the fact that, since this new world will be spatial, search is not going to be limited to "online" only. We are going to be able to search all of our surroundings too. Today, if you do a search for Cross Pen you get a number of different websites relating to that.
In the Metaverse, a search there will either alert you that it is in the nightstand by your bed or will tell you where you left a virtual version in one of the different "worlds".
Basically, what we are looking at can be viewed as Web 5.0. It will take a bit of time to get there.
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