What is Meta-Verse?
If you have read the book, Snow Crash, you must be familiar with the term metaverse. If not, this blog has it all covered for you!
Recently, Facebook decided to change its parent company name. They have decided to go beyond- GO META. All the sub brands owned by Facebook will now come under the umbrella company- Meta. The logo of infinity justifies the purpose it will serve- to loop everything around the digital space.
Mark Zuckerberg said, “ Right now, our brand is so tightly linked to one product that it can’t possibly represent everything that we are doing today, let alone in future.”
Imagine plugging into a headset and being able to meet people! Does the idea excite you?
Metaverse will make it happen! You don’t have to be in the same physical space to work, create and explore with a number of people.
This isn’t a new concept though. A lot many companies like Roblox, Fortnite etc have also built virtual worlds. Meta, basically, aims to integrate the digital realm and the physical realm using the combination of multiple elements of technology.
By designing technology around people, it fosters the overlap of digital and physical lives, catering to the needs of people, associated with wealth, productivity, socialisation, shopping and entertainment. It may, however, take around 15-20 years to fully establish the products.
Adding to the reason behind the transition, Zukerberg also stated, “ In this future, you’ll be able to teleport instantly as a hologram to be at the office.”
It’s more like choosing a digital avatar to represent yourself!
You’ll just have to put on a pair of glasses to be able to transport yourself to another world.
Are you ready to live within the Digital Universe?
Metaverse is the future of the internet. It may entirely turn around our existence- from physical to digital. Metaverse is a mixed reality that will be live, continuous and glitch-free.
There are multiple things that you can do with metaverse. You’ll be able to catch up with your friends and family in a 3-D space. Not only that, you’ll be able to enroute trips, buy digital clothes, curate artworks or even enjoy a concert.
Metaverse will uncover a parallel world that will have access to your home appliances to personalize your experiences. This will require the formation of a creative economy along with people who can create graphics and digital content efficiently.
Zuckerberg is making a serious investment of $50 million, hiring more than 10,000 people to work solely on this one project- metaverse.
What is important to note is that metaverse is going to be a decentralized computing platform. What it means is that there will be no regulations on it by the government authority. The two parties involved will only be the ones responsible for the interoperability.
I’m sure you are aware of NFTs and cryptocurrencies! Metaverse will facilitate an entirely digital economy, eliminating the use of hard economy. Exchange of services will also turn virtual!
Facebook intends to collaborate with policy makers, civil society groups, experts and industry partners to create an inclusive and empowering platform.
Andrew Bosworth, V.P. Facebook Reality Labs and Nick Clegg, V.P. Global Affairs claim that the metaverse will be built responsibly.
Zuckergerb reassured by saying that Facebook Metaverse will have no effect on the existing business models. Infact, marketers may have an upper hand. For brands and businesses, it is time to think how you can create immersive and impactful virtual experiences for your customers. Introducing this new e-commerce, marketers can develop digital spaces- stores to make people shop till they drop!
It is an absolutely futuristic approach in the interests of time. If we focus on the positives, it may also help cut down a lot of traffic, saving us from the environmental crisis that lies ahead.
Is it a curse in disguise?
The major question that arises against this impressive technology is: Are the users safe?
The facebook whistleblower, Francis Haugen’s states that, “Facebook prioritizes growth and profit over safety!”
Privacy is one concern that will pose a challenge. With more sensors in people’s homes, connecting such a huge number of people on the digital space may allow Facebook, a reach to excessive data. People may get more apprehensive about being tracked at each step. It may allow Facebook to steal more personal information from the users. The use and safety of this data is another challenge to overcome.
In response to this, the soon to be meta CEO, Andrew Bosworth reassured the users, saying that, “Technology that opens up new possibilities can also be used to cause harm, and we must be mindful of that as we design, iterate and bring products to the market. We want everyone to feel like they are in control of their VR experiences and feel safe on our platform.”
Apart from that, the extravagant equipment it takes may not allow access to a lot of people. The VR headset or 3-D glasses alone will cost you an arm or a leg. Investing in this supercomputer may seem unrealistic or unreasonable to some. Only rich countries may reap its benefits.
This platform to bring people together may ironically do the opposite. People will gradually start distancing. To wear such devices for a really long time may even cause sweating and headaches. In addition to that, it may also have a deteriorating impact on the mental health of the users.
Do you believe that such technological advancements are leading us to an apocalypse?
All in all, what needs to be absorbed is that it is going to take a lot of years and billions and billions of dollars for the metaverse to bring in a revolution. The transition is going to be huge, but there are multiple questions that trigger in our minds related to privacy, governing, and its contribution to our lives in general.
However, there is a huge possibility that metaverse fails to be a success. Apart from that, there is another question that arises which is if a lot of people will have the access to it or if the users will easily adapt to it.
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