What is metaverse? All You Need to Know About Metaverse

Technology is fast taking over most aspects of our lives and many people like to keep a close watch on the developments in the virtual world. One of the latest buzzwords in the virtual world space is Metaverse. Even those who are not familiar with technological advancements are now talking about this word. The Covid-19 pandemic brought almost everything online, and this is when Metaverse got its momentum with faster-than-expected adoptions. If the speed of adoption was not enough, it got highlighted further with Facebook rebranding itself as Meta in 2021, indicating its heightened interest in Metaverse.

So, what is Metaverse, how did it all start, and why should a common internet user be interested in it? Here is everything you need to know about Metaverse.

How did Metaverse begin?

The term Metaverse can be traced back to a science fiction novel titled ‘Snow Crash’ that was published almost 30 years ago. In this book, the author, Neal Stephenson, imagined lifelike avatars meeting in a realistic environment full of virtual 3D buildings.

With its recent emergence, Metaverse represents an idealistic gathering of aspirants for virtual digital experiences that are globally interconnected, enhancing, real-time, and based on augmented reality. These environments are expected to enable people to carry out their work, socialise, and collaborate in futuristic ways.

What is Metaverse?

Simply put, Metaverse is internet 2.0, an alternate virtual world where people can indulge in outdoor sports right from their homes, travel to destinations, go to school, earn money, buy homes, work at offices while sitting at home, etc.

Did you know?

A Metaverse company plans to sell immortality by digitally cloning people and allowing them to ‘live forever’. Who would have imagined immortality turning to reality, even if virtually!

Metaverse offers users an immersive experience through an augmented reality that is far more engaging than the current internet world. In this online world that is based on the internet, one can design anything as per his/her imagination. It is an enhanced combination of augmented reality(AR) and virtual reality (VR). 

Does Metaverse exist?

When the Metaverse concept was first introduced, many believed that it may easily take up at least a few decades before coming into existence. But, to most people’s surprise, it is already here!

Those who have explored motion games, used VR gear, or even watched 4D movies would know about the existence of Metaverse. Although the metaverse does not exist in the form of a virtual world, many games have started offering experiences that can be called closest to Metaverse.

India’s active role in building Metaverse

Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook, has mentioned that online social networks are starting to take initial steps in setting up Metaverse experiences that are driven by augmented reality (AR). Since India is known for its technological prowess, it is expected to contribute significantly to the journey of establishing Metaverse. Zuckerberg has acknowledged India’s major role in building the future of Metaverse.

India has a huge talent pool comprising engineers and developers, many of who are also heavily engaged in the growth of the startup ecosystem. Experts believe that India may likely have the world’s largest app developer base in the next 2-4 years. 

Negatives of Metaverse

Virtual reality can be as toxic as it can be rejuvenating for human beings. Meta, formerly known as Facebook, is aware of this possibility. There are also significant chances of Metaverse posing an existential threat to Facebook if mainstream customers are entirely turned off from the medium.

There is also evidence of increasing harassment in virtual worlds. While the industry has been working on addressing this issue for a few years, the issue continues to loom and may likely never go away. Therefore, only time will tell if Metaverse will be a boon or a bane for mankind.

Future of Metaverse

Today, we use various social media apps for texting, calling, or even uploading our photos and videos. With Metaverse, this will be taken to another level, in which we can have our own avatars to meet others in chat rooms and experience almost real-life kinds of scenarios.

Meta (Facebook) has announced a $150-million investment focused on immersive learning to train future creators. The company has also launched new tools to aid people in building Metaverse.

Although Metaverse is growing aggressively, according to Mark Zuckerberg, it may take 5-10 years to bring some of the key features of Metaverse into mainstream usage. With Metaverse, we may see ultra-fast broadband speeds, always-on online worlds, and virtual reality headsets accessible by all.

Conclusion

Metaverse is entering our lives so quickly that even those of us who have no interest in the virtual world may soon begin working with it, although unaware. Just as we had to adapt ourselves to video conferencing during the pandemic, we will soon have to enter the world of Metaverse. Therefore, it is beneficial to keep abreast of this new concept and gear up to enter an interactive virtual world.

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