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The Metaverse.
Some are calling it the next evolution of the Internet, others say it’s already existed for years.
Going all the way back to when I was a young boy.
I wasn’t pointing a crosshair at these robots and clicking like had always been the case before.
This thing I was seeing I knew it was monumentous.
As I see it, humanity approaches theMetaverse, treading a narrow and harrowing path.
Places where many of humanity’s base freedoms are an illusion.
Where did the word “Metaverse” come from?
The prefix “Meta-” means beyond, and “-verse” refers to the Universe.
Combine them to get the rather fitting term “Metaverse,” meaning “beyond the Universe.”
All things considered, Metaverse feels an appropriately extravagant word for the ideas it represents.
This shiny new buzzword we’re throwing around isn’t actually so new.
It originated in the 1992 Sci-fi novel, Snow Crash.
Snow Crash presents a dystopian, fractured state in a year very near to our own.
The cynic in me almost sees this as a brazen admission.
Like, they’re coming right out and saying, “Yup, we’re done hiding it.
We are untenably unconcerned with the well being of you lowly peasants.
Our hegemony over information will be brutal and unceasing.”
So what is it?
And I’d say that it’s rather difficult to pin down.
The Metaverse exists in this same space at the moment.
Imagine the world inThe MatrixorReady Player One.
Those are two contemporary, and also dystopian (is anyone else noticing a pattern emerge?
), examples of a Metaverse.
Twitch and YouTube allow for viewers to consume content in a live and social way, regardless of location.
The Metaverse wouldn’t just be for gaming, even if most of my examples might indicate otherwise.
What are the core elements of the Metaverse?
Persistent -Possibly the least controversial element in discussions I have found.
There must be no ending to the Metaverse, nor stoppages.
It would just go on in perpetuity.
Like today’s internet, the Metaverse must always be there.
Image credit:Sandro Katalina
Live -The Metaverse should largely take place in real time.
A very solid example of this is the aforementioned live events hosted inFortnite.
This last criterion is one glimmering shard of hope for the Metaverse.
Just like the Internet, no sole proprietor will own the Metaverse.
How do we get there?
The Metaverse won’t be some monolithic piece of sci-fi level tech.
It is an intricate web of slowly developing pieces that will come together into a global conglomerate.
What exactly they have in mind is still shrouded in some mystery.
Meta launched Horizon Worlds at the end of last year.
This project works as a hub to explore user-designed 3D worlds in virtual reality.
Horizon has you open into a miniature hub-world where you could browse through community made content.
Once you find a place to go, you just tap a button and you’re teleported there.
Something like this will be a necessity in a realized Metaverse.
Epic has been very forward that they hope to be on the vanguard of the Metaverse’s creation.
They have used the game as a platform for live digital events for massively popular musical guests.
you’re able to find character crossovers from every place imaginable.
Microsoft is trying to advance remotebusiness solutionsfor the Metaverse with something called Mesh.
Any movement or changes should be visible wherever the viewers are within about a tenth of a second.
It is kind of like the aforementioned Mesh, but for building 3D environments.
By coupling with the tools that people are using today to shape, edit, texture, render etc.
The most amazing tool that I saw automatically animated faces speaking by tying them to a video or script.
Everyone, if they so desire, will be able to leave their own mark on this new world.
Image credit:S R
The Metaverse needs you to exist.
There will be a need for the creative types to fill it with interesting things to do.
We need to be technically oriented to design the necessary infrastructure to support it.
We need people who understand this new technology and how to drive it to its fullest potential.
The creation and operation of a project of this scale will create many, many jobs.
Meta is hiring ten thousand to work on building the Metaverse.
As the Metaverse is embraced by the masses, many people will be untethered physically from their job.
There is something going on in Venezuela that we’ll see more of after the Metaverse becomes accessible.
Image credit:Shubham Dhage
The Metaverse might worsen this social woe, but some say the opposite.
Virtual worlds are thought to be more socially intimate than scrolling through your feed.
The Metaverse will likely require a staggering amount of energy to keep running.
Americans are defrauded out of billions of dollars each year through internet and telephone scam strategies.
A new and endless frontier for exploration waits just over the horizon.
