Today, we begin to understand why people are eager to embrace an alternative reality -- a way to reboot and rejuvenate. That is part of the appeal of virtual worlds: where power can be reversed, trouble can disappear and capitalist inequality can be forgotten; It's an exciting, malleable, meaningful place.
It's no surprise, then, that virtual worlds such as Fortnite and Roblox have recently attracted close to 400 million users and games such as Decentraland and Sandbox have grown rapidly. It is estimated that the market for these online games will soon be worth one trillion dollars. Facebook changed its name to Meta, signaling its belief in the virtual future. Microsoft is also working on an online office that allows users to log in with their online accounts. Fashion and luxury brands, from Nike to Gucci, have begun to create clothing and accessories for characters in the meta-universe. Jp Morgan and Samsung have also opened virtual stores on Decentraland. In Roblox, players can run their own Forever21 clothing stores and even sell their own designs from the stores. Many companies are making big bets on the metasverse, although most people still don't quite understand what it is.
Three new books may shed some light.
"Navigating the Metaverse" by Cathy Hackl, Dirk Lueth and Tommaso Di Bartolo;
"The Metaverse Handbook" by QuHarrison Terry and Scott Keeney;
And Mark van Rijmenam's "Step into the Metaverse," which bills itself as a Lonely Planet hitchhiker's guide to the digital frontier.
While there is no unified definition of the metasurses, there are some basic principles: there are actually many decentralized metasurses or digital Spaces that incorporate augmented and virtual reality, stored information on blockchains, and allow users to own their own digital goods. Thus, like the concept of "Internet", "metasomes" refer to a vast network of websites and Spaces.
What the metasomes offer, in effect, is a new way to get online, as well as new markets and goods. In the book, Haeckel, Luth, and Di Bartolo argue that the meta-universe represents three paradigm shifts:
1. Experience: People don't just want to spend. Gamified immersive situational experiences are more engaging. 2. Identity: People value their digital personas and want them to be used consistently in the metasemes and even in the real world. 3. Ownership: Wherever people choose to spend their time, they want to be involved.
Ultimately, in other words, it's about having the same digital identity on the blockchain: the same identity when you log into your work account or enter the game world at night. It will contain the lock key, the NFT you have purchased for your virtual home on Decentraland, and all your important data. In the meta-universe, you are not so much a user as a member of the constituent meta-universe.
It opens up a whole new world. Teri and Keeney point to Roblox as an example of what the future looks like. In Roblox, players can design games and Spaces and come together for events in a way that is not possible on social media sites. Mr. Keeney (also known as DJ Skee) teamed up with Paris Hilton to create "Paris World" on Roblox, hosting a New Year's celebration that drew more people than a New Year's Eve concert in Times Square. "It's the future of parties." "She told this article.
One of the most striking things about the metaverse and its good friend, Web3.0, is the emphasis on ownership. In the meta-universe, users can participate in almost everything; They can vote on which communities to join, which apps to use, make and sell NFT, and even get paid to play games in decentralized apps (dApps) that run on peer-to-peer networks rather than servers. User ownership is a real revolution because new economies can be created. Von Rickemonem believes that the ideal metasverse would free users up to work in groups on Roblox and then move on to Fortnite. In this scenario, users can monetize, sell, lease or even borrow their digital assets.
It also seems to reflect that users are losing out on the old web, giving away their data to search engines and social media platforms for free, and now they or the architects of the new web are rewriting the rules. "Games become labor that can produce assets of exchangeable value in the dApp and even more broadly in the meta-universe." Haeckel, Luce and Di Bartolo wrote. It's like creating monsters in Axie Infinity to sell to other players, or replacing coins with monsters; Freelance on Decentraland, be a brand ambassador, sell digital artwork or character gear. The reward of online life has shifted from dopamine-driven likes to real, robust encryption.
It all sounds exciting, because there is so much unmet demand for traditional networks. Ad-based models turn user information into a commodity; A few giants wield too much power to regulate; The relentless pursuit of engagement has led to the proliferation of controversial content, conspiracy theories and keyboard scams. All of which makes spending time on social media seem like a bad habit: Twitter, for example, is like a cigarette you can't kick. It is also good news that there is an alternative to breaking this stubborn force and revitalising the web.
Yet I can't help thinking about the dystopian side of this future. Work has not become play, but play has become work. Rather than offering digital liberation and ownership, the metasomes come with more responsibility and no promotion. Do I want to tie everything I do in my spare time, all my hobbies and relationships to my online identity? Do I want to turn my leisure activities into a small business? Even more, do I want to spend more time online? Or did my colorful online life replace my unremarkable life in the real world?
That's exactly what protagonists in books, TV shows and movies are trying to escape from their virtual reality woes, starting with The 1992 science fiction novel "Snow Crash," by Neal Stephenson. From Metaverse) to the Netflix series Black Mirror.
Is the metadverse our future? Companies like Meta and Microsoft seem to think the answer is yes. But the virtual world they create is still not a purely open ideal world. The excitement, the money and the motivation are surely driving us towards a new digital reality.
Either way, it reflects the desire of the user community, whether it's entrepreneurship, escape, or convenience. Dystopia is one risk, and disappointment another: will the metasomes we aspire to turn out to be just online shopping malls?