Think of the metaverse as online spaces where people can socialize, work and play as avatars. Those spaces are shared and always available and unlike a zoom call, they don’t disappear when you’ve finished using them. You can only enter the virtual world by creating your avatar and wearing a headset or AR glasses
The metaverse is only made possible by the internet which is a massive computer network that has revolutionized communication and changed the world forever.
One of the products of the internet is the World Wide Web, the primary tool used by billions of people to share, read, and write information to interact with other people via the internet. World Wide Web made much progress since its advent, beginning from web 1.0 to 2.0 and to web 3.0.
The first version of web Web 1.0 also referred to as Syntactic web or read-only web was the era (1990–2000) where the role of a user is limited to reading information provided by the content producers.
Web 2.0 also referred to as Social Web or read-write web was the era (2000–2010 and continues even now) which facilitates interaction between web users and sites which inturn allows users to communicate with other users, birthing the likes of Facebook, Youtube, Flickr, Twitter etc.
Web 3.0 also referred as Semantic Web or read-write-execute is the era (2010 and above) which refers to the future of the web. In this era, computers can interpret information like humans via Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning which helps to intelligently generate and distribute useful content tailored to a particular need of a user. Examples are Apple’s Siri, and Google’s Cloud robots among others.
Metaverse is the next evolution!
While web3.0 focuses on making the internet more intelligent, and easily accessible, the metaverse is said to be like a virtual environment.
Companies, artists and sports superstars are investing heavily in the metaverse. Even governments may extend their reach into the metaverse. For example, while most countries have a relatively static presence on the internet, Barbados plans to open a diplomatic embassy in the metaverse — specifically, the online world Decentraland.
How do NFTs fit into the metaverse?
Nonfungible tokens (NFTs) figure to play a big role in the usefulness and popularity of the metaverse. NFTs are a secure type of digital asset based on the same blockchain technology used by cryptocurrency. Instead of hard currency, an NFT can represent a piece of art, a song or digital real estate. An NFT gives the owner a kind of digital deed or proof of ownership that can be bought or sold in the metaverse.
Metaverse Properties bills itself as the world’s first virtual real estate company. The company acts as an agent to facilitate the purchase or rental of property or land in several metaverse virtual worlds — including Decentraland, Sandbox, Somnium and Upland. Offerings include conference and commercial spaces, art galleries, family homes and “hangout spots.”
What kind of equipment do I need to enter the metaverse?
That depends on where you want to go. Facebook wants you to buy one of its Oculus Quest 2 VR headsets. That will cost $300, although the hardware is self-contained and doesn’t require a PC or game console to use. There are also a number of other VR headset makers: Valve, HTC, HP and Sony, whose gear works with PCs or a PlayStation 4/5. Expect more headsets, some of which might start connecting with phones, by the end of the year.
They say it’s the future and we need to be ready for it. Are you?
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