Could the Metaverse Become a Successor to the Internet? Here's How It Might Turn Out

Urian B., Tech Times 24 September 2021, 12:09 am

The metaverse is reportedly a concept that sits well with science fiction, with a lot of people in the tech industry actually envisioning it as the internet's successor. Companies just like Facebook are now aiming to make it the actual setting for online activities like play, work, studying, and shopping.

Sci Fi Novelist Coins Metaverse

According to the story by the Big Think, the metaverse was first coined by Neal Stephenson, a sci-fi novelist, in his novel called Snow Crash back in 1992. This was to describe the virtual world where the protagonist shops, socializes and fights against real-world enemies through the use of an avatar.

The three key aspects of the metaverse are reportedly presence, interoperability, and even standardization. Research spreading through the decades shows that a sense of embodiment actually improves the quality of certain online interactions.

How Blockchain and NFTs Could Help Facilitate the Metaverse

Presence can be achieved through virtual technology. Interoperability means users being able to travel between virtual spaces having the same virtual assets like avatars and digital items. Blockchain technologies like cryptocurrencies and NFTs can actually facilitate the transfer of digital goods through virtual borders.

Standardization is reportedly what allows the inoperability of platforms and services stretched through the metaverse. The Open Metaverse Interoperability Group is giving a definition to these standards. KuCoin reportedly expects a fully usable metaverse to be available in the next five to seven years.

Facebook in the Metaverse Space

The article notes that should the metaverse become the internet's successor, who and how it is built is extremely important to the future of society as a whole and economics. Facebook is reportedly aiming to score the leading role when it comes to shaping the metaverse. Epic Games "Metaverse" gets a $200M funding from Sony, completing their $1 billion funding target.

Part of this is by investing heavily in virtual reality. Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook CEO, gave an explanation in an interview about his view when it comes to the metaverse. It reportedly spans non-immersive platforms just like social media as well as immersive 3D media technologies just like virtual reality, and that it will reportedly be for work and play.

Metaverse in Hollywood

The metaverse has been embraced countless times in Hollywood in movies like Ready Player One. The metaverse could reportedly resemble the movie Ready Player One. Until then, however, games like Fortnite and Roblox, VR social media platforms like AltspaceVR and VRChat, and even virtual work environments just like Immersed can be used to get a feel of what the immersive and connected metaverse experience could be like.

As these supposedly siloed spaces converge and even become quite increasingly interoperable, it is important to watch for a truly singular metaverse to someday potentially emerge. The article was reportedly republished from The Conversation. Check out the original article.

The article also references Associate Professor of Media and Information Rabindra Ratan from Michigan State University and Doctoral student in Media and Information Yiming Lei.

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Written by Urian B.