Ever since Mark Zuckerberg announced Facebook’s name change to Meta, a lot has been discussed about what the metaverse is. The “next chapter of the Internet”, the virtual world where people will be able to interact and carry out any activity – work, play, shop and have fun – is the latest bet of the tech giants and promises to give new contours to human communication.
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Companies like Microsoft and Roblox are also investing heavily to compete for a slice of this next phase of the global network, in which we will not only see the contents, but within them. In the following lines, the TechAll It lists seven questions and answers about the metaverse, so that you understand what it is and how the virtual world that could dominate the internet in the coming years works.
Metaverso: an ambitious project to build an immersive virtual environment that made Facebook change its name; Understanding – Image: Reproduction / Facebook
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The metaverse is a virtual world where people interact with each other through digital avatars. This world will be created from various technologies, such as virtual reality, augmented reality, social networking, cryptocurrency, and so on.
The idea is that the metaverse is a kind of 3D internet, where communication, fun, and business exist in an immersive, interoperable way. The main difficulty in describing this universe lies in the fact that it does not exist yet – but the tech giants are investing heavily so that this can change in a short time.
Horizon Workrooms creates a complete meeting room to interact and work in virtual reality; The platform is the first step in building a metaverse – Image: Divulgation/Facebook
The term metaverse (metaverse, in English) first appeared in “Snow Crash”, a science fiction book written by Neil Stephenson in 1992. In it, people use the metaverse to escape from a dystopian reality.
It is not new that this and other works of the author have been a source of inspiration for the real world. It is worth noting that Neil Stephenson served as a consultant for Blue Origin, Jeff Bezos’ astronautics company, from its founding until 2006. Currently, the novelist is the “head of futurism” of the virtual reality company Magic Leap.
2. How does the metaverse work and what can you do there?
In the future metaverse, people will be able to reproduce all aspects of life in the virtual world. In a press release marking the announcement of the change from Facebook to Meta, Mark Zuckerberg explained what can be done in the metaverse as follows:
“You’ll be able to do just about anything you can imagine—getting together with friends and family, working, learning, playing, shopping, creating—plus have completely new experiences that don’t really fit with the way we think about computers or phones today.”
A user outside the metaverse may see a contact in the 3D version – Image: Reproduce/Meta
To give specific examples, suppose you have an avatar in the Meta metaverse. This avatar attends a movie session and, upon leaving, buys a book at a newsstand—all approx, of course. The ticket, book, tickets as well as everything else is paid for in cryptocurrency. Later, when you log into Roblox, a friend asks to borrow the digital book, and you give them the favor.
However, it should be noted that this will only be possible if all platforms are compatible with each other. Avatars, Books, Tickets – you’ll all move from Facebook to Roblox to Microsoft Teams to WhatsApp.
WhatsApp concept in the metaverse – Image: clone/meta
By the way, Target Messenger is already on this path. revealed the company’s vice president, Andrew Bosworth, EXCLUSIVELY to TechAll That some kind of 3D WhatsApp is already being developed.
We are very excited to bring WhatsApp into the metaverse. […] It is part of the social fabric of daily life for many people. It would be naive to think that the user would put virtual reality glasses on his head and, upon receiving a message via WhatsApp, would have to remove this giant screen to check information on a different screen, on a smartphone.” Executive.
3. Are the Metaverse and Virtual Reality the same thing?
No. Virtual reality (VR) is the use of a computer system to create virtual environments capable of deceiving human senses – vision, hearing, and touch – in order to allow full immersion in this simulated world.
Technology is an essential part of the metaverse, as it is what will ensure the transition to this other digital world. But virtual reality isn’t everything. Building this vast and integrated universe will depend on many other technologies, including cryptocurrencies and NFTs.
4. What is the relationship between NFTs and the metaverse?
An NFT is a type of blockchain-based token used to prove ownership of digital items. The abbreviation comes from the English “non-fungible token” (“non-fungible token”, in free translation), which is derived from the fact that these tokens certify the uniqueness and originality of virtual objects.
NFTs are currently popular for their use in purchasing virtual art, but that doesn’t mean the technology is limited to this purpose. Non-fungible tokens can be used to give users control over access to different platforms, acting as both a ticket and a transportation key into the metaverse.
NFT is widely used to sell art and collectibles – Image: Reproduction/NBA
It is no coincidence that games based on the blockchain use NFTs so much. One of the many examples is The Sandbox, where players create the world by purchasing non-fungible tokens. With this type of token, users can, for example, sell virtual real estate to other players; In the metaverse, they will be able to carry out this and other types of transactions through the various platforms.
This kind of application has already been implemented in the real world. Admission to NFT.NYC’s 2019 Annual NFT Conference sold tickets based on NFT. Depending on the ticket, the viewer was entitled to attend lectures, get VIP dinners, and even display a personal message on a Times Square billboard. Thus, NFT is seen as one of the main means by which to make the metaverse possible, economically speaking.
5. Is the metaverse a kind of internet? Will it replace the Internet?
First of all, it is necessary to take into account that the metaverse is an early stage project, and everything that is said about it is projections. These guesses do not come out of nowhere. They are made out of the blueprints of the tech giants, the companies that now drive and define what the internet is all about. However, the future of the web is within reach, and what will happen to it over the next decade is uncertain.
For most executives, the metaverse will be a supplement to the existing internet, not a replacement. And it will be accessed not only by virtual reality devices, but will also be present on computers, mobile phones and video game consoles. How well it competes with the mainstream web, however, is always up for debate.
Metaverso will include all aspects of life, from entertainment to work – Image: Divulgation / Facebook
In an interview with Washington PostTim Sweeney, CEO of Epic Games, defined the metaverse as an online playground. “It will be the kind of online playground where users can team up with friends to play a multiplayer game like Fortnite one moment, watch a movie via Netflix the next, and take friends for a test drive in a brand-new car made exactly the same way in the real and virtual worlds.” Suggest.
Zuckerberg argues that the metaverse will go far beyond entertainment. “I think entertainment is going to be a big part of it, but I don’t think it’s just gaming. I think it’s an ongoing, simultaneous environment where we can be together, which I think is maybe kind of like a hybrid between the social platforms that we see today, but an environment where you’re an integral part of it.” of them,” Meta CEO said in an interview with the site the edge.
6. Is Facebook the only company that builds the metaverse?
Changing the name of Facebook to Meta certainly means that this new virtual world is the company’s main goal in the future. Even before the rebranding was officially launched, the company had already announced a $50 investment (about R$277 million, in direct transfer) in the next two years to build the metaverse.
But the metaverse is not a project exclusive to the Meta. Microsoft, for example, announced the arrival of 3D avatars in Teams. The novelty is part of the Mesh feature, which currently provides work environments in virtual reality and augmented reality for Teams, but in the future it will include other productivity tools for the company.
Microsoft Teams will hold virtual meetings in 3D environments; The Windows manufacturer looks into the metaverse – Image: Disclosure/Microsoft
The Sandbox — which defines itself as a platform where creators can monetize voxel assets and gaming experiences on the blockchain — is showing its claim to creating a metaverse right on the homepage. Roblox, Epic Games, Decentraland, Unity, Amazon, and Nvidia are just a few of the other giants investing in this next phase of the Internet, where 5G — or perhaps 6G — connectivity will be indispensable.
7. Will the metaverse really come true?
It is not possible to guarantee that the metaverse will materialize. Many aspects of current technology need to change for this world to become a reality, including ultra-fast internet and low latency. The current 4G allows us to stay connected from anywhere, but it is unable to handle the flow of data from countless augmented reality systems and virtual reality platforms that are being accessed by billions of users simultaneously.
Another challenge is ensuring that companies are effectively building interoperable and compatible platforms. If the big companies offer limitations on the elements and user experiences coming from competitors, the metaverse will not pass as it is currently believed. We will, at most, have several independent metaverses, but we will not have a general virtual experience shared by everyone.
The crucial point, however, are the ethical questions the metaverse brings with it. Facebook itself is constantly involved in privacy scandals – the most famous being Cambridge Analytica, which even affects election campaigns. It is unreasonable to think that the company will be able to guarantee the security of the personal data of its users, especially in the future when it will have much more information.
Roger McNamee, one of the social network’s early investors who is now a vocal critic of Facebook, said in an interview with the BBC that “Facebook should have lost the right to make its own choices. They do. The amount of damage they’ve done is incalculable.”