There are plenty of articles on Web 3.0, NFTs, and the Metaverse. A few of them are accurate, and a few are not. Most of them give a generic picture of sorts and do not say what it means to a particular industry (Read B2C/B2B).
We, at Mattr, are helping clients understand what the jargon means - and how you could probably leverage them as well.
Let's split this topic into three parts since each of the subject themselves are vast
1) What is the Metaverse?
2) What does the Metaverse mean for brands?
3) NFTs, and the world of Web 3.0.
Before moving along, let us be clear about a point here - METAVERSE & WEB 3.0 - are not interchangeable words. They are two different things and may or may not be used in conjunction.
Let's start with Metaverse since it's the most commonly used word in any industry today. It gives the brand an edge over its competition and is considered a future-thinking brand. Most companies want to be in the Metaverse, and why not?
To go beyond the hype, one must understand what it means to their brand, and the possibilities it brings along.
What is Metaverse?
We will start with what it is not.
Metaverse is not a virtual place as described by many. Though a sci-fi writer – Neal Stephenson - coined the term, describing it as a 3D virtual space; little did he know that Metaverse would be more than what he had imagined.
So what is Metaverse?
Rohit Kumar, the co-founder of Mattr, described it as TIME, a period in human evolution. Let's simplify that.
If you see the periodization of human history, it essentially had the Stone, Iron, Bronze, Industrial, and Information ages. The information age started around the 1970s and grew exponentially when Tim Berners-Lee invented World Wide Web (WWW). What the information age did to people was that as it developed, procuring information became more accessible and thus reduced our necessity to interact with others. But this proved to be a problem because we humans are social animals at the core.
To tackle this, we, the people, started mimicking the physical world. So playing basketball with friends became multiplayer online games, meeting friends and family, and sharing thoughts and experiences became social media platforms. With time, these became more realistic with the platforms such as Second Life and Roblox. But still, not everything was digital.
Around the 2000s, the information age grew into the age of Big Data. Big Data led to significant innovations such as connected devices and new-age mobile solutions. This shift offered a considerable boost and ultimately seeded the age of Metaverse.
How so? one may ask. We, humans, have a pattern, and each of us has a unique one too. From the time we wake up, we follow a specific routine. And, with the help of Big Data, we could mimic this information digitally. The more information we collected and collated, the more accurate it grew. Every device or service we use helped us or did the job we were supposed to do.
For example, the alarm wakes us up with the song we like to listen to. The refrigerator and our online retailer alert us to items that need replenishment and fill it out with our consent. Our smart watches inform us how to best use our connected exercise bikes or treadmills, so we can stay healthy and compare our performances with peers. The car plays our favorite playlist when we get in, and a few driver-less vehicles even drive us to our destinations. Today, we don't have to cross time zones to meet clients or colleagues. Video conferencing platforms such as Zoom, or Microsoft Teams help us meet the need to talk face to face.
We are already living in a digital age. We are already in many spaces (read universes) simultaneously without moving an inch.
This is Metaverse, an age where everything is TRULY and IMMERSIVELY connected.
Is that it? No. One may contend! Just like the other ages, the age of Metaverse is evolving.
We weren’t or aren’t entirely digital. But when COVID-19 hit us in 2020, something changed. The quarantined world meant we couldn’t leave our houses. Now, one thing that businesses thrive on when selling a product is the human connection that exists, like a face-to-face physical conversation. Cognition, after all, is important. This pushed us to go Metaphysical.
We have been playing multiplayer online games and living our second lives in those games interacting with friends and strangers alike. And we have been interacting and presenting to our clients and colleagues on video conferencing platforms.
So the question arose: why not merge both of these where we can interact, present, and express? Instead of shopping on an e-commerce platform, why not see, touch, experience, and buy? This thought led to the origin of Virtual Worlds, which was more than just a game. This also led to the rise of the Digital Twin and the rise of Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR).
The rise of Meta-Physical spaces and their elements
During their keynote Facebook Connect, Facebook, aka Meta, revealed their plans to build virtual spaces where people can work and play. This was when the word Metaverse was mentioned, and this idea that most weren’t aware of caught fire.
Virtual spaces, or how we at Mattr call it 'Meta-Physical Space'. Meta-Physical Space can mean one of two things:
It can be an extension of the physical world experienced through internet browsers Firefox or Chrome or VR glasses such as Oculus Quest and Microsoft HoloLens over Virtual Reality technologies. Or it could mean a world where digital space or product is experienced in the real world using Augmented reality (AR) or Mixed reality (MR) technologies.
Avatars
Avatar, i.e., the user in the digital space, can be customized according to how we want to be seen in the digital space. As technology develops and we enter the mainstream Web 3.0 period, our Avatars will become interoperable - we will be able to use the same avatar across any decentralized platform.
(This is explained better in the next part on Web 3.0 and decentralized media platforms)
An obvious question might crop up here. Why Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented reality (AR)?
As we mentioned earlier, humans are social animals. We are replicating our entire physical experiences into digital experiences, and we want to take it as close as possible to the physical journey. For this to happen, technologies such as VR and AR become imperative. After all, these immersive technologies bring digital as close to the natural world.
In the next part, we will discuss what Metaverse means for the brands and if brands should pursue it.
To be continued in Part 02.