Every now and then there are hyped terms, metaverse, almost invariably related to technology that bursts through pop culture and takes over the social sphere. It becomes a hot topic of discussion and great interest – and, unfortunately, a great deal of confusion. Metaverse is a prime example of such hot topics that swept the world in recent years.
Everyone was rushing to be part of the so-called metaverse. Maybe buying land or some other form of property. Or inventing different forms of services based around metaverse, such as metaverse real estate agencies, metaverse gaming, metaverse video conferencing, and even metaverse weddings and marriage ceremonies!
We witnessed all of these in a rather short span of time when metaverse became such a hot topic. But today, we want to clear some of this confusion and delve right into the heart of this concept.
You should read: Mental errors in trading that can destroy your capital
What exactly is the metaverse?
The metaverse can be defined in so many different ways and with varying degrees of terminology. Perhaps it is best to describe the metaverse through example.
Consider the internet. A technology that has become part of everyday life and we use it without even thinking about it. It has allowed the establishment of the world wide web on top of itself and has made it possible for us to communicate with each other, video chat, watch movies, read text, shop, play games, and many other things. The metaverse is all that but 3D!
This is of course an overly simplified explanation. But at the same time, it is exactly what the metaverse is. Metaverse is a virtual space, built on top of the internet just like any other website or platform that allows for virtual presence.
Now, through this virtual presence, which takes many different forms to be discussed later on, many things can become possible such as buying and selling almost any item as well as interactions that themselves take many forms as well.
This is why many believe metaverse is exactly what the next version of our current world wide web would be – i.e. web 3.0 – which will include spatial computation and calculation in order to be able to render the virtual world of the metaverse as opposed to our 2D world of web that we have right now.
So metaverse is a huge, theoretically infinite, online and virtual world where people can interact with each other in real time and engage in many different activities. They can engage in online games with each other, hold meetings, buy and sell products, socialize, work, study, etc. The possibilities are, indeed, infinite.
If you are a gamer, then there have been many versions of a virtual reality gaming platform where you would assume the role of a character and meander about in that virtual world building stuff and interacting with NPCs. The difference is that, in any given metaverse, the people you interact with are no longer NPCs, they are people!
You should read: What is behavioral finance and how can traders’ behavior be analyzed?
How does the metaverse function?
The functioning of a metaverse largely depends on the platform or company that has developed that metaverse. As a result it might be developed with the help of various graphic and even gaming engines in order to render the visual aspect of the world.
At the heart of it, a metaverse would function just like any other website, with a registered domain and a host for its server space. But it can also be built around the Blockchain technology, where we would have a decentralized manner of data storage as opposed to the conventional manner which is centralized.
The details of how a metaverse functions will also depend on the company that develops it. For instance the following are the most famous metaverse platforms that are currently available and each one offers a unique graphical representation of its metaverse than the other:
- Roblox
- Axie Infinity
- Sandbox
- Decentraland
- Horizon Worlds
There are of course many other examples. But these are just a few of the metaverse worlds that have garnered a lot of attention in recent years.
You should read: Trading Mindset; How to Have a Trader’s Mind
How can the metaverse be accessed and used?
Most of the metaverse platforms that we have today are naturally built upon the technologies of the web 2.0 that we currently have. This means such virtual reality worlds can be accessed merely by having access to the internet. You can connect to the internet with any electronic device and then gain access to these metaverse platforms.
However, there are more advanced forms of the metaverse worlds, such as the one famously used by Mark Zuckerberg in his infamous attempts to popularize his metaverse!
These, more advanced, forms of metaverse require more advanced gadgets as well. So for instance, you might need to have virtual reality gadgets that allow you to see the three dimensional world of the metaverse. This includes, for instance, VR goggles which have gained in popularity quite a lot in recent years.
In addition, if we are talking in terms of more advanced metaverse worlds, then augmented reality tools and gadgets might also be required. Shortly referred to as AR, augmented reality encompasses futuristic approaches to creating a virtual reality that is quite extensive and covers most of all the needs of any human being from the safety of their own room. So depending on how advanced the metaverse is, you can access it by simply connecting to the internet all the way to VR and AR devices and gadgets.
Conclusion
Metaverse can be defined as the next version of our world wide web but with 3D and spatial calculation capabilities. In this way the World Wide Web becomes an actual world in the technical sense of the world wherein you would be able to roam around and interact with different people in a virtual world.
