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There’s a lot of information running around about the metaverse on the Internet. Today I’ll share with you my definition of what we call the metaverse, and I tell you that it is my definition since several companies have tried to dilute the original definition of this term in favor of their interests. Mark Zuckerberg (CEO of Meta / Facebook) himself admitted in an interview with the famous investor Gary Vaynerchuck that several companies will compete with their metaverses.
So, there’s more than one metaverse?
Today, a metaverse is basically a network of virtual worlds focused on social interaction. Yes, there are many metaverses, and each one is likewise a network of virtual worlds. These worlds are usually created by users in a private metaverse platform. Within a metaverse, you can work, create businesses, socialize, play games, and much more. Many of them have their own virtual economy. These metaverses, and their worlds are accessed using virtual or augmented reality headsets, computers, and other electronic devices.
Here’s a list of the most relevant metaverse platforms today:
- Spatial is the oven-ready metaverse. It’s very simple but functional. You can create simple worlds like art galleries by using their templates. The best thing about Spatial is that you can access it from your internet browser, VR headset, or mobile phone.
- VRChat is a very popular metaverse. However, as its name says, is mainly used as a chat. Their community is one of the biggest, and they are mainly younger people focused on memes, and making friends.
- Decentraland ($MANA) is basically a virtual chat to buy very expensive NFTs. Is in a very early stage, cartoonish, and its mechanics and design are very uncomfortable.
- The Sandbox ($SAND)offers a gamified experience very similar to Roblox. Is basically a game where you can buy expensive NFTs but in a fun way. Similar to Decentraland, social interactions are very low.
- Second Life ($L [Closed-loop Token]) has been identified as the father of today’s metaverse. It has been active since 2003. Second Life is a very complete, very mature metaverse experience where imagination is the limit. Its community is mainly adult.
- NeosVR ($NCR) is the king of the metaverse. The one I personally prefer since its creators are more focused on better the user experience, and the technology behind it rather than making pompous marketing campaigns to make money. Neos offers an immersive metaverse experience via VR, and is compatible with many sensors like full-body, and face tracking. Is very social, and business-oriented. Their community is big and is formed mainly of professional adults. Neos is the best place to build virtual properties, and make business.
The future of the metaverse
Many believe that the idea of “the metaverse” does not yet exist, that it has just started to get developed, and that the current platforms are only virtual worlds or meta-spaces.
Tony Parisi @auradeluxe, Global Head of AR/VR Ads & E-commerce at Unity Technologies, proposes seven rules for creating a single metaverse that encompasses everything related to it. These rules are:
Rule #1. There is only one Metaverse.
Rule #2: The Metaverse is for everyone.
Rule #3: Nobody controls the Metaverse.
Rule #4: The Metaverse is open.
Rule #5: The Metaverse is hardware-independent.
Rule #6: The Metaverse is a Network.
Rule #7: The Metaverse is the Internet.
Without a doubt, Parisi’s proposal seems to be more excellent than the reality of the metaverse today. However, I see his utopian proposal further and further away due to the competition of large companies such as Meta, Microsoft, Nvidia, and others that seek to dominate this new resource that has been presented to mankind.
The idea of ”The Metaverse” is here to stay and will undoubtedly be something great that will represent new opportunities for everyone no matter what the future of this wonderful technology is.
