Why do we need the Metaverse ?
A critical answer to the question everyone is asking.
I have been taking a deep interest into the Metaverse build-up and am actively a strategist for one such aspect of the upcoming metaverse economy. I recently attended a global conference hosting all the stalwarts and major brands from Sandbox to Somnium Space and Cathy Hackl to Sean Mann. And while the conference was definitely informative and an eye-opener in multiple aspects but the one unanswered question that just hung around in thin air was — “ Why do we need the Metaverse? What problem is it solving for us?” And believe me — no one gave a promising answer to that.
So I dug deeper and here are three key takeaways which will partially resolve this dilemma:
1. Technology and connectedness
With internet ( in late 90s) and social media ( in 2000s) we made tremendous leap in connectivity, communication and technology innovation. The world shrunk- you could connect with near and dear ones or with business empires or even with governments by just an e-mail, a WhatsApp text or a tweet.
We started spending more and more time on our devices- laptops, tablets, smartphones ;whether for leisure, study or work. The world essentially became two lives — one in the physical setting ( offline) and one online. We started valuing both these lives- I love spending time with my family offline but post and share this time in my Instagram story for my online world to see. Social connectedness became a regular part of life. Web 1.0 and 2.0 gave us this gift : enhanced communication and connectivity.
And would this not be even better if the space barrier could be removed — if I could go into the Zara store and shop while physically being inside my house, or brainstorm with my colleagues in the company office while working from home or go for a dinner date with a person in another city while sitting inside my home? Web 3.0 bring this in — enhancing connectedness by reducing time and space barrier.
Now when you think of this wasn't it inevitable that after communication, the space and distance barrier had to come down? Web 3.0 and metaverse economy do just that. They usher in this inevitable.
How will this happen? Through the use of new world technologies like AR/VR gears and other wearable devices to help our digital avatars move seamlessly from one space to the other in the metaverse as per our desires. The aim- to help us build better relationships, help us experience much more than we can in our immediate physical surroundings alone.
2. Decentralization and transparency
Web 1.0 and 2.0 ushered in digital commerce and a medium for everyone to jump in and contribute- create, sell, trade or buy. With time emerged major dominant players with their highly advanced interfaces and algorithms that dominated this space- Google, Facebook, Amazon and a few more. No judgements here, they did give us a lot of defining environments from search engines to social media to e-commerce. But as time advanced, major issues cropped up ranging from data storage, privacy to market monopoly attempts and algorithmic controls unfavorable for smaller players.
The Metaverse which is seen as an extension of the internet of today — is aiming to build a universe on blockchain which will be more decentralized and showcase higher transparency. This is a problem that will be resolved if things are done right. This by all means should be the defining feature of the metaverse build-up. Whether a “Decentralized Metaverse” will exist or not that time will tell but definitely with an on-chain technology as backbone, transparency will be higher than it is today!
3. Gen Z socio-cultural-economic shift
Gen Z — those born between 1996- 2012, today aged between 9 years to 25 years, is a generation born in the times of Web 1.0 and 2.0 — the Internet Gen, the Social Media kids, our first “Digital natives” . They have not seen the world prior to Google, Facebook and Amazon- so it goes without saying that they will build upon what they have seen, they will improve upon this and create new from here.
The Gen Z is highly community focused and has shown a higher propensity to interact and participate in community interactions online than either of their predecessor generational cohorts. Community behaviour is a hallmark of the metaverse as in the current envisioned form.
They are tech-savvy, expressive of their point of view, focused on inclusiveness and co-creation for sustainability — all things “Metaverse”…IFYYK.
While this discussion may raise more questions but will hopefully provide answers to you on why we are ushering in this new Metaverse Era.
An inevitable transition!
A consequence !
The aim then should be just to make this transition healthy, safe and a beautiful one for humanity.
