Guide to Understanding the Metaverse for Beginners
What is the Metaverse?
Simply put, the metaverse is the internet-breaking away from its two-dimensional boundaries.
If we consider the internet to be something we look at, the metaverse is a version of the internet that we may experience as an avatar or a virtual representation of ourselves in 3D. It’s a spatial construct that is immersive as opposed to the current 2D web on a desktop or mobile.
We could eventually develop a fully-fledged multi-trillion-dollar economy in the metaverse. Not only an economy of digital products and entertainment but also services in an immersive environment with designers, stylists, or even psychologists.
Imagine a virtual world where billions of people live, work, shop, learn, and interact with each other — all from the comfort of their couches in the physical world.
How Does the Metaverse Work?
You can envision the Metaverse as a visually represented internet. But here’s the best part. You can enter the Metaverse instead of just looking at it.
The Metaverse leverages various technologies such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), blockchain, and others to create a seamless and immersive user experience. In addition, devices like VR headsets and AR glasses project the Metaverse around you.
Pros of Metaverse
Let’s quickly take a look at some of the pros Metaverse offers:
1. Negates physical distance and enhances social interaction.
When you are in the Metaverse, your geographic location becomes irrelevant. The Metaverse allows you to connect with people from across the globe in a super interactive and immersive way. Unlike social media platforms, where you can only hear and see someone, Metaverse allows you to engage with your friends in activities such as gaming, shopping, and attending events together through your avatar.
2. Promotes new business opportunities.
The Metaverse can create new business opportunities, allowing companies to advertise and sell virtual goods and services. You can see the products and even feel them using haptic technology.
3. Enhances education and training.
Metaverse will further improve the current online education. With the Metaverse, quality education will be accessible to everyone, irrespective of their physical location. People worldwide can teach and learn together in real-time, just like in a physical classroom.
4. Enables immersive gaming experience.
The Metaverse can create highly immersive gaming environments that allow the players to get fully engrossed in the game. It provides detailed and realistic environments where gamers feel they are interacting with other players physically.
5. Fosters innovation.
The Metaverse can foster innovation because creating immersive and interactive environments will require new technologies. This will encourage innovation in areas like game development, content creation, marketing, and more.
Now let’s return to point 2 in more detail, namely:
Top Benefits for Business
Discover opportunities for virtual events.
Organizing a conference or a live show that can be attended in person and virtually is not new. Many people cannot travel to listen to a professional conference or a lecture, but it is no reason not to gain more knowledge. Alternatively to a simple Zoom or Google Meet stream, a conference in the metaverse can be not just another video in a little window and comments under it but a full-fledged VR experience with proper networking and participation opportunities.
A live show of a favorite artist might not be as impressive on a video stream. VR and the metaverse can make this experience more immersive and give the viewers a better feeling of presence.
Showcase and sell your products.
Many brands are already actively using AR to let their customers try on clothes or glasses, see how new furniture would fit in their room, or get a virtual makeover with a new hairstyle or makeup. The same experiences, but better, will be possible in the metaverse.
With an opportunity to rent or buy commercial spaces, you can set up stores and showrooms where users can check out your products in the metaverse. Even today, digital fashion is having a moment: users are actively buying virtual clothing and accessories, not to mention the separate gaming world. Imagine what will happen with the development of the metaverse.
Introduce innovative forms of advertising.
Metaverse to introduce new approaches to brand storytelling and advertising in general. Storytelling is one of the most compelling approaches to building your brand identity and awareness.
People like stories; they tell more about the company and its values than plain slogans. Imagine how immersive and fascinating can your brand storytelling be with VR and other technologies in the metaverse.
Storytelling will gradually transform into “storyliving,” meaning that the users won’t be passive listeners anymore but active participants or even characters making choices and influencing the events.
Establish better process building and team collaboration.
We all have accepted the new reality of online meetings and remote teamwork. While being forced on us, these approaches were no less effective than a face-to-face office environment.
The metaverse can be a way to enhance work processes even more. Meetings won’t feel like Zoom calls but rather as a group of people sitting in one room.
Benefit from easier transactions with e-wallets and cryptocurrency.
The digital world requires digital money, just like you need to get unique “Disney currency” in the amusement park.
Cryptocurrency makes every transaction online easier for users and businesses — no need to link your banking account with virtual worlds, payments take a few clicks, and all transactions are transparent.
Big Offline Businesses in Metaverses
Samsung: Tech giant Samsung has opened a virtual version of its flagship 837 store in New York City, but now you can visit it inside Decentraland.
Coca-Cola: Organized a virtual party on top of its virtual building. Visitors could win scarce wearable devices.
Adidas: Adidas has not only acquired land in the virtual world of The Sandbox but has also launched an NFT collection in collaboration with Punks Comics, Gmoney and Bored Ape Yacht Club.
Domino’s: Enthusiastic developers invented and allowed US citizens to order pizza. The entire ordering process took place from the virtual world of Decentraland.
Under Armour: The Genesis Curry Flow NFT collection is the first wearable, cross-platform sneaker NFT, according to Under Armour. The virtual kicks can be worn across three metaverses — Decentraland, The Sandbox and Gala Games (in various pixel styles).
JPMorgan: the first central bank to open a representative office in the metaverse.
McDonald’s: has revealed ambitions to provide meal delivery services inside the metaverse by filing trademark applications.
And many others.
So, still not sure if your business needs a metaverse?
Cuberium is always open for your business and ready for bold decisions 👾