From Science Fiction to Technology: The Rise of the Metaverse
The metaverse, which started out as a science fiction concept is envisioned as the successor to today’s Internet. it is an immersive virtual world defined as a network of active virtual environments in which people can interact with each other, tokenize digital objects, and operate as virtual representations or avatars of themselves.
Currently, technology companies such as Facebook have created hype around this space by rebranding as meta, with the aim of leveraging this concept as the main stage for many online activities, including work, play, study, and shopping.
However, it is difficult to think that a single company could build and maintain the new virtual world successor to the current internet. The implications of creating these new worlds involve developing an economy through goods and services that do not yet exist, similar to founding a town in real life.
Bloomberg Intelligence estimates that the market opportunity for the metaverse could reach 800 billion USD by 2024. And this is precisely here where Space strives to generate an established market concept around commerce, known as the Commerce Metaverse.
In Space, users and brands will be able to establish a unique connection through digital interaction by trading tokenized non-fungible (NFTs) goods in a metaverse where human satisfaction is the main scenario.
Science fiction or reality? If the metaverse becomes the successor to the internet, who builds it, and how, is extremely important for the future of the economy and society as a whole. This is the importance of the metaverse as the fundamental axis of our future society.
Key aspects of the metaverse
There are three key aspects of the metaverse: presence, interoperability, and standardization. Presence is the feeling of really being in a virtual space, with other virtual beings.
Decades of research have shown that this sense of incarnation improves the quality of online interactions. That sense of presence is achieved with virtual reality technologies, such as head-mounted displays.
Interoperability means being able to seamlessly travel between virtual spaces with the same virtual assets, such as avatars and digital items. Some decentralized metaverses allow people to create an avatar that they can use in hundreds of virtual worlds.
Meanwhile, blockchain technology through cryptocurrencies and non-fungible tokens facilitate the transfer of digital goods across virtual borders.
Standardization is what enables the interoperability of platforms and services across the metaverse. As with all media technologies — from print to text messaging — common technology standards are essential for widespread adoption. International organizations such as the Open Metaverse Interoperability Group define these standards.
The metaverse term first appeared in Neal Stephenson’s novel Snow Crash, published in 1992 as a 3D online universe that combines multiple virtual spaces and allows users from all over the fictional world to meet, chat, work and play together.
Almost 20 years later, reality seems to be already mixed with the virtual world of this science fiction novel.
In Space, you can span several virtual worlds in a matter of seconds, generating a series of sensory charges through VR hardware that allows you to immerse yourself in this world and “feel” its maximum splendor while buying items online, paying for a concert, or simply going to an online art gallery.
Although the development of the metaverse may be rooted in resignation to reality and the desire to explore the depths of human nature, the development of new realities (such as COVID-19) has accelerated this trend along with the use of disruptive technologies like VR and the blockchain, what 20 years ago was fodder for sci-fi comics in the best Hollywood movie style.
The future is here
Although we are not yet in the era of the “supersonic family,” that popular animated series which allowed us to dream of flying cars and robots everywhere, while the children enjoyed trips and experiences through computers; we are not very far from it becoming a reality.
The latest technological advances of man have put the limits of the imagination to the test: robots that assist people, talking computers that control cars, tests of flying cars; and even more interesting, it is now possible to buy and “try on” a garment, wearables or footwear on a computer (metaverses).
In the blockchain ecosystem, this reality is imminent and contrary to what many think, Facebook is not the embodiment of this concept. All you have to do is navigate to decentralized metaverses like Decentraland or Space to realize that reality and fiction seamlessly intermingle in user-directed harmony from your couch.
Even more interesting, the experience of electronic commerce is proposed to “level up” in these metaverses and many brands glimpse this future when they begin to develop their own virtual stores, fashion shows, or art shows in these metaverses.
At the end of the day, trade has been a primary activity for man since its inception (even before the term barter was coined), and it will continue to be at the end of our days due to the human need to experience the satisfaction generated by the adrenaline rush of being able to commercialize our designs and products.
Some specialists from big technology companies such as Google have predicted that in the next decade we will spend more time in the metaverse than in “real life”, generating a robust economy around these virtual spaces.
Without a doubt, we are developing a technology that is going to revolutionize our lives and of course, the economy of the world as we know it today.
About Space
Space is a 3D virtual world experience, which provides its citizens powerful tools to create content, build businesses, interact collaboratively, and own and monetize these experiences while having true ownership and rights over them.
