Lally’s Guide to: Bringing the Metaverse to Life — COM-B, My Secret Strategy

I don’t know how I got here — my career trajectory probably isn’t what you’d call ‘textbook’, and I find myself bemused by the unexpected twists my professional journey has taken.

With a background in health, I regularly watched and listened to the self-sabotage of human behaviour. Analysing doughnut eating might seem a far cry from the adoption of the metaverse, but I do know that each and every one of these conversations taught me valuable lessons in understanding what actually made a difference.

I supported many people at both an individual and community level on the edge of change, towards the goals of ditching bad habits for new, healthier ones. "Trade that XXX for a XXX" Would have “fixed” them all. "Swap that XXX snack for XXX." Simple, right? But as we know, simplicity can be deceptive. People are complex, and the act of giving up a habit you love for a long-term benefit isn’t straightforward. So, enter the COM-B model, my personal go-to in the world of shifting ambivalence into action.

Now that my focus has moved away from health and into the digital world and emerging metaverse, I find this model more relevant than ever. The metaverse, much like those health behaviours, is rife with misconceptions, skepticism and resistance. It gets dismissed as a fleeting trend, and its vast potential is often misunderstood.

Many view it with apprehension, too complex or alien to grasp. Such perceptions, often fuelled by negative press, pose a significant barrier and create a challenge for businesses eager to tap into the exciting potential the metaverse offers.

Much like nudging someone to pick a salad over a burger, getting people to understand the metaverse isn’t just about saying how great it is. It’s understanding their needs, barriers, and motivations — It’s empathy in tech form. Just as the COM-B approach can help us to make healthier choices, it can also be applied to successfully introducing the metaverse to the masses, helping both businesses and individuals to understand, adapt, and thrive in this emerging opportunity.

What is the COM-B Theory?

At its core, the theory is that for a behaviour to occur, three essential components must align: Capability, Opportunity, and Motivation.

COM-B is a central part of the Behaviour Change Wheel, a tool designed by Prof. Susan Michie & colleagues to help researchers and practitioners understand and influence human behaviour in order to develop effective behaviour change interventions.

• Capability refers to an individual’s physical and psychological ability to engage in the activity. It’s about having the necessary knowledge and skills.
• Opportunity is ensuring all the external factors that make the behaviour possible (or prompt it). This includes the environment, resources, and societal influences.
• Motivation is the internal drive that fuels our behaviour. It can be reflective, based on conscious decisions and evaluations, or automatic, driven by emotions and impulses.

By understanding and addressing these three components, the COM-B theory provides a framework to facilitate change. Whether promoting healthier habits, driving organisational change, or understanding consumer choices, COM-B offers a framework to design effective interventions for change.

Challenging the Status Quo and applying COM-B to Metaverse adoption:

I think it is possible that we’ve been too focused on one aspect of changing people’s attitude to metaverse, forcing the hype of “This is the future! You should be excited!” and neglecting to address other, crucial considerations.

The metaverse, with its endless possibilities, stands at the forefront of technological evolution. Yet, its adoption is far from what we might expect this far in. Traditional methods of promoting new technologies usually focus on showcasing features or hyping up futuristic visions. But when it comes to the metaverse, I’m not sure this one-dimensional approach is sufficient. Remember when buying virtual land sounded as absurd as buying air? Well we have moved on a little since then, but really getting integration, trust, engagement and a shift towards real adoption is going to take more than telling people they should embrace it.

Honestly, I used to think swapping a chocolate bar for a carrot was a hard sell, but now I’m convincing people to swap reality for… well, another reality.

So what to do?

Instead of merely highlighting the ‘wow’ factor of the metaverse, COM-B compels us to consider and tweak those underlying factors that really drive or inhibit adoption: Capability, Opportunity, and Motivation.

Here is how I might approach applying the theory to the metaverse challenge:

Capability

Do individuals have the understanding, skills and technical knowledge needed to navigate the metaverse? The creation of educational initiatives could bridge this gap and demystify the metaverse for the uninitiated. Promotion could be geared more towards a basic understanding of metaverse interfaces and controls and focus on digital literacy.

Equipment Availability: Access to necessary hardware like VR headsets and high-performance computers is not something most people are easily able to afford. Where there is a way of using the metaverse that doesn’t require high-tech, high-cost equipment, then getting that message out there would help with this.

Software Accessibility: User-friendly platforms with easy steps to learning. Are we unnecessarily gate-keeping our own potential market out by over-specialising the equipment/software requirements described

Physical Limitations: Availability of adaptive technologies for those with disabilities. Considerations for health concerns like motion sickness.

Cultural and Language Barriers: Multilingual content and sensitivity to cultural nuances.

Safety and Privacy: Addressing privacy implications and strategies to safeguard personal information.

Connectivity: Does our desired market have reliable, high-speed internet access?

Time Commitment: Do people have the time to explore and learn about the metaverse?

By addressing these examples of Capability, we can broaden accessibility and likelihood of people trying the metaverse.

Opportunity

Platform Availability: Develop a wide range of metaverse platforms that cater to different interests and demographics. This includes investment in developers that encourage innovation and idea creation.

Collaborations: Partnerships with well-known brands, tech companies, educational institutions, and influencers to promote metaverse engagement.

Cost: Affordable entry points, including free trials or low-cost options for metaverse experiences.

Community Building: Social opportunity means the creation of virtual communities, forums, or groups where users can share experiences and learn from each other.

Events and Promotions: Hosting virtual and real-life events, workshops, or promotions to attract and engage new users.

Regulatory Environment: Builders need supportive policies and regulations that encourage metaverse exploration without complicated restrictions, actively working with regulatory bodies to be part of the creation of these is key to removing barriers

Infrastructure: The development of digital infrastructure, like faster internet speeds and public VR hubs, to support metaverse activities will mean people are able to use the tech frustration-free.

Cultural Integration: Incorporating familiar cultural elements, landmarks, or experiences within the metaverse can make it more relatable.

Focusing on these Opportunity elements would help create an environment that actively enables exploration and immersion in the metaverse.

Motivation

Intrinsic Rewards: e.g.Personal fulfilment, curiosity, the joy of exploration of or learning about the metaverse.

Extrinsic Rewards: Incentives like virtual currency, exclusive content, or status symbols for active participation.

Social Connections: Building and strengthening relationships, networking, and joining virtual communities with shared interests.

Educational & Professional Opportunities: Using the metaverse for learning, training, or career improvement opportunities.

Entertainment Value: Fun! Engaging in games, virtual concerts, or immersive experiences unique to the metaverse.

Personal Expression: The metaverse can give opportunities to create, customise, monetise and showcase virtual identities or creations. Strong Brand flexing opportunities.

Safety & Security: Assurance that your virtual presence and data are secure/private, enhancing the motivation to participate.

Future Potential: Belief in the long-term value and growth of the metaverse, motivating investment of time and resources.

Cultural and personal relevance: Making it personal to individuals. Content and experiences that resonate with users’ cultural backgrounds or personal narratives. “Is it for me?”

Understanding and tapping into these motivational drivers, will give a much deeper and more sustained engagement with the metaverse, reducing the possibility of just a fleeting trend but creating a lasting evolution in digital interaction.

So what do we need to do here, and why?

I want to emphasise my reason for writing this article — I feel strongly that where Web 3 and metaverse are concerned we are still so early in its introduction, and that we can make a difference now, transforming ambivalence and negativity into Adoption through applying COM-B to our business strategies.

If we are to gain widespread acceptance, we need to learn from our experience, go beyond surface-level fascination, and address the deeper factors that determine whether an innovation like the metaverse is a hit or miss.

The COM-B model offers a holistic perspective, prompting us to look at Capability, Opportunity, and Motivation as integral pillars that support any change or adoption process.

Strategically addressing each of these components can help us create an ecosystem that encourages everyone to embrace the metaverse. It’s not just about getting people onboarded. It’s about sustaining that interest and ensuring they see the real, tangible benefits of their engagement.

By using the COM-B framework as a guide, we can work collaboratively to ensure that the metaverse evolves into a space of inclusivity, opportunity, and innovation.

Let’s not just introduce people to the metaverse; let’s help them thrive in it.