On October 28, 2018, Facebook’s Chief Executive Officer, Mark Zuckerberg announced the coming of Facebook’s Meta, or what we know as the Metaverse during the virtual Facebook Connect event. In this event, he regarded this latest development as the internet of the internet that would bring ultra reality to the doorstep of users.
Of course, this sparked a lot of controversies as experts waged on the feasibility of the Metaverse in today’s world. Others believed it to be another stunt for the billionaire to add more resources to his basket while some believed it to be a life-changing development everyone should embrace. But what is this Metaverse and what should be aware of it?
What is the Metaverse?
The Metaverse is an expanse of land in the virtual world that allows users to engage in various activities; it is a replica of the physical world where activities and buildings can be reenacted perfectly. It’s no doubt Facebook’s announcement brought the Metaverse to the limelight, the Metaverse is more than one brand of merchandise.
It is a collection of several digital worlds where other Metaverse users can interact with you and perform several activities like shopping, going on a vacation, clubbing, and even attending the restaurant of your choice. This 3D virtual world has no geographical limitation making it perfect for small and big corporations whose growth is limited by land barriers.
Possibilities of the Metaverse
Since the Metaverse is a collation of different independent corporations that allows for easy interaction and provides people with the facilities to build their imagination, anything is possible. The Metaverse is so immersive that you cannot tell the difference between real and virtual.
It also offers millions of job opportunities to the average human as you can now sit comfortably in your home and attend meetings, watch your favorite football game, go club, experience a vacation to the Maldives, and also earn a lot of money while doing all these.
The possibility of the Metaverse extends to digital creators and artists as it serves as an empty canvas where anything of their choice can be developed for themselves and others.
Earning on the Metaverse
There are several ways one can earn on the Metaverse; they include;
- Buying Virtual Lands on the Metaverse
Buying virtual land with hopes of a price increase in the future is an investment strategy thousands of investors use. Since the potential of virtual lands has barely scratched the surface, investors are buying down these lands in strategic places on the Metaverse with hopes that it rises when certain development begins to appear. Once this happens, the land is then sold for double or even triple its original price, fetching more money.
- Play2Earn
The Metaverse has inbuilt blockchain games that allow users to play to earn their utility tokens; like the Sandbox which has thousands of games that require users to complete certain tasks, pass difficulties, or complete quests before they are awarded the SAND token.
- Work
There is an increase in the number of job opportunities from big corporations in the Metaverse. From attending meetings to testing out new developments, organizations are in great need of people to help them perform several tasks. People can take this opportunity to earn as high as $50,000 to work from the comfort of their homes.
- Build on the Metaverse
Since the Metaverse is a space in need of development, digital creators are required to help businesses build their offices on the Metaverse. Digital creatives with digital plots on the Metaverse can stand a chance to develop their land and sell it off to bigger corporations for a higher amount.
Is the world ready for the Metaverse?
Lately, every tech news outlet has major news about big corporations expanding their operations to the Metaverse, proving its immense adoption. However, some barriers limit its use in the real world.
To gain entry into the Metaverse, users are required to own VR and AR gadgets that will help them connect to their virtual world. These gadgets range from Facebook’s Oculus which may offer non-immersive, semi-immersive, and fully-immersive experiences. However, despite their availability, the price of these gadgets limits their purchasing power. An average VR set costs $500 to $3000, which is oftentimes not affordable for the average individual.
Asides from the expensive nature of the gadgets, there is a need to have access to fast internet connectivity to fully enjoy the virtual experience. Whereas, fast internet is an inaccessible commodity to millions of people, especially to individuals living in their world countries.
During the first few months of the official use of the Metaverse, several cases of harassment and security breach have been reported by the users. Women have claimed to be virtually assaulted while hundreds of individuals have claimed their information has been illegally accessed.
Although the idea of having a virtual world accessible to everybody is stellar, the Metaverse can unconsciously blur the line between the real and virtual worlds. Generally, the human mind is unable to fully discern between the real and fake, the Metaverse will further cause people to withdraw from the real world into a fake reality. This can cause adverse problems to the already damaging society as there will be an increase in behavioral-related anomalies.
Conclusion
Irrespective of the benefits and flaws of the Metaverse, this vast empty land with resources is waiting for you to create and develop. With no doubt in mind, the Metaverse is here to stay and will sooner or later indulge millions of people as more brands will continue to divulge into the Metaverse and more virtual assets will be bought. However, the raging question remains ‘Is the world ready for that?’
Photo by julien Tromeur on Unsplash
