Dive Into The World Of Metaverse
Updated: Dec 17, 2022
Written by: Micah G. Halamani, Akira D. Honra, Darwin Ray L. Tuazon, Justin Philip S. Tuazon
As one of the most used social media platforms in the Philippines, Facebook has been a part of every person’s life. Social media has been an avenue for many people in connecting with other people regardless of their distance which helps in building and strengthening their relationship, for spreading information that may be helpful for others, and many more. Last year, the Facebook company changed its name to Meta. The objective of the company is to aid in the building of the metaverse which they refer to as the next step in social connectivity which can also be used in entertainment, gaming, working, learning, and business (Welcome to Meta | Meta, n.d.).
Meta Platforms, Inc. is not the only company who has shown interest in creating metaverse. Microsoft also made Mesh for Teams available to the public last year. Mesh for Teams will act as a portal to the metaverse in addition to making online meetings more personal and enjoyable (Roach, 2021), and recently, with the development of metaverse as their reason, Microsoft acquired Activision Blizzard, the producer of Candy Crush and other video games (Microsoft News Center, 2022). Alongside these companies are Google, Nvidia, Unity Software, Shopify, Roblox, and Qualcomm who have also invested in the Metaverse (Rees, 2022).
Now, this is where we ask, what is metaverse and why do people invest in it?
What is Metaverse?
The metaverse is a virtual environment that employs computing technology to extend the physical world. It allows us to be more involved in a virtual experience rather than merely watching it on a screen (Rossolillo, 2022). It simulates human emotions and gestures to provide a "virtual world" experience (Gupta, 2021). When virtual reality and digital reality mix, the metaverse emerges and allows for more immersive experiences (Gupta, 2022). The metaverse not only includes both the physical and virtual worlds' social structures, but also the economics (Gupta, 2021). Digital currencies and non-fungible tokens (NFTs) enable the economy in a metaverse. Some of the activities that exist in the physical world may also take place in a metaverse. Many business interactions are already held in a metaverse, and eventually people can experience immersive learning in virtual classrooms and shopping in virtual malls (Gupta, 2022).
A Brief History of Metaverse
Although the term “metaverse” has only recently become popular, one of its earliest ancestors goes way back in 1989, when Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web (Husni, 2021). Then, the actual term “metaverse” was used by science fiction writer Neal Stephenson to describe a 3D virtual realm in their novel Snow Crash back in 1992 (Canavesi, 2022). Through the years, many innovations have been made. For example, the online virtual world Second Life was created by Philip Rosedale and their team at Liden Lab in 2003 (Husni, 2021). In 2009, the extremely popular cryptocurrency Bitcoin was created (Husni, 2021). Husni (2021) also added that more than 5 years later, the game Pokemon Go, which uses the technology of augmented reality, rapidly became popular all over the world in 2016 and then, in 2018, the cryptocurrency game Axie Infinity was born into the world. Fast-forward to last year, when Mark Zuckerberg announced their blueprint for their metaverse and that Facebook’s parent company would change its name to Meta (Husni, 2021).
This is just a very brief overview of the history of the metaverse. Even though the metaverse has just started to become popular and is still in the early stages of its development, some of the aspects or ideas behind the metaverse have been around for quite some time already.
Metaverse Examples
Though still in its early stage, it cannot be ignored that the metaverse may fundamentally change our interactions online. This includes the way companies advertise their products, the ease of use of cryptocurrencies and the blockchain in general, playing games, and many other aspects.
Accessing the metaverse requires the use of virtual reality technology such as a VR headset, a good PC, a smartphone, or other wearable technologies. VR headsets such as those from Oculus can be stand alone devices or can be plugged into a PC. Another aspect that can be accessed is augmented reality through the use of mobile devices and wearable technologies such as smart glasses offered by Meta (Welcome to Meta | Meta, n.d.).
The gaming industry has been utilizing the concept of the metaverse ever since its conception, allowing users to interact in a virtual environment (Patel, 2022). Using modern technology, virtual reality tracking has been better than ever allowing for full body tracking mimicking real world movements and actions. The metaverse poses a lot of possibilities for gaming including the creation of content and games. Many companies are already utilizing the metaverse like Decentraland, Sandbox, Epic Games and Meta (formerly Facebook). Many game products can also be exchanged within the metaverse. The products that will have the most visibility in the metaverse are NFTs (non-fungible tokens). For example, game assets such as skins and costumes can be leveraged through the use of NFTs. User-generated NFTs can be sold and traded to incorporate into the virtual world. In sports, blockchain technology is also used to authenticate participation in virtual teams or leagues. Fashion or personalized clothing is also one example of the NFT products that can be seen in the metaverse.
Metaverse and Investing
We have already talked about what the metaverse is, its brief history, and a few examples of things in it. Now, how about the investing side of metaverse? As mentioned earlier, the metaverse is still in its early stages. However, according to Menge (2022), investment opportunities in the metaverse already abound. From metaverse stocks to digital real estate, there are many things in the metaverse in which one may choose to invest.
Over the past years, cryptocurrencies have become more and more popular. More recently, another kind of digital token, called non-fungible tokens or NFTs, started to gain traction. These and other types of digital assets are actually part of the metaverse world (Moreano, 2022). According to Menge (2022), one of the major reasons why virtual words like metaverse recently boomed in popularity is the possibility of smooth world-wide transactions in the metaverse afforded by cryptocurrencies. Moreover, cryptocurrencies and blockchain itself (a very important technology when it comes to cryptocurrencies) play important roles in blockchain, mainly because they help facilitate buying and selling within the metaverse through NFTs and other pieces of technology (Cotriss, 202). Then, one can have exposure in the metaverse through investing in cryptocurrencies, NFTs, and other related things.
Another up-and-coming opportunity to invest in the metaverse world is through (digital) real estate or “digital land” (Moreano, 2022). According to Binance (2022), ownable digital lands on metaverse platforms like Decentreland and The Sandbox are also called NFT virtual lands. Binance added that people can use their NFT virtual lands in several ways, including, but not limited to, market speculation, advertising, hosting events, gaming, and establishing virtual office spaces and moreover, according to them, the price of an NFT virtual land is primarily affected by speculation, the platform it is on, and how it can be used. Digital land has been bought not only by individual investors, but also by companies such as Adidas, PwC, and The Metaverse Group (Binance, 2022). Digital lands are investment opportunities one may consider. Binance (2022) describes the concept of buying and selling NFT virtual lands as not that “... much different from owning a website or other virtual space”.
Furthermore, as alluded earlier, many companies are already starting to dive deeper into the metaverse. For example, according to Moon (2022), various technology companies are developing equipment and accessories that will improve the metaverse experience. Moreover, Moon added that companies with cloud computing capabilities have possible opportunities in the metaverse as the metaverse brings with it a large demand for computing power. The clothing and fashion industry are also starting to make their marks in the metaverse (Moon, 2022). In connection with this, when it comes to investing in the metaverse, one can also invest in stocks from companies who are close to the metaverse. Cortiss (2022) describes two broad kinds of metaverse stocks - metaverse gaming stocks (e.g., stocks of a blockchain-related gaming company) and metaverse 3D technology stocks (e.g., stocks of a semiconductor company or a 3D software company).
These are just some of the ways one can invest in the metaverse. Indeed, as Menge (2022) mentioned, there are already many such investment opportunities. The next time one thinks about investing, they may want to check out the metaverse for potential investments that they might like, too. It is, of course, important to be careful by doing proper assessment and research, among other things, since there may be great risks and high volatility associated with some of these investments (Moreano, 2022).
Conclusion
In this article, we talked about what the metaverse is, its brief history, examples of things in it, and some investment opportunities that it brings. While the predecessors to the metaverse (as we know it today) have been around for some time already, the metaverse itself has just started gaining much popularity and is still in its infancy. As the metaverse continues to develop, the opportunities associated with it may also evolve (Moon, 2022). As such, it may be wise to keep an eye on the metaverse as it continues to grow.
References:
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