What is the metaverse? 2 media and information experts explain

The metaverse is a network of always-on virtual environments in which many people can interact with one another and digital objects while operating virtual representations – or avatars – of themselves. Think of a combination of immersive virtual reality^[1], a massively multiplayer online role-playing game^[2] and the web.

The metaverse is a concept from science fiction that many people in the technology industry envision as the successor to today’s internet. It’s only a vision at this point, but technology companies like Facebook are aiming to make it the setting for many online activities, including work, play, studying and shopping.

Metaverse is a portmanteau of meta, meaning transcendent, and verse, from universe. Sci-fi novelist Neal Stephenson coined the term in his 1992 novel “Snow Crash^[5]” to describe the virtual world in which the protagonist, Hiro Protagonist, socializes, shops and vanquishes real-world enemies through his avatar. The concept predates “Snow Crash” and was popularized as “cyberspace” in William Gibson’s groundbreaking 1984 novel “Neuromancer^[6].”

There are three key aspects of the metaverse: presence, interoperability and standardization.

Presence is the feeling of actually being in a virtual space, with virtual others. Decades of research^[7] has shown that this sense of embodiment improves the quality of online interactions. This sense of presence is achieved through 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. ReadyPlayerMe^[8] allows people to create an avatar that they can use in hundreds of different virtual worlds, including in Zoom meetings through apps like Animaze^[9]. Meanwhile, blockchain^[10] technologies such as cryptocurrencies^[11] and nonfungible tokens^[12] facilitate the transfer of digital goods across virtual borders.

Standardization is what enables interoperability of platforms and services across the metaverse. As with all mass-media technologies – from the printing press to texting – common technological standards are essential for widespread adoption. International organizations such as the Open Metaverse Interoperability Group^[13] define these standards.

If the metaverse does become the successor to the internet, who builds it, and how, is extremely important to the future of the economy and society as a whole. Facebook is aiming to play a leading role in shaping the metaverse, in part by investing heavily in virtual reality^[14]. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg explained in an interview^[15] his view that the metaverse spans non-immersive platforms like today’s social media as well as immersive 3D media technologies such as virtual reality, and that it will be for work^[16] as well as play.

The metaverse might one day resemble the flashy fictional Oasis of Ernest Cline’s “Ready Player One^[17],” but until then you can turn to games like Fortnite^[18] and Roblox^[19], virtual reality social media platforms like VRChat^[20] and AltspaceVR^[21], and virtual work environments like Immersed^[22] for a taste of the immersive and connected metaverse experience. As these siloed spaces converge and become increasingly interoperable, watch for a truly singular metaverse to emerge.

Read other short accessible explanations of newsworthy subjects written by academics in their areas of expertise for The Conversation U.S. here^[23].

References

1. ^{^} immersive virtual reality (www.wired.com)
2. ^{^} massively multiplayer online role-playing game (www.lifewire.com)
3. ^{^} RA.AZ/Flickr (www.flickr.com)
4. ^{^} CC BY (creativecommons.org)
5. ^{^} Snow Crash (www.penguinrandomhouse.com)
6. ^{^} Neuromancer (www.penguinrandomhouse.com)
7. ^{^} Decades of research (ispr.info)
8. ^{^} ReadyPlayerMe (readyplayer.me)
9. ^{^} Animaze (www.animaze.us)
10. ^{^} blockchain (graphics.reuters.com)
11. ^{^} cryptocurrencies (www.investopedia.com)
12. ^{^} nonfungible tokens (theconversation.com)
13. ^{^} Open Metaverse Interoperability Group (www.w3.org)
14. ^{^} investing heavily in virtual reality (doi.org)
15. ^{^} explained in an interview (www.theverge.com)
16. ^{^} will be for work (www.theverge.com)
17. ^{^} Ready Player One (www.penguinrandomhouse.com)
18. ^{^} Fortnite (www.epicgames.com)
19. ^{^} Roblox (www.roblox.com)
20. ^{^} VRChat (hello.vrchat.com)
21. ^{^} AltspaceVR (altvr.com)
22. ^{^} Immersed (immersed.com)
23. ^{^} here (theconversation.com)