The Metaverse hiding in plain sight: a simple explanation and brief history
“The Metaverse.” For a majority of people, it wasn’t part of their vocabulary until Facebook announced its name change to “Meta Platforms, Inc.” It is being touted not only as the hot new technology but as the next iteration of the Internet: a conglomeration of 3-D virtual worlds. In short, the Metaverse is how you will experience the next version of the Web. A term often used in the same sentence with the Metaverse is “Web 3.0,” a decentralized version of the internet. While closely related, there are slight differences, especially around what the Metaverse really means. For sake of simplicity, let’s say that Metaverse relates to the virtual worlds themselves, whereas Web 3.0 relates to all the technologies necessary to communicate and transact decentrally (without a central “company” managing the experience).
Before we get into the current landscape, let’s look at how we got here. It might surprise some to know that the term “Metaverse” is 30 years old. It came from a book published in 1992, by Neal Stephenson, called Snow Crash. Surprisingly, little has changed between what Stephenson envisioned and the Metaverse of today. As many alive during the 1990’s recall, Virtual Reality was a hot new technology ready to revolutionize gaming and the world. Two movies that made it mainstream included Lawnmower Man and Virtuosity, both directed by VR pioneer Brett Leonard.
While the Metaverse was discussed in the ’90s, some early uses were developed in the early 2000s. These included The Sims (2000) and 2nd Life (2003). These games gave players an opportunity to be somebody they were not, in a virtual world, and the ability to connect with people from all around the world. There are some amazing studies on how these gave accessibility and a sense of community for so many that couldn’t find it as readily available. Tom Boellstorff, UC Irvine anthropology professor, discussed his book, Coming of Age in Second Life, in which he explores how virtual worlds can change ideas about identity and society.
Various pieces of the overall Metaverse puzzle were developed and launched in the 2010s. Examples include social media, online social groups, meetups, the buying and selling of goods online, viewing media content, attending immersive exhibitions or live experiences, live streaming concerts, open-world video games, AR games where you catch digital collectibles… the list can go on and on. When reading this list, some of the largest companies in tech come to mind that facilitated them: Google/Youtube, Facebook, Ticketmaster, AEG, Zoom, LiveNation, eBay, Amazon, Epic, Blizzard, EA, Activision, Pokemon/Nintendo, etc.
Until now, these pieces did not have a mechanism to create a cohesive network; blockchain is that glue. With Blockchain, once-fragmented pieces can be connected in novel ways which add additional functionality, and the major Web 2.0 players are already very invested in this puzzle.
The current Metaverse landscape is literally experiencing a virtual land grab (pun intended). Industries are crossing previously defined boundaries and entering a boundaryless world. This is where you start to hear conflicting viewpoints of what is needed to facilitate this latest iteration. All the previously-described versions of the Metaverse and Web 2.0 stayed in their lanes. There were competitors, but it was rare to see the above companies in direct competition. Or, if they were competitors, M&A work would happen.
The Metaverse has some interesting market opportunity estimates. Research suggests that the Total Addressable Market is between $5–13 Trillion by 2030. Metaverse entertainment market: $700 billion by 2030. Metaverse users: 5 billion by 2030.
For this to occur, various technology component improvements are required. The main one is Blockchain development. Blockchain is the backbone commerce component the Metaverse needs. Blockchain can facilitate a decentralized infrastructure for the key components. These key components comprise a long list so for the sake of brevity, Blockchain has the ability to lay the needed elements of virtual commerce to operate in a seamless fashion.
Studying where we came from and where we are today prepares us for what the future might hold. We can learn and hopefully not fall into the cliche “history repeats itself.” The Metaverse is here around us. Now is the time to put all the pieces together, so let’s go.
