What is the metaverse? At the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, I set out to answer that question. I spoke with some of the most significant companies in the world that are building metaverses, such as Meta—formerly known as Facebook—to get a better understanding of what the metaverse will look like, how individuals and businesses will interact with the metaverse, and what the unique selling point of the metaverse will be.
What I learned about the metaverse
There is no unified agreement on what the metaverse will look like or how individuals will primarily interact with it. However, many people agreed on the components and elements needed to enable metaverse experiences, products, and services.
Through my conversations with Omniscape, Meta, Sine Wave, and MakeSea, the consensus was that a metaverse is a virtual world that relies on virtual reality and augmented reality to showcase spatial components that facilitate both social and business interactions.
The metaverse is believed to be an evolution of social interactions for consumers, giving them a new way to connect and spend time together, and enterprises are looking forward to the branding, advertising, and goods/service offerings they will have in the metaverses that are created.
Will a blockchain be used?
Not everyone agreed that metaverses needed a blockchain. However, everyone did acknowledge that blockchain technology could benefit metaverses, especially in regard to assigning digital ownership rights and verifying an item’s authenticity and transaction history.
The obstacles to adoption
Before metaverses are mass adopted, several obstacles need to be overcome; the biggest problems that lay in the way have to do with infrastructure. An immersive metaverse experience requires every participant to have a high-speed internet connection and a device that allows them to enter the metaverse.
Unfortunately, not everyone has the bandwidth to enable this, nor do they have the VR/AR headsets required by most metaverses.
When will I be using a metaverse?
We have a long way to go before you find yourself using a metaverse. Not only is there an infrastructure problem, but there is a lack of educational material around metaverses. Consumers are supposed to be the largest group of individuals using metaverses, but when I spoke with consumers on the Las Vegas Strip, most of them did not even know what a metaverse was.
Until there is clear consumer demand, or even better, an offering from an enterprise that makes consumers want to use a metaverse, metaverses are likely to be stagnant but remain a buzzword until the change takes place. I believe we will see a company crack this code in the long term, but for now, Metaverses have many obstacles to overcome.
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