The metaverse for beginners
Everyone is talking about the metaverse, but what is it exactly?
Recently, news media, content creators, and tech companies talk a lot about the metaverse. But what is the metaverse? What is the use of the metaverse for you? In this article, I try to give an introduction to this concept.
This is a beginner's article, its goal is to present these concepts from a surface level and not to talk about the underlying technology — although I will mention a few of them that you should learn in case you would want to make money in the metaverse.
Be a different self
Firstly, look at yourself in the mirror. You might be an accountant, a software engineer, a nurse, an investment banker, or a barista. You might be in your teens, 20s, or 50s. You might have a certain background, personal story, or sexual orientation. You might live in a certain part of the world.
…. have you ever wondered what if something (or all) of the above was different? What if you were born in a different country, have a different professional activity, or sexual identity, even for a few hours a week? Well, that is the main idea behind a metaverse.
Imagine that you had a bad day or even a normal day. You had a long fight with your boss or loved one, you were stuck in traffic for hours, you couldn’t buy that piece of clothing you wanted to — you want to escape. So, you get home, you put on some lenses (or turn on a computer, or a smartphone or whatever) and be someone or something else. And, if that wasn’t enough, you can be another self or persona the next day. And another the following day.
So, like a video game?
But, I can already be a different self everyday… tonight I might be a World War II spy or a ninja from ancient times, tomorrow I might be a professional football coach or a bowling player, and then next weekend I might be an Italian plumber rescuing a beautiful princess from a giant alligator. Isn’t that the same thing? Not exactly. A video game has its own mechanics, gameplay, and story.
Sure in the metaverse you can be an Italian plumber, but, can you meet your meta-friends for a game of football on a Saturday afternoon, play laser tag on Saturday afternoon, and then go meta-bowling on a Sunday night? Can you own a 3-bedroom condo by the sea, watch the sunset and then be on time for tonight’s concert in the city, all without getting into traffic? And what about clothing and accessories?
Even the biggest video game ever written couldn’t have all these activities combined in a single video game. Game developers have limited resources. Enter everyone (or everyone who has the skills to develop content and experiences for the metaverse, see more below).
But, I have already seen this before
You have probably played or heard about games such as The Sims or Minecraft, where you can create a parallel reality and be a different self every day. Have different experiences every day. You can even play these games with your friends!
Sure, on Minecraft you can create your own world and have a parallel reality. A metaverse for you and your friends. Or if you have traction, it could be a metaverse for you and a few people, let’s be optimistic and say that you have a metaverse for a few hundred people.
But, can you get people from different countries to sign in, the big and small retail brands to advertise in your world, the big and small art and fashion designers to design and sell meta-fashion-articles, or the big and indie game developers to design experiences inside your Minecraft world?
It’s a big-corp complot for them to get even richer
Well… yes. If you buy or sell meta-shoes or meta-land, if you play meta-bowling or meta-football with your friends, someone will need to collect rent or taxes (ever heard of VAT?) from you and your buyer in this parallel universe. And that is the main reason why big tech companies are in the metaverse race.
Who will create the metaverse where everyone would want to be in? If you have designed the latest meta-dress, you would want to set up a store in the best location.
Can I get money out of it, and if so, which skills should I acquire?
Yes, you can! In the metaverse you can be a fashion designer, an architect, an amusement park designer and owner, a gardener…. you can be whatever you want. Of course, provided you have the necessary skills.
Have you ever dreamed of designing the latest basketball sneakers or fashion items? You will need to learn 3D computer graphics. Do you want to have your amusement park, movie theater, or hang-out place? You will need to learn 3D animation and a coding language, probably C# or C++. Do you want to run a bank, a museum, collect unusual digital items? You will need to learn blockchain technologies.
A word of caution
Before paying for your first computer animation course on Udemy or thinking about the amount of money you would be willing to spend on a meta-lot for an apartment building, you should understand that the metaverse doesn’t exist yet.
Many companies, big and small, have components of a metaverse (avatar creation, land renting, virtual stores, etc.) but we still don’t know which of these, if any, is going to be the metaverse. It is still too early to tell.
Furthermore, like any new technology, the metaverse as a concept is yet to be tested. Are people ready to buy land in a virtual world? Would people prefer to go to a virtual amusement park instead of a real one? Aren’t video games enough for escaping reality? All these questions, and many other ones, are yet to be answered.
I hope this was helpful, thank you for reading.
