The metaverse refers to a parallel universe where human, augmented and virtual reality merge. It is composed of multiple three-dimensional virtual spaces and can refer not only to virtual worlds, but to multidimensional experiences of use and application of the internet as a whole. Its name comes from meta, meaning beyond, and universe, which is the set of elements that make up reality. The term also first appeared in a science fiction novel written by the American author Neal Stephenson, published in 1992: Snow Crash.
It is important to keep in mind the three key aspects of the metaverse: presence, interoperability and standardisation: presence is the feeling of actually being in a virtual space; interoperability means being able to travel seamlessly between virtual spaces with the same virtual assets, such as avatars and digital elements; and standardisation, which is the feature that enables the interoperability of platforms and services across the metaverse.
With the metaverse, the possibilities are supposed to be virtually endless, from organising a business meeting as if you were in the office, to increasing the effectiveness of inbound marketing, to visiting a relative living abroad.
until now, the limits of the web have remained on the mobile or computer screen, but the aim is that, in the near future, they will be crossed and we will enter a 3D internet.
Although a metaverse has many possibilities, it is obviously not all advantages:
The Metaverse, as we have already said, aims to unite the real and virtual worlds by allowing us to create our own identity and join in chats, video calls, video games and even concerts with our friends and family, so Mark Zuckerberg's company now wants to focus on making that idea a reality, and therefore, to achieve this, it made sense to change the name to better reflect its goals.
Over the next decade, Zuckerberg expects the metaverse to reach 1 billion users, generate billions of dollars and help the millions of creators already working on the internet.
The metaverse, although not as developed as it is intended to be, is already present in several novels, films, series, video games and fiction.
The metaverse is getting closer and closer to becoming a part of our lives, although the way companies like Facebook see it, there is still a long way to go before it becomes a reality. For the time being, we will continue to enjoy virtual reality and the possibilities we already have.