It has long been humanity’s dream to explore the world and beyond. We have sent people to the moon, built robots to manage our crop production, and even created Artificial Intelligent robots in our own image. The goal has been to create a virtual version of reality so that it can be explored and experienced remotely. That reality is here! Well, almost!

In the past few years, the term “augmented reality” has been used to describe a technology that enhances the real world by overlaying digital information, characters, and animations on top of the real environment. In this series, we will talk about the foundations of augmented reality, in particular, Metaverse – the technology, the content, and the networks – and how it can improve today’s digital experience for brands and companies.

A new technological platform that we call “virtual reality” is on the verge of providing a powerful and natural new way to interact with and experience computer-simulated environments and worlds. Imagine being immersed in a three-dimensional world of your favorite movie or video game, or visiting a virtual reproduction of the Great Zimbabwe Monument or the Burj Khalifa. This is the promise of VR. The Metaverse is not just a “version 2.0” of the internet or the “Internet of Things 2.0”. It is a major advancement in the way we interact with technologies by introducing corporeality. As I like to put it, the Metaverse is 3D web for a 3D world!

So what exactly is the Metaverse?

The Metaverse is a concept that was first introduced by science-fiction author Neal Stephenson in his 1992 novel Snow Crash. The idea behind the Metaverse is to create a virtual reality, shared by both the real and digital worlds. Imagine a world in which people can live, work, and play together without the need to travel. A world that is just one single place, complete with its own geography, economy, laws, transportation system—and even weather. A unique virtual world would be where inhabitants would be able to control their environment via technology beyond what they have on Earth today. This is the concept of the metaverse. There would be avatars that users can control and interact with, and the avatars would be able to enter each other’s worlds.

The metaverse is a virtual reality ecosystem that allows users to communicate, work, play and buy/sell goods in a digitally created world.

It’s a huge leap from the world of 2D websites and apps we currently inhabit. In fact, it will be the ultimate realization of the internet’s potential as a place for us all to meet, socialize, and explore.

The Metaverse, more commonly known as virtual reality, is an alternative version of reality created by merging the digital space with the real world. It’s an environment that’s constructed by the collective efforts of multiple users who exist inside their own virtual worlds and interact with each other over some kind of interface. These individuals are represented as avatars in this alternative reality.

Will the metaverse change our way around the internet? Will it create a new business paradigm?

Yes! When you have a situation of shared reality, there are going to be innumerable benefits. For example, imagine a work environment where you have a virtual coworker that is actually a real person located elsewhere in the world. The possibilities are limitless.

One of the biggest impacts of the metaverse will be on the area of human-to-human interaction.

The metaverse is a fresh opportunity to coalesce the internet by creating a single location where users can interact with each other and the information they need. The data is present and accessible to all because of the real-time, external world context.

The metaverse is significant because it creates a platform where users can engage with each other, publish content and transact business.

Just like with any technology, there are pros and cons to having such advanced technology. We will look at them in the next installment.