In the era of fast-growing technologies, Metaverse is an emerging virtual world that has taken over the world by storm. From artists, singers, social media influencers, community managers, and investors to creative directors, writers, producers, entrepreneurs, and other content creators, everyone is getting involved. There’s no doubt in saying the metaverse is the future of the internet and society.
The term metaverse was coined in 1992 by Neal Stephenson in a science-fiction book called “Snow Crash”. It was a combination of two words “meta” and “universe” to introduce a dystopian concept of virtual reality on the internet.
Since then, many metaverse-like projects such as Second Life, The Sims, and Fortnite visualized the virtual worlds. Today, this concept has turned into a proper platform with Web3 technology. Metaverse is now a virtual space interconnected with other virtual spaces bringing infinite possibilities in digital form.
However, compared to the common conception that metaverse is built for rich investors, businesses, or technical creators, the recent upgrades have rolled out opportunities for everyone. This means whether you are an artist, writer, or baker, anyone can be part of the metaverse without any experience.
So what exactly is metaverse? It is an open-source virtual platform that has no defined meaning; it can be anything and everything as long as it is in a digital form.
Experts believe that the lack of a clear explanation of what is metaverse is probably because it is currently in a “build” phase where various individuals are exploring how they can adopt this new technology in their daily lives.
In other words, the experience with Metaverse is different for everyone. An artist might view the metaverse as an art space to display their talent, a writer might see it as a way to bring imagination to life, and a creator might see it as an entertainment medium for their viewers.
Many people have idealistic views about what the metaverse should be like, and it is often expressed through marketing, but there are no fixed predictions on how the metaverse will turn out to be.
This is similar to when the internet was first introduced and there were a lot of speculations about what it would look like. No one could really tell what the internet really was until it became part of our daily life interactions. Similarly, the metaverse is also undefined and open to many things that haven’t been discovered yet. Who knows? You might be the one to discover it.
Metaverse as a digital economy
Let’s start off with the most basic idea of the metaverse that you might’ve heard about usually from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg. For Meta platforms, Metaverse is a digital economy where people can buy, sell, and trade goods. It is kind of like another medium of e-commerce but in virtual reality.
Many brands and companies have joined the metaverse bandwagon for this very reason. For small businesses, it is the fastest way to reach a global market, for big corporations, it’s another way of selling their products and services.
Although the vision of the metaverse as a digital economy is in the development phase and only a few metaverse platforms like The Sandbox, Decentraland, or Horizon Worlds have introduced this, it has grabbed a lot of attention from investors.
According to Citibank, the metaverse industry is valued to be around $3 trillion in the next decade. This means the metaverse will become more than just a virtual experience; it will be part of our daily lives.
Experts believe that the metaverse will soon become a digital economy and then integrate with the traditional economy due to its utility.
Metaverse as a creative industry
The metaverse is seen as a medium to bring technology, art, culture, and creativity into one place. This means instead of looking at the metaverse as a business opportunity, creators see it as a way to showcase talent without any third-party involvement.
Since the metaverse is decentralized, it gives artists, creators, writers, and community managers, an opportunity to explore their talent and have complete ownership of their creations without any discrimination over color, gender, race, or social background.
For example, Disney is looking for ways to integrate its characters and stories via augmented reality in the metaverse. It aims to build a metaverse that combines physical Disneyland with virtual Disneyland for an immersive experience.
Metaverse in different industries
As mentioned before, the metaverse is for everyone. Whether you are a social media manager, a content writer, or an engineer, there is always something for you to do in the virtual world as long as you have a vision.
Metaverse has been adapted in various industries around the world to make daily life work easier and better than before. For example, in the Supply Chain industry, metaverse provides a gateway to enhance facilities, processes, inventory, and capacity. It also helps companies understand what their consumers really want through real-time data collected from virtual platforms.
In medicine, doctors and researchers can experiment with different methodologies and share ideas closely with other experts around the world. In the entertainment business, virtual concerts have already taken over on metaverse platforms since the pandemic so that people who cannot see their favorite artists on world tours can experience them virtually.
In The Sandbox, many individuals have found their source of income by designing and selling virtual items on the metaverse platforms. Like in-game assets, The Sandbox also offers a wide range of NFTs by creators and artists that people can buy from the marketplace. Currently, many million-dollar businesses exist within the platform.
How can you benefit from Metaverse?
When metaverse was first launched, a lot of people rushed in to buy virtual lands for money. Even now, people believe that the metaverse is for rich people to enjoy luxuries in virtual space. Furthermore, if you go and search “metaverse careers” on Google, you might find jobs related to developers or engineers only.
However, this is a misconception. Metaverse is just like the real world; only that it is digital. Everything you do in real life can turn into digital and go beyond the impossible. This is why anyone can benefit from the metaverse.
In the traditional market, there is a lot of competition and sometimes it is hard to establish a progressive career. With the launch of the metaverse, many jobs and career opportunities have opened up. You can become a community manager, write content for companies, narrate stories, bring imagination to the virtual, experiment with your limits, and explore the infinite possibilities within the metaverse.
If you own a small business, you can make a virtual building and create a global brand within a few months. If you are a small artist, you can sell your artwork by displaying it in virtual galleries in the metaverse; Managers can join projects and help them; Influencers can make immersive content virtually; If you own virtual lands, you can rent them to people and make money; Architects can visualize their drawings in virtual space.
The best thing about these virtual worlds is that you do not have to limit yourself to just one location. A person from Europe can do business with an American, an Indian can find a job in America virtually. By taking away geographical limits, the metaverse has become a valuable space for all.
Future of metaverse
Metaverse is here to stay and lasts forever. In fact, it is the next generation of the internet. So, for early adapters, this can be a good opportunity to build and establish their brand solid.
All in all, the metaverse is built for anyone. Even if you aren’t a professional investor or a businessperson, there is still something for you hidden in the metaverse; you just need to reach out and look for it yourself.
