The Metaverse is where we are going to spend all our time. A future where physical and virtual realities emerge, and where everyone will hang out, work, learn, play, socialize, etc.
The beginning of the Metaverse is already happening. One good example is the game Roblox: a Metaverse where players can hang out, play mini-games with each other, build games, maps, experiences, and communities. Roblox, just like other games and Metaverses, is where friends meet, play, and socialize after school.
Millennials and Gen Z already spend a majority of their time online on some types of Metaverses: online and social games like Minecraft and Roblox, and more immersive games like GTA Roleplay and VR Chat. Seven-year-olds are spending all their free time on Roblox. They are growing up on the early version of the Metaverse and the pandemic has accelerated the overall move to it. Almost everyone in the world has been working, playing, and socializing online. With the evolution and gradual adoption of blockchain, crypto, augmented and virtual reality, we are slowly beginning to pave the way to this new reality.
Different people have different views on the definition of the Metaverse. For some, it’s one single universe where everything happens: work, play, education, etc. To others is a combination of various metaverses/multiverses where each serves a purpose somewhat like what we have now on the Internet: different games, different apps for remote working, various social media, etc.
I think it will be something like the latter. I don’t think it will be possible to have one single Metaverse where everything happens because that means centralization which also means that one single company will be in charge of it, and I don’t think the future is going in that direction. In my opinion, the Metaverse will be a stack of different applications, worlds, and multiverses where everyone will be able to connect and have one single identity that is shared between all of them, with, hopefully, total control over our data and privacy.
It’s super interesting to think about what the Metaverse can be and the future of humanity in it. Just like with the smartphones, internet, and social media these days; everyone will spend more time on the Metaverse than they do outside of it. I’m curious to see what’s the percentage of users that will spend more time socializing and exploring the Metaverse over going out and exploring in the real world. This doesn’t mean that the Metaverse will be a world only accessible through virtual reality, or that we will be confined to a virtual world. We will be able to go out in the real world, wearing some AR Glasses, and still be connected and interacting with the Metaverse.
Just like the Internet opened a lot of opportunities, so will the Metaverse. A good example is the people who build amazing constructions on Minecraft and similar games. Architectural skills will be in demand for people, companies, and brands that want to build something on the Metaverse. Voxel architects are a perfect example of that — professional 3D architects for the Metaverse.
A lot of new jobs will (and are starting to) be created for the Metaverse. Both to work on the hardware and software that runs it, promote and market it, and build cool experiences on each virtual world.
What do you think the Metaverse will be like? I would love to hear your opinion!
