Thu Aug 12

What is the metaverse? 2 media and information experts explain

Written by Rabindra Ratan, Associate Professor of Media and Information, Michigan State University

The metaverse is a network of always-on virtual environments in which many people can interact with one another and digital objects while operating virtual representations – or avatars – of themselves. Think of a combination of immersive virtual reality ^[1], a massively multiplayer online role-playing game ^[2] and the web.

The metaverse is a concept from science fiction that many people in the technology industry envision as the successor to today’s internet. It’s only a vision at this point, but technology companies like Facebook are aiming to make it the setting for many online activities, including work, play, studying and shopping.

What is the metaverse? 2 media and information experts explain

The best-selling science fiction novel ‘Snow Crash’ gave the world the word ‘metaverse.’ RA.AZ/Flickr, CC BY ^[3]^[4]

Metaverse is a portmanteau of meta, meaning transcendent, and verse, from universe. Sci-fi novelist Neal Stephenson coined the term in his 1992 novel “Snow Crash ^[5]” to describe the virtual world in which the protagonist, Hiro Protagonist, socializes, shops and vanquishes real-world enemies through his avatar. The concept predates “Snow Crash” and was popularized as “cyberspace” in William Gibson’s groundbreaking 1984 novel “Neuromancer ^[6].”

There are three key aspects of the metaverse: presence, interoperability and standardization.

Presence is the feeling of actually being in a virtual space, with virtual others. Decades of research ^[7] has shown that this sense of embodiment improves the quality of online interactions. This sense of presence is achieved through virtual reality technologies such as head-mounted displays.

Interoperability means being able to seamlessly travel between virtual spaces with the same virtual assets, such as avatars and digital items. ReadyPlayerMe ^[8] allows people to create an avatar that they can use in hundreds of different virtual worlds, including in Zoom meetings through apps like Animaze ^[9]. Meanwhile, blockchain ^[10] technologies such as cryptocurrencies ^[11] and nonfungible tokens ^[12] facilitate the transfer of digital goods across virtual borders.

Standardization is what enables interoperability of platforms and services across the metaverse. As with all mass-media technologies – from the printing press to texting – common technological standards are essential for widespread adoption. International organizations such as the Open Metaverse Interoperability Group ^[13] define these standards.

If the metaverse does become the successor to the internet, who builds it, and how, is extremely important to the future of the economy and society as a whole. Facebook is aiming to play a leading role in shaping the metaverse, in part by investing heavily in virtual reality ^[14]. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg explained in an interview ^[15] his view that the metaverse spans non-immersive platforms like today’s social media as well as immersive 3D media technologies such as virtual reality, and that it will be for work ^[16] as well as play.

Hollywood has embraced the metaverse in movies like ‘Ready Player One.’

The metaverse might one day resemble the flashy fictional Oasis of Ernest Cline’s “Ready Player One ^[17],” but until then you can turn to games like Fortnite ^[18] and Roblox ^[19], virtual reality social media platforms like VRChat ^[20] and AltspaceVR ^[21], and virtual work environments like Immersed ^[22] for a taste of the immersive and connected metaverse experience. As these siloed spaces converge and become increasingly interoperable, watch for a truly singular metaverse to emerge.

Read other short accessible explanations of newsworthy subjects written by academics in their areas of expertise for The Conversation U.S. here ^[23].