One of the buzzwords being tossed around today in tech circles, particularly in relation to virtual reality (VR), is metaverse. The word, which has its roots in Neil Stephenson’s 1992 novel Snow Crash, describes the next logical step in social networking technology following VR and augmented reality (AR). Facebook’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg even recently referenced it as something he would like to build over the next 10 years. But what exactly does it mean? In this article, we’ll take a look at what a metaverse really means and how it might benefit you today.
Defining the Metaverse:
The metaverse (or virtual world) is an umbrella term for all virtual worlds, including but not limited to social networks. The idea of a metaverse itself came from Neal Stephenson's 1992 novel Snow Crash, and was popularized by Second Life. Today, many companies are working towards creating their own metaverses--Facebook with its Oculus headsets and Google's Project Tango, among others. What makes a metaverse different from any other virtual world?
Why Hasn’t There Been A Successful Virtual World Yet?
Virtual world has become synonymous with Second Life, but it doesn’t necessarily mean we need to be building new worlds. We don’t even need to build any virtual worlds at all. What Facebook did was create metaverses . This is not a new concept by any means, but for most people, it’s completely different than what they had in mind.
The Future of VR and the Metaverse:
An Interview with Ebbe Altberg, CEO of Linden Lab : The idea of virtual reality (VR) as we know it today has been around for decades, but recently we’ve seen an uptick in its popularity and accessibility. Oculus Rift raised $2.4 million on Kickstarter in 2012, while Sony released its own headset, PlayStation VR (PSVR), late last year. Even Google joined in to add a line of devices to their Daydream platform, with new additions coming out every month. But how do these pieces fit together to create what many are referring to as the metaverse? What exactly is VR—and how does it play into our concept of a metaverse, or simulated environment that people can enter via headsets or even contact lenses? These questions were posed to Ebbe Altberg, co-founder and CEO of Second Life creator Linden Lab.