The Metaverse is a visual network of virtual environments where people can interact via their avatars. If online multiplayer video games are combined with immersive virtual reality and high-speed internet, we can begin to understand the Metaverse. The metaverse has been in the science fiction realm for ages, but it is only now that Big Tech envisions it as the future internet, with companies like Facebook wanting to set up an immersive, 3D/virtual ecosystem for people to work, play, study and shop.

Ready Player One: The Metaverse

Presence: the feeling of actually being in a(virtual) space, typically using head-mounted displays.Interoperability: The ability to seamlessly switch, travel and move between the virtual spaces, just like a single login works on different websites.Standardization: Any new technology requires common standards, which are open and affordable, something that is essential for widespread usage.

The Three Aspects Of The Metaverse

<div dir="ltr">
 <h2 data-type="text" dir="ltr">Think of a combination of immersive virtual reality, an online role-playing game, and the internet.</h2>
</div><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr"><div dir="ltr">
 
 </div></div>13 August, 2021</div><img alt="Two people in a blue room using a virtual reality headset illustrating the metaverse." src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yNzIyMjQ4Mi9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTY2OTA3MDExMX0.PIdBDr9IIfceGI92W5K8s3QZt-ipg9J0K6jpkaBvP-8/img.jpg?width=1245&amp;quality=85&amp;coordinates=0%2C66%2C0%2C484&amp;height=700" width="703" height="396">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 <a href="https://www.wired.com/story/wired-guide-to-virtual-reality/" dir="ltr">immersive virtual reality</a>, a <a href="https://www.lifewire.com/the-top-mmorpgs-813063" dir="ltr">massively multiplayer online role-playing game</a> 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.

	Metaverse is a portmanteau of meta, meaning transcendent, and verse, from universe. Sci-fi novelist Neal Stephenson coined the term in his 1992 novel “<a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/172832/snow-crash-by-neal-stephenson/" dir="ltr">Snow Crash</a>" 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 “<a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/538861/neuromancer-by-william-gibson/" dir="ltr">Neuromancer</a>."

	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. <a href="https://ispr.info/" dir="ltr">Decades of research</a> 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. <a href="https://readyplayer.me/" dir="ltr">ReadyPlayerMe</a> allows people to create an avatar that they can use in hundreds of different virtual worlds, including in Zoom meetings through apps like <a href="https://www.animaze.us/" dir="ltr">Animaze</a>. Meanwhile, <a href="http://graphics.reuters.com/TECHNOLOGY-BLOCKCHAIN/010070P11GN/index.html" dir="ltr">blockchain</a> technologies such as <a href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/cryptocurrency.asp" dir="ltr">cryptocurrencies</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-nonfungible-tokens-work-and-where-they-get-their-value-a-cryptocurrency-expert-explains-nfts-157489" dir="ltr">nonfungible tokens</a> 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 <a href="https://www.w3.org/community/metaverse-interop/" dir="ltr">Open Metaverse Interoperability Group</a> define these standards.
<h2>Why the metaverse matters</h2>
	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 <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1461444820960411" dir="ltr">investing heavily in virtual reality</a>. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg <a href="https://www.theverge.com/22588022/mark-zuckerberg-facebook-ceo-metaverse-interview" dir="ltr">explained in an interview</a> 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 <a href="https://www.theverge.com/2020/5/21/21266945/facebook-ar-vr-remote-work-oculus-passthrough-future-tech" dir="ltr">will be for work</a> as well as play.
<div class="embed-placeholder" data-type="youtube" data-id="cSp1dM2Vj48"></div>
	 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 “<a href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/209887/ready-player-one-by-ernest-cline/" dir="ltr">Ready Player One</a>," but until then you can turn to games like <a href="https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/en-US/home" dir="ltr">Fortnite</a> and <a href="https://www.roblox.com/" dir="ltr">Roblox</a>, virtual reality social media platforms like <a href="https://hello.vrchat.com/" dir="ltr">VRChat</a> and <a href="https://altvr.com/" dir="ltr">AltspaceVR</a>, and virtual work environments like <a href="https://immersed.com/" dir="ltr">Immersed</a> 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.

	<a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/rabindra-ratan-269916" dir="ltr">Rabindra Ratan</a>, Associate Professor of Media and Information, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/michigan-state-university-1349" dir="ltr">Michigan State University</a> and <a href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/yiming-lei-1257934" dir="ltr">Yiming Lei</a>, Doctoral student in Media and Information, <a href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/michigan-state-university-1349" dir="ltr">Michigan State University</a>

	This article is republished from <a href="https://theconversation.com/" dir="ltr">The Conversation</a> under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-the-metaverse-2-media-and-information-experts-explain-165731" dir="ltr">original article</a>.
<img alt="The Conversation" height="1" src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/165731/count.gif?distributor=republish-lightbox-advanced" width="1">

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. Learn more about its development from science fiction to reality in this article.

sciencefiction

Science Fiction

scienceandnature

Science & Nature

Think of a combination of immersive virtual reality, an online role-playing game, and the internet.

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 <a dir="ltr" href="https://www.wired.com/story/wired-guide-to-virtual-reality/">immersive virtual reality </a>, a <a dir="ltr" href="https://www.lifewire.com/the-top-mmorpgs-813063">massively multiplayer online role-playing game </a>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.

Metaverse is a portmanteau of meta, meaning transcendent, and verse, from universe. Sci-fi novelist Neal Stephenson coined the term in his 1992 novel “<a dir="ltr" href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/172832/snow-crash-by-neal-stephenson/">Snow Crash </a>" 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 “<a dir="ltr" href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/538861/neuromancer-by-william-gibson/">Neuromancer </a>."

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. <a dir="ltr" href="https://ispr.info/">Decades of research </a>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. <a dir="ltr" href="https://readyplayer.me/">ReadyPlayerMe </a>allows people to create an avatar that they can use in hundreds of different virtual worlds, including in Zoom meetings through apps like <a dir="ltr" href="https://www.animaze.us/">Animaze </a>. Meanwhile, <a dir="ltr" href="http://graphics.reuters.com/TECHNOLOGY-BLOCKCHAIN/010070P11GN/index.html">blockchain </a>technologies such as <a dir="ltr" href="https://www.investopedia.com/terms/c/cryptocurrency.asp">cryptocurrencies </a>and <a dir="ltr" href="https://theconversation.com/how-nonfungible-tokens-work-and-where-they-get-their-value-a-cryptocurrency-expert-explains-nfts-157489">nonfungible tokens </a>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 <a dir="ltr" href="https://www.w3.org/community/metaverse-interop/">Open Metaverse Interoperability Group </a>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 <a dir="ltr" href="https://doi.org/10.1177%2F1461444820960411">investing heavily in virtual reality </a>. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg <a dir="ltr" href="https://www.theverge.com/22588022/mark-zuckerberg-facebook-ceo-metaverse-interview">explained in an interview </a>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 <a dir="ltr" href="https://www.theverge.com/2020/5/21/21266945/facebook-ar-vr-remote-work-oculus-passthrough-future-tech">will be for work </a>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 “<a dir="ltr" href="https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/209887/ready-player-one-by-ernest-cline/">Ready Player One </a>," but until then you can turn to games like <a dir="ltr" href="https://www.epicgames.com/fortnite/en-US/home">Fortnite </a>and <a dir="ltr" href="https://www.roblox.com/">Roblox </a>, virtual reality social media platforms like <a dir="ltr" href="https://hello.vrchat.com/">VRChat </a>and <a dir="ltr" href="https://altvr.com/">AltspaceVR </a>, and virtual work environments like <a dir="ltr" href="https://immersed.com/">Immersed </a>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.

<a dir="ltr" href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/rabindra-ratan-269916">Rabindra Ratan </a>, Associate Professor of Media and Information, <a dir="ltr" href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/michigan-state-university-1349">Michigan State University </a> and <a dir="ltr" href="https://theconversation.com/profiles/yiming-lei-1257934">Yiming Lei </a>, Doctoral student in Media and Information, <a dir="ltr" href="https://theconversation.com/institutions/michigan-state-university-1349">Michigan State University </a>

This article is republished from <a dir="ltr" href="https://theconversation.com/">The Conversation </a>under a Creative Commons license. Read the <a dir="ltr" href="https://theconversation.com/what-is-the-metaverse-2-media-and-information-experts-explain-165731">original article </a>.

The metaverse: From science fiction to virtual reality

Ready Player One: The Metaverse

The Three Aspects Of The Metaverse

CURATED BY

Related collections

More like this