Last week, CoinDesk's digital magazine, Layer 2, published a comprehensive series on the metaverse. The articles, essays, and opinion pieces addressed what the metaverse is, what it means for cryptocurrencies, and how to profit from, in, and around this next-generation web.
In short, the metaverse is (possibly) the next frontier for the Internet. It aims to create embodied experiences, and that will push many parts of the web as we know them to their limits.
We won't just have social media, but very social media. "Owning crypto" could take on a literal meaning. Our online identities would have substance and form, and therefore could be treated with a higher level of respect than we currently do with our avatars and usernames.
All of this, of course, has implications for digital privacy, digital rights, and digital assets. Today's Internet, and in particular the subset created by the crypto industry, is largely synthetic. We don't yet know what the impact of making the virtual a little more lifelike will be; just as it was difficult in Tim Berners-Lee's day to predict how the World Wide Web would impact society.
Suffice it to say that if these changes are even half as big as predicted, they will be profound. And as thorough as Metaverse Week was, there are still unanswered questions.
A few experts have come forward to share their thoughts on some of the biggest unanswered questions. They address the creator economy, tribalism, and the real costs associated with the metaverse - and perhaps show just how little we know.
Will there be one metaverse or many? (And why might one be better than the other?)
As my lawyer always says, "It depends." Is there a single Internet, or are there multiple Internets? As an English speaker, I have always enjoyed a very large portion of the Internet. However, I never appreciated that until I moved to Japan in 2019 and realized that the Japanese-language internet is much smaller. If you ask the same search query in Japanese, you get far fewer hits because there is simply far less content published on the internet in Japanese than in English.
Similarly, the term "metaverse" can be used to describe the broader phenomenon of spending time in virtual worlds. However, humans are tribal by nature. Even if a single implementation of the metaverse prevails, we will find ways to divide it into mini-metaverses that suit our needs. That's neither good nor bad - it's just part of being human.
- Grace "Ori" Kwan, co-founder of Orca
Will it be expensive to use the metaverse?
There will be huge differences in the cost of participating in the metaverse, just as there is in the global economy. Much like there is intense competition between brands for real estate and eyeballs in Times Square in New York City, there will be similar competition for digital real estate and attention in the most desirable areas of the metaverse.
Brands will devote a significant portion of their resources to attracting and retaining customers in the metaverse, and as part of that competition, brands will vie to offer the best metaverse experience at the best price.
This market pressure should ensure that Metaverse experiences remain affordable for the majority of users. Still, experiences will run the gamut from cheap to free to extremely expensive and exclusive, just as brands on the Web 2 are choosing different tactics: Some will target a mass market at affordable prices, while others will appeal to small, niche groups that can pay more for customized, luxury experiences. As the metaverse matures, expect this level of variation in brand experiences to evolve.
- Yonathan Lapchik, CEO of SUKU
Would you leave your house if you could shop or socialize from anywhere?
Today, the Internet makes shopping more efficient because it's faster and cheaper than going into a store. The price is the loss of visual and tactile experiences, the feeling of being in a crowd, or a shared sense of reality and place. Today's Internet theoretically puts us in close proximity to all other online users, but at the same time separates us from our family and friends. The Metaverse will transform the web from a flat two-dimensional experience into an immersive, interactive three-dimensional experience similar to a massively multiplayer video game like Fortnite.
For example, when shopping, you will no longer have to flip through a digital catalog to buy your groceries; instead, you will enter a supermarket with an avatar that represents your identity. This avatar will push a digital shopping cart through the aisles as you pick up groceries, examine them, and place them in your cart. This is closer to the real-world shopping experience that is threatened with extinction by the convenience of Web 2 - with the added benefit that the Internet is ubiquitous and choice is plentiful.
In other words, the metaverse could allow us to reclaim our past while preserving the efficiencies of digitization. As for our friends, family and those we want to be close to us: You will be able to invite anyone into your virtual home and provide a select experience, sharing your life in an immersive format that mimics a person's visit to your offline reality.
The metaverse's community-based ownership and management models, as well as trustless transactions and transparency, offer clear benefits. It replicates the physicality that is lacking on the Internet and enables more attuned social experiences. But if you can experience reality virtually, why leave your home?
- Dan Nissanoff, CEO of Game of Silks
Creators will be at the center of the metaverse
Right now, the Metaverse consists of several open-world games. Unlike traditional games, assets earned or purchased in-game belong entirely to users. However, most of these items are designed by the game's developers. It doesn't have to be this way, and if this trend continues, the metaverse will suffocate before it begins.
The name "user-generated content" is what it says it is. Today, it usually refers to YouTube videos, fan fiction, game mods for Grand Theft Auto, Roblox and Minecraft - or content created not by "professionals" but by average netizens. In the context of the Metaverse, however, it's all about in-game content - the characters, worlds, and tools you use while playing.
Companies like Meta and Riot Games have already started experimenting with user-generated content in their metaverses, and the results are promising. But what's really interesting is that if the metaverse is to be as interactive, immersive, and experiential as claimed, the world can't just rely on companies to bring it to life. The metaverse simply would not "scale."
What will likely encourage players to create their own game content (clothing, levels, maps, etc.) is the guaranteed ownership and profit potential. Today, mods can be monetized, but that's often against the rules, and players seem more motivated by the prestige among their peers when they build cool stuff.
So the metaverse presents a contradiction: Without UGC, the metaverse would be nothing more than a static environment where people can watch but not interact (like a movie). So these things are necessary. And because the blockchain gives these assets a market and permanence, there will be motivated actors to build them. The hope is that user-generated content will foster creativity and innovation by allowing like-minded people to connect with each other. But couldn't market competition look a little more familiar instead?
- Simon Viera, co-founder and CEO of MixMob
The impact of metaverse on mental health.
In general, people who struggle with issues like social anxiety or agoraphobia may experience sustained social engagement through the metaverse for the first time in a long time. To the extent that they move into an inclusive world where they feel present and comfortable, barriers such as fear of judgment might slowly be broken down. In due course, this could reinforce their ability to have conversations and comfortably move into new environments in the physical world.
Similarly, people who suffer from loneliness - for example, people who live in remote locations - might feel more included in society by entering the metaverse, as they have the opportunity to meet people from all walks of life and connect with others who share similar passions and interests. The metaverse transcends geographical boundaries.
Physically disabled people could also benefit from it. The metaverse offers them a whole new sense of movement and interaction, giving them a real sense of liberation as they explore new environments. With virtual reality, they can travel to exotic destinations such as beaches and rainforests, or visit various cities and monuments, all from the comfort of their own homes.
There could be special "islands" or "planets" - or digital worlds - developed as havens for the mentally ill, where users can access therapies, mindfulness classes and exercise programs. For those who lack the confidence or resources to pursue these avenues in the physical world, the Metaverse provides a very viable alternative.
This sense of freedom from physical limitations extends to all aspects of identity. On a large scale, people will be able to recreate themselves and be anything they want to be, regardless of their race, gender or size. This should not stop people from being who they are in the physical world, but rather encourage them to push the envelope of their own imaginations - perhaps sparking something that would otherwise lie dormant within them.
- Jawad Ashraf, CEO of Terra Virtua
More from Metaverse Week:
A Crypto Guide to the Metaverse.
Verifiable, immutable ownership of digital assets and currencies will be a key component of the Metaverse.
Virtual beers and digital orgasms: Welcome to the Age of Metaverse Commerce.
Executives from Adidas, Budweiser, Clinique, NARS Cosmetics and other major consumer brands explain why the Metaverse is "seismic" for their companies.
What can you actually do in the metaverse in 2022?
The future possibilities of the metaverse are probably limitless, but is there anything you can do in the metaverse right now?