In recent months, a variety of new, and often confusing, tech terms have been tossed around by news sources, social media, and the internet at large. One of the more controversial ones is the ‘Metaverse’. And, as one can imagine from the vague name, some are confused as to what the Metaverse is in concrete terms.
The metaverse is a concept created and developed by Meta (formerly Facebook) and based on Virtual Reality (VR) technology. VR technology utilizes headsets that are worn by users that project a completely fabricated 3D environment around them. This 3D environment can be interacted with via the use of handheld controllers, which are projected into the world and act as ‘hands’. Essentially, imagine the Holodeck from Star Trek but with headsets and controllers instead of a giant room hologram.
Using VR headsets, Meta is attempting to create virtual spaces wherein people can work, shop, and entertain themselves. In the Metaverse, at least as Meta has marketed it, people will be able to create avatars of themselves and socialize, work, and perform leisure activities in a whole new way. A user in San Francisco could watch a movie with someone in London and have their friend right next to them in the virtual space. Or you could virtually shop in a grocery store without actually leaving your home. However, Meta’s primary focus seems to be on virtual workspaces.
Since 2020, there has been a heavy shift towards remote work in many sectors and professions. The Metaverse seems to be trying to straddle the middle-ground between in-person workspaces and completely remote work. Using the Metaverse, employees could theoretically work with one another ‘in-person’ without having to leave a home office. Meetings could be had from different continents, but everyone is sitting at the same table in a virtual meeting room.
Conceptually, the Metaverse is attempting to make the science fiction concept of a completely virtual world a reality. It is trying to blend real life experiences with technology while providing a service that movies and shows have teased us with for decades. However, it remains to be seen if a virtual universe is actually something anyone wants. So far, the response to the Metaverse outside of Meta itself has been decidedly lukewarm. Some may see it as a novelty but may quickly lose interest once it’s no longer new. Some may find the Metaverse to be another in a long line of tech ideas that try to fix things that aren’t broken. Whatever anyone’s view may be, it seems that Meta truly believes in its creation, so we’ll surely see more of it the next few years.
