What Is the Metaverse, Exactly?
Everything you never wanted to know about the future of talking about the future.
What Is the Metaverse, Exactly? Read MoreTag: Metaverse
In futurism and science fiction, the Metaverse is a hypothetical iteration of the Internet as a single, universal and immersive virtual world that is facilitated by the use of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) headsets. In colloquial use, a metaverse is a network of 3D virtual worlds focused on social connection.
The term “metaverse” originated in the 1992 science fiction novel Snow Crash, as a portmanteau of “meta” and “universe”. Metaverse development is often linked to advancing virtual reality technology due to increasing demands for immersion. Recent interest in metaverse development is influenced by Web3, a concept for a decentralized iteration of the internet. Web3 and the Metaverse have been used as buzzwords to exaggerate development progress of various related technologies and projects for public relations purposes. Information privacy, user addiction, and user safety are concerns within the metaverse, stemming from challenges facing the social media and video game industries as a whole.
—Wikipedia, “Metaverse”
So where does the metaverse come from? A common answer—the clear and tidy one—is that it comes from Neal Stephenson’s 1992 science fiction novel Snow Crash, which describes a computer-generated virtual world made possible by software and a worldwide fiber-optic network…
In the three decades that have passed since Snow Crash was published, many of the underpinnings of Stephenson’s virtual world, such as social networks and artificial intelligence, have materialized. And the metaverse, like other ideas foreshadowed in the cyberpunk tradition, has persistently found its way into broader conversation. It has featured in recent movies such as Ready Player One and Free Guy. And it has shaped much of the digital landscape in which we now find ourselves. However, I think there might be more to the metaverse than just Snow Crash and its current re-instantiation. [Read the article.]
—MIT Technology Review, “The metaverse is a new word for an old idea: To understand what we are—and should be—building, we need to look beyond Snow Crash.”
The metaverse is a new word for an old idea
To understand what we are—and should be—building, we need to look beyond Snow Crash.
The metaverse is a new word for an old idea Read More