Metaverse
- jbryan81
- Mar 21, 2023
- 4 min read
Earlier this month in IT594 we had the privilege of hearing from Natasha Rabsatt a world traveling entrepreneur and multidisciplinary designer. Natasha primarily spoke about the metaverse which is a term that I was not very familiar with and did not think I would know very much about. As she spoke, I realized that I might know more about the metaverse than I had originally thought.
During Natasha’s talk she referenced an article by Tony Parisi and the Seven Rules of the Metaverse. I found the rules to be really helpful when trying to understand exactly what the metaverse is or is intended to be. While I don’t agree with all of the rules, I do understand what the author is trying to convey. Rule number one states that there is only one metaverse. There may be several worlds or virtual spaces are environments in the metaverse, but these individual worlds or environments are not a metaverse in their self they just helped to make up the metaverse. Rule number two the metaverse is for everyone. I understand what they imply by rule number two, but I am not sure that everyone will see it that way. Some people will feel like it is just a video game or several video games and would see it as something that they're not interested in or not “for” them. Rule number three nobody controls the metaverse. The third rule I find hard to believe even in the explanation of the rule he states “intermediated as needs dictate governed as required for the common interest toward the greatest good for the greatest number.” To me this statement hints that it is at least possible for someone to be able to govern or control the metaverse. Rule number four that the metaverse is open. I understand that the metaverse may technically be open, but it is only open to those that have computer access or a device that allows then to connect to the internet. Rule number five that the metaverse is hardware independent. For the time being this rule seems in my opinion to hold up but as technology expands, I feel like there will eventually be at least portions of the metaverse that one can only enter if you have the correct type of hardware. Rule number six the metaverse is a network and rule number seven the metaverse is the Internet (Parisi, 2021).
She also spoke about John Radoff and the seven layers of the metaverse. Layer one is experience which is to include games, social interactions, Esports, theater, and shopping. The second layer he speaks about is discovery. This layer is about introducing people to new experiences that John identifies as “inbound” the ones we go looking for ourselves and “outbound” the ones that find us through ads and marketing. The next layer is creator economy where it is about actually creating the experiences not necessarily having to writing the code but being able to build based off of other’s templates to make it easier for everyone to develop. Spatial computing is the fourth layer that he names and in this layer 3D engines are used in along with geospatial mapping to incorporate the real world and augment reality. Layer five he calls decentralization, and the idea is that the metaverse will not be owned by a single entity, but software can interact with each other so that not one entity can maintain control. Layer six is human interface and this layer is about how we connect to the metaverse. Smartphones, VR headsets, smart glasses, and #d printed wearables. Finally layer seven infrastructure which includes everything our technology and devices need to connect to the network and deliver us content. He says while 5G is dramatically improving our speeds 6G will improve it even more (Radoff, 2021).
In some cases, the metaverse allows its users to create and customize their own
avatars and then use them to be able to explore and interact with different environments and other users. The metaverse is about interacting all in a digital format where you can be whatever you want to be. From what I have learned and understand from Natasha’s presentation for now anyway the metaverse seems to mainly be growing around games and socializing. It is a not so new way to interact and meet with others to collaborate or play games. Now you can build worlds, learn, and even work in the metaverse there is even digital currency Bitcoin and Ethereum. While it seems that the idea is ultimately for the metaverse to be much more than just for gaming it seems that that is what has been pushing the growth of the metaverse.
Natasha mentioned that currently technology is limiting the ability of the metaverse to really expand and take off. That we're limited to what our infrastructure can handle and do. It seems that the possibilities could be almost endless as far as the metaverse is concerned. While I do think it is very interesting it seems like we are still a long way away from a fully immersive metaverse. I also feel while the seven rules include that the metaverse is for everyone and is open I feel like it may not always be that way or at least not completely. In my opinion Radoff has a more realistic vision in his seven layers of the metaverse and doesn’t call them rules more of how he thinks the future of the metaverse may play out.
References:
Parisi, T. (2021) The Seven Rules of the Metaverse Metaverses
Radoff, J. (2021) The Metaverse Value-Chain Building the Metaverse
Comments