In 2021, Facebook was renamed "Meta Platforms" and its chairman Mark Zuckerberg declared a company commitment to developing a metaverse. While the facebook rebrands to Meta, this has made Metaverse the new buzz word in the business and social world. Some Experts compare Metaverse in 2022 to where Internet was in 1970s in US. Clearly a lot lies ahead! And some experts are already taking about its negative impact. Given the importance of Metaverse as a GD Topic, MBAUniverse.com presents important information about this Latest GD TOPIC 2022.
What is a Metaverse?
The concept of “metaverse” is still early in its evolution, and there is no one, all-encompassing definition as yet. MBAUniverse.com researched key resources on how do they define this term.
The term "metaverse" has its origins in the 1992 science fiction novel Snow Crash as a portmanteau of "meta" and "universe." Various metaverses have been developed for popular use such as virtual world platforms like Second Life.The term has seen considerable use as a buzzword for marketing purposes to exaggerate development progress for various related technologies and projects.
Wikipedia defines it as, “A metaverse is a network of 3D virtual worlds focused on social connection.In futurism and science fiction, it is often described as a hypothetical iteration of the Internet as a single, universal virtual world that is facilitated by the use of virtual and augmented reality headsets.”
Explaining metaverse, WIRED magazine says, “Broadly speaking, the technologies that make up the metaverse can include virtual reality—characterized by persistent virtual worlds that continue to exist even when you're not playing—as well as augmented reality that combines aspects of the digital and physical worlds. However, it doesn't require that those spaces be exclusively accessed via VR or AR.”
A JP Morgan 2021 December report says, “The metaverse is a seamless convergence of our physical and digital lives, creating a unified, virtual community where we can work, play, relax, transactand socialize…Themes of what the metaverse is and could be, however, are emerging.”
Why Metaverse is in news?
In last few months, many global companies are investing in metaverse-related technologies creating headlines across the world.
- Facebook recently changed its name to ‘Meta’ to align the company with its ambitions to build the ‘metaverse’.
- Microsoft has come up with its ‘Mesh’ platform which has mixed reality capabilities.
- Nvidia is working on their own versions of the virtual universe.
- Epic, the company behind the video game phenomenon Fortnite, has moved beyond games to social experiences like dance parties and virtual music concerts.
Evolution of Metaverse
Present state of Metaverse
So, what is the present state of metaverse? Here are key current applications…
- Gaming: Today many gaming platforms have successfully used the metaverse concept. For example, Epic Games, creator of Fortnite, recently held a music concert by pop singer Ariana Grande in their game.
- Crypto-currency: Cryptocurrency is another aspect of a virtual universe that has been successfully realized, and it will be part of the new metaverse world order where all services will be offered in exchange for crypto.
Future Potential of Metaverse:
Supply and demand dynamics are driving more people into the meta-economy. This, in turn, will necessitate the development of new skills and generate new opportunities to make money. Companies and experts point out to many future use cases.
- Hardware Sales: Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg believes augmented reality glasses will eventually be as widespread as smartphones. If that is the case, this will be a very big market.
- Sofware Sales: Huge scope in the development of software applications to support the meta-verse ecosystem.
- Gaming: Facebook’s gaming platform Oculus VR is expected to be the gateway into the metaverse.
- Physical Sales: Sales of physical goods and services will be linked to the virtual ecosystem in the future.
- Marketing & Advertising: It will be interesting to see how marketing and advertising pans out, as it is potentially one of the biggest segments of the meta-economy. There are huge opportunities for branding and immersive ad experiences in virtual worlds due to the mass audiences available.
- Immersive Learning: Immersive Learning is a training methodology that uses Virtual Reality (VR) to simulate real-world scenarios and train students in a safe and engaging immersive training environment.
- Decentralized Commerce (dCommerce): in-world transactions to happen peer-to-peer.
- Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs): NFTs – the claim of ownership for a unique, non-interchangeable digital asset that is stored on a blockchain – may be widely adopted.
Criticisms
Some experts point out to many misuses of this developing platform.
- Overhyped existing technology: Many criticise ‘Metaverse’ as an over-hyped concept based on existing technology. Such critics argue that technologies like AR, and VR are existing for quite some time. Even the term ‘Metaverse’ is not new.
- Privacy Concerns: Experts point out that VR data is biometric. In such a case, all personal and behavioural characteristics of the people will be recorded making them susceptible to cyber-crimes.
- Addition: User addiction is a concern for the development of virtual reality.
- Distorted reality: The metaverse may distort users’ perceptions of reality with biased content to keep them engaged.
While Facebook changes company name to Meta one or other thought is floating What's really behind Facebook's rebrand to Meta. However, the future will only tell whether the Facebook rebranding to Meta has positive impact or negative and how this Facebook's rebrand to Meta vs. Google's rebrand to Alphabet is good, bad or have no impact.
The above GD topic is making rounds in admission and selection process not only in MBA admission but also in selection process of various recruitment services. So read and understand well and express your unbiased opinion during the GD process.
