Recently, a friend asked what I do for a living. Trying to explain (from my perspective) fastest to the point was: you know… blockchain, metaverse and projects that want to be there. A friend’s answer: aha, so you hire people, but they through the blockchain don’t know they’re working for you because it’s decentralized I guess, isn’t it?

Well, and we’re getting further away from the goal, so I keep looking for concepts: well, but have you heard of the Metaverse? It’s such a virtual reflection of our reality. Or at least a vision of it. And this is where I ended up. Bomb. In response I heard: PEOPLE are crazy, they want to live on the Internet. WHAT IS THIS WORLD COMING TO.

So there you have it. What really is this whole metaverse? Can it be defined by a single term? And does it actually threaten our lives, life on the Internet?

In the simplest terms, this complex phenomena is the next iteration of the Internet’s incarnation in our lives after web 1.0 and web. 2.0. We can imagine it as a digital universe where the line between the real and virtual worlds begins to blur.

The metaverse is also hard to define as a single, category-specific technology like blockchain, for example. The metaverse is more of a shared digital space where interactions and integration of technologies occur. Metaversum is a space where we will be able to do all the activities we know: do business, art, enjoy entertainment, build social relationships and our social standing in this strange model of instances.

And this seems abstract. To some people. For various reasons. And others buy a virtual plot of land in the Metaversum built in front of the Sandbox for $450,000, because it is in the neighborhood of Snoop Dog (such an artist, quite popular. Don’t worry I don’t listen to him either).

This is well illustrated by the 7 layers of the metaverse illustrated by Jon Radoff. As you can see, they touch on just about every broader aspect of functioning in the virtual layer: from the infrastructure that must take place in our real world (5G internet), to the devices and technology that enable us to enter this world (Google AR) and our experience of this virtual reality layer. Through the threads concerning all that the web 3.0 flagship proclaims: art within NFT, DAO, decentralization.

Let’s divide the activities you can undertake into 4 sections, starting with:

That is, everything about our daily activities and interactions with the world. Creating one’s avatars, buying them clothes, houses, expensive Gucci handbags because, after all, we want to maintain our image there too on the Internet (crazy isn’t it?), of course art in NFT, building social relationships (e.g. Kind Words is a kind of game where users write letters to strangers, asking for advice, talking about topics important to them), in the Metaverse one can also practice se*x, but about that maybe some other time.

Below is a collection of clothes by The Fabricant brand. That is, clothes that never existed in the real world.

Here the need to create spaces for our already dressed and reflective avatars is being realized. Virtual shopping malls are being created, the likes of Prada, Balenciaga, Tom Brown and already most of the fashion world (who can afford it!) have their stores in the Metaverse. Meta Spaces are also concerts, sporting events, business conferences, where to meet a Shanghai company you don’t have to cross latitudes.

A growing trend is Travelportation.

That is, the Metaverse enables teleportation. In other words, a sensory experience that brings travelers closer to their destination without traveling. June 2021 saw the debut of the JourneeBox project, which offers a travel experience by combining it with virtual lessons, workshops and cultural interactions.

Imagine being able to watch the Aurora Borealis without frostbite on your limbs. Well, that’s just it: the Swedish travel company Lights over Lapland has introduced virtual tours, inviting anyone with a headset into the experience.

This category includes everything related to business and sales. This is one of the most developed forms, entering our real world. That is, virtual fitting rooms, scanning reality to see hidden ads in the superimposed virtual world and the strong trend of Gamevertising, which I will describe in a separate post.

These are forms centered around the creation of social relationships and the implementation of their functions. Creating virtual identities in the form of avatars, virtual influencers, social platforms.

Here for an example My avatar

The Metaverse is a world that in its current form may seem like a caricature of reality, because how are they going to satisfy us elementally? But it is certainly a creature that will enter our living spaces with increasing appetite and is worth watching.

Because quantum changes can happen overnight.