An exploration into the possibilities of the metaverse

For a while the idea about the existence of a metaverse is creating waves. It is more than an edgy fashion trend, 3D virtual universes foreshadow an evolutionary shift of the Web 2.0 Web 2.0 to Web 3.0 which will significantly impact our lives and the economy.

There isn’t a consensus among academics regarding the metaverse’s definition however it’s definitely an exciting time for the web. Facebook and the game video Fortnite, Microsoft… Every stakeholder appears to be constructing their own definition for the world of metaverse. According to Matthew Ball, author of the book meta verse Primer and speaker at the Orange Silicon Valley Hello Show in the early part of October 2021 “the meta verse is a massively multi-dimensional and interoperable network real-time rendered, perpetual 3D virtual universes that allow continuity of identity and history, objects and payment, and can be accessed simultaneously by an essentially unlimitless quantity of individuals.”

The beginnings of a brand new world

The term “metaverse,” an abbreviation between “meta” as well as “universe,” refers to an imaginary world that is featured in the novel of science-fiction Snow Crash, where it first was introduced in 1992. The idea was given its most notable form in 2006, with the creation of the virtual world Second Life, which became well-liked by companies, individuals and brands that looked into its potential to create virtual stores, hold events, host training sessions as well as marketing. The advent of social media however, has pushed Second Life into obscurity.

In their own way, video games have been trying to provide players with a more engaging and social experience for a long time, through the introduction of features that improve players’ interaction. Games like Dark Age of Camelot, Eve Online and, more recently, Fortnite, have developed meta verse capabilities by immersing players in a recurrent world that lets you modify the avatars, the environment as well as the game. The movie industry is striving to create a sense of immersive experiences with blockbuster films like The Matrix, Toy Story, Spiderman in 3D or played through complementary virtual immersive experiences. This is because of the creation of tools that are shared with video games, like”Unreal” and “Unity,” which are “Unreal” as well as the “Unity” 3D rendering engines that enable users to effortlessly move 3D, AR, and VR elements into digital media.

Breaking down barriers to technology

Although speed low latency, speed and the requirement for displaying thousands of polygons 3D environments have slowed the potential in the realm of metaverses, advances made in recent years in the Augmented reality and virtual reality(AR/VR) can open up the potential of AR/VR both in the professional and private areas. Virtual reality glasses and headsets that augmented reality enable immersion into the physical world of the word. These can be used for economic benefits: E-commerce, product placement virtual shopping virtual events, meeting in virtual spaces and more.

Luxury brands, specifically ones that have been leading the way. A lot of them have developed virtual worlds in order to boost their exposure, reach an audience that isn’t there and make purchases, such as Gucci, the Italian clothing brand Gucci or Balenciaga in the midst of the pandemic.”Tomorrow your avatar can be taken to a virtual shop in an alternate universe and let users, using a smartphone or tablet to test virtual products and play with and finally physically buy real goods,” emphasizes Morgan Bouchet, Digital Content & Innovation Director at Orange responsible for Metaverse & XR activities. “You can also choose to outfit your avatar (a persona that is modeled after your own) and customize it to make it stand out on the internet.” This 5G technology will be able to transmit the quantity of 3D data, with a low latency.

Journey to Immersion!

An operator that is digital like Orange has been active in research into the ways in which its services and products are capable of embracing the immersive behaviors of its customers up to the point of thinking and creating a completely smart and augmented world. “In B2C, we support our customers with new methods of entertainment and use with AR/VR/360deg tech,” explains Morgan Bouchet. “Live broadcasts of concerts that are in a virtual space or immersive video that lets you watch soccer matches or to take an immersive 360deg film with dolphins… We’ve integrated a part of Orange TV services’ ecosystem into our “Immersive Now” beta platform, which is an Orange virtual exhibit that allows our customers who are testing the platform, using the Oculus Quest headsets or using their mobile or tablet to experience 2D content that is immersed in a serene setting to experience 360deg content and, later at the end of the future, to invite their closest friends to share these experiences to them.”

In B2B the issue is how the meta verse will resolve the problems faced by the customer of the operator with immersive meetings, augmented involvement in factories remote assistance, training. Orange is also considering the representation of its store in the world of metaverse. stores that faithfully duplicate the current ones to provide customers a similar experience to what they are experiencing or, in the opposite it could propose new designs and experiences that bring real benefits in terms of user experience as well as product knowledge, specifically by introducing new interactions with customers and objects.

People who dance in the metaverse

The events that are remote like Travis Scott’s Fortnite Concert in 2020 (or Ariana Grande’s 2021 concert and so on. ) They have given us an initial glimpse of the advantages of the meta verse in its present condition. The numerous concerts that took place twelve million “spect-actors” in the first night. Travis Scott is a singer. Travis Scott is said to gain considerable time using no flights (the concert was recorded in a 3-D capture studio) and drastically cut down rehearsal/production time, improved visibility, and generated a higher amount of revenue from online purchases.

Metaverses offer other possibilities in the field of leisure and culture for example, the full-immersive exploration of museums, heritage sites and cities from a distance as well as with your friends. Fashion, gaming tourism, music, and fashion are just a few examples of the areas that could be involved in the development of these emerging economic and living spaces.

How can business profit from the metaverse

There was something missing from the alternate universe that was recently proclaimed by Mark Zuckerberg: brands. The virtual worlds created by Facebook appeared to be largely unaffected by advertising. The absence of ads seemed in contradiction with the other aspects of a presentation that was essentially an advertising campaign for the changing of the name of Facebook as Meta, a massive empire that can be sustained by advertisements. In fact, when he wasn’t drawing his vision of the future Zuckerberg was often talking about companies that are already using the Facebook’s virtual as well as augmented reality offerings and exclaiming about the opportunities that the meta verse can provide for innovative business strategies. With the metaverse’s vast space, businesses will surely look at filling its three dimensions with their brand logos and products. We know this because it has already happened in the early virtual world of Second Life. The site was first launched in 2003. Second Life took off a few years later , as businesses were racing to create virtual showrooms and boasted about the potential of it.

In the mirror …..

IBM developed IBM Land; General Motors built Motorati Island. Through BMW through the BBC organizations, they were looking to establish their brand within the new world of online communication. Second Life still exists. Based on Philip Rosedale, founder of Linden Lab, its creator more than a million people visit the virtual world that grew to about equal to Los Angeles. The majority of business have abandoned Second Life. However, when they did briefly advertise their offerings on Second Life, they should have learned some valuable lessons. One is that virtual environments can be an unproductive vehicle for traditional marketing, however they are a great method to increase and enhance leadership capabilities. “In general, control of marketing is shifting away from branding and towards the customer and, in the online worlds this is even more crucial,” says Bernadett Koles of the Ieseg school of management , who was a student in Second Life. Social media, though still at an infancy stage in the year that Second Life peaked, has been able to show brands that they have to interact with customers instead of communicating to customers. The money will be generated in the meta verse, by Facebook most of all.

The choices

The experimentation with various options exposed their minds to new possibilities as their virtual reality was revealed. Thirdly, as the experience of remote work has shown the fact that virtual collaboration and co-operation is more inclusive, which allows a greater variety of people to be involved. Microsoft’s modest steps toward a workplace metaverse including avatars in the Teams collaboration tool is a bid to expand upon what employees have become accustomed to. Some of these applications may not require the full immersion. Some individuals will not wish to take a dip. “Who would want to be spending time as an expensive emoticon in a virtual office? ?” commented one sceptical FT reader on this Microsoft initiative. Second Life creator Rosedale says Facebook and other platforms will need to overcome some formidable technological hurdles to realize their goals. “It’s like crossing a gap,” he told The Sunday Times’ Danny Fortson on a recent podcast. He believes that, at present the metaverse is an untapped niche. However, in the end it could become an excellent business opportunity. To reap the benefits the companies need to look at online worlds as less a vehicle to promote aggressive marketing and more as places that are rich in opportunities to experiment and collaborate to improve leadership and management abilities.

Into The future

It is likely that the much-maligned team-building getaway-day in 2025 or earlier it will be through virtual reality. Your team should take off their VR headsets, and then bring their lessons into the real world.