The Metaverse: A Guide to the World of Creativity and Innovations
This article is intended for informational and educational purposes only. It is not intended to be investment advice or form the basis for an investment decision.
What is the Metaverse?
The term “metaverse” has been used a lot recently. Whether it is a buzzword that has yet to materialize or an actual progression in how we experience social media and the internet is up for debate. When Facebook rebranded as “Meta” in October 2021, many people believed the metaverse was right around the corner. Other technology giants, such as Microsoft, are also investing heavily in the metaverse. Essentially, the metaverse is a virtual reality equivalent of how we experience the internet today. With the help of technology such as Virtual Reality and Augmented Reality, individuals can interact remotely with friends, family, co-workers, and other metaverse enthusiasts.
Potential marketing opportunities abound for companies that are making the metaverse a priority. Companies can have their logo placed for a high number of viewer impressions on everything from branded clothing to virtual items. Gaming is one area that the metaverse can capitalize on, where trophies for beating certain difficult challenges can be displayed in players’ homes or shown to their friends.
Virtual tourism is another use of the metaverse. Instead of physically visiting certain sites around the world, users can see attractions from the comfort of their homes. “Warping” to places worldwide would be easy and may require a fee. Getting together for meetings with friends has the potential to be fast and productive.
Innovations in healthcare are another potential use of the metaverse. Geographical distances between a user and their doctor, for example, could become irrelevant. The medical community can benefit from the ease with which patients can instantaneously see their healthcare provider.
Economically speaking, the metaverse can change how we think about money. Entire worlds within the metaverse can utilize their own currency, which can be traded between individuals. Exchange rate opportunities may be prevalent for enterprising speculators of currency fluctuations.
Is the Metaverse Growing?
Many large technology companies are investing significant sums of money in the metaverse. Microsoft recently acquired Activision Blizzard for $69 billion, the largest gaming deal to date, and many are speculating that move was to bolster their capabilities in developing the metaverse. Nintendo, Decentraland, the Sandbox, and Roblox are experienced organizations that have been operating in virtual reality for years. The investment firm Grayscale has estimated that global revenues from virtual gaming alone could surpass $400 billion by 2025, from $180 billion today.
Another public company that could benefit from the expansion of the metaverse is Nvidia. Their graphical processing units are used widely worldwide and could be key for virtual reality and augmented reality devices.
Cryptocurrencies appear to be the main trading method for goods and services within the metaverse. NFTs (non-fungible tokens) may one day be used like real-life money across different worlds within the metaverse.
There is a lot of activity from investors in concerts and events. Pop artists like Ariana Grande and Lil Nas X have performed virtual concerts attracting millions of fans from across the globe. In addition, Some investors have already paid millions of dollars for “virtual land.”
How to get involved in the Metaverse?
One way is through Play to Earn Games, which makes it possible for users to earn rewards such as cryptocurrency by accomplishing certain objectives in games. Some users have created online shopping venues where they resell virtual products such as clothing and other marketable objects. Some have also even started eCommerce businesses within the metaverse that deliver products to customers within the real world.
Throughout the Metaverse, users attend online partying and concert events, with some even organizing and planning these types of events. Art galleries have sprung up that charge users a small fee for admission.
One really interesting development is virtual real estate. Some users have become dealers of real estate and prime properties, or may even rent out parts of their property to people who are not looking to own outright.
Advertising and marketing are very popular in the metaverse. You can consider promoting one of your own businesses within the metaverse to attract customers. You can also become a metaverse promoter and write articles about the metaverse for people to consume.
What is the future of the Metaverse?
Communities within the metaverse are growing all the time. In platforms like The Sandbox there has been rapid growth from initiatives like the creation of Mega-City, a virtual city based on Hong Kong.
Marketing seems abundant in the metaverse. Samsung just announced the launch of a virtual store within Decentraland, where the unit of currency is “mana.” They are not the first brand to exploit the growth in metaverse real estate. Gucci and Nike have purchased brand space across several different platforms.
The value of real estate in the Metaverse is already quite high. In 2021 alone, $692.11 million changed hands across real estate buyers and sellers, according to data from Nonfungible.com. Over the same period, the 30-day average price of a metaverse property in Decentraland was $6,849.68. This growth is remarkable when you consider that the average price was $1,523.58 just a few months before that.
As companies flock to the metaverse to create brand impressions and more and more users enter the space, these numbers may continue to grow.