“The metaverse is a concept describing a persistent, shared, 3D virtual world, often accessed through virtual reality (VR) or augmented reality (AR) technologies. It’s envisioned as an evolution of the internet, where users can interact with each other, digital environments, and virtual objects in a more immersive and embodied way than current online platforms allow.” - Google’s AI Overview

The History of the Metaverse

The Metaverse has been a concept for awhile, but really begun to gain traction when Mark Zuckerberg renamed Facebook to Meta in 2021 and declared his vision for the future of the Internet and the so-called Metaverse.

The Metaverse seems to include digital games like Minecraft and Roblox, or VRChat, where people interact with each other in VR headset worlds. It has been closely tied to new technologies with augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), cryptocurrency, blockchain, and more.

Meta proclaims the Metaverse is a place to connect, learn, shop, work, and play. It seems like both a genuine business venture for Meta as well as a well-supported dream by Mark Zuckerberg.

Virtual Worlds

For as long as I can remember, as a kid playing video games on the Wii, or my iPad Mini, or Minecraft on my computer, my parents always said: “He’s off in his own little virtual world.”

You often hear the phrases virtual worlds, virtual spaces, digital universes, or similar. I think we use these terms because of the sheer vastness, complexity and hard-to-grasp size of the internet. But moreso we use these terms because they are accurate.

When you enter a flow state, or focus, while playing a game or working on the Internet, it feels like you’re in a different world. Your entire attention span is absorbed, for good or for bad. Your attention enters an entirely different state than that of the physical one.

Virtual worlds aim to provide people with experiences that they literally can’t or otherwise wouldn’t have. Like Zuckerberg’s Meta says, it’s a place to connect, learn, and play. (Though we’re still seeing what it looks like to shop and work in the Metaverse.)

The Metaverse is becoming a place for virtual worlds - with aforementioned AR/VR games like VRChat, or good “old fashioned” large games like Minecraft and Roblox.

The Metaverse Today

Many valid questions seem to be being asked about the Metaverse. Does it really exist? Is it just a word to describe new technological innovations regarding the Internet? Is it just a hyped up thing that can’t really be quantified?

The Metaverse today seems like an idea with a few new technologies, such as AR/VR. This idea seems to dream of a world where everyone has access to the Internet, and our experiences become more digital or more intertwined with the digital world.

Whether or not it’s just hype, it seems like the ideas of the Metaverse are here to stay. Meta’s idea of streamlining the “connect, learn, shop, work, play” model appears to be a realistic focus.

Predictions for the Future

Now that I’ve described a bit about what the Metaverse was envisioned to be and what it looks like today, what does the future of the Internet and the Metaverse look like? If we are to embrace the concept of a Metaverse, what does it take to get there?

New Models of The Internet

If the Metaverse is to thrive, I think the Internet will change into more practical, direct usages. For instance, do most Internet users really need to know or understand HTTP/HTTPS? What does knowing a domain really mean in today’s internet, when you know what services you want to use already? What does the first page of results in your web browser mean if you’ll have the information delivered to you either via AI or the first two links?

I think these finer technological details will become hidden, and browsers will begin to look more like all-in-one solutions that serve your most popular services to you: social media, shopping, and work websites. New browsers with more customizability like Arc have already been popping up, and more browsers and operating systems are trying to integrate with AI.

I find that use cases of technology are usually driven: i.e. someone frequently may just open Google Sheets in their web browser, and have their email open too. Another user may use their computer solely for gaming; while another user may stream lots of content as well as enjoy online shopping.

I think these “core” or “driven” use cases will be emphasized and centralized, or grouped together; for instance, the Google or Microsoft Office suites will become integral parts of the browser that are even easier to access. All politics and controversies aside, this seems to be Elon Musk’s vision for his rumored all-in-one X platform. Altogether, we will chase productivity with new models of the internet as people begin to live more digital lives as well as attempt to make money.

The infrastructure of the internet will need to improve; more investment will be put toward clean energy (the world is already beginning to worry about this) and supporting big data (which will become even bigger than we ever imagined) and large resource demands to support virtual worlds. People will need to be guaranteed access to reasonably good internet, and AR/VR technology will likely become more reasonably priced. AI technology will continue to run rampant and also cause resource demand.

More Legality

The Internet will become both more safe and more dangerous. It will become more safe in the sense that the value of user privacy is finally becoming realized. Legislation is following, with the landmark introduction of GDPR in Europe and later introduction in the United States, particularly in California.

Lawmakers will begin to better understand the internet, following questions over what they really understand in the Zuckerberg (1, 2, 3) and Chew trials. Newer generations will begin to hold office and be able to better make legislation from their experiences.

However, the internet remains a dangerous place, especially for youth, as battles remain over pornography websites, with some states adopting age-verification laws. Additional legislation is being enacted in the UK. Some adult content websites are circumventing this and blacking out their service in places with age verification anyways.

Social media could be one of the most dangerous places of all for youth on the internet. Countries are beginning to impose legislation on this too as well as age verification laws. The Social Dilemma portrays a lot of these issues, and Frances Haugen whistleblowing testimony urges action on social media companies that are mistreating children and their data. There is so much literature coming out about the effects of social media on children, some positive though mostly negative. I would encourage your own reading on this topic.

In the United States, COPPA protects some data for children under 13 years of age, but otherwise data is not often protected, and more often sold.

Additionally, net neutrality appears to be a more stale but ongoing legal battle for the internet, with most recent legislation on both sides in 2017 and 2018. If the Metaverse is to truly be for everyone, equally, then the concept of free internet should persist.

All of these legal issues and consumer safety issues make for a more complicated picture with the Metaverse, and its idea that we can begin to substitute major parts of our life with virtual equivalents.

New Revenue Sources

Disclaimer: This is not financial advice and I do not have significant financial experience.

New revenue sources, or a return of the same, will also define the future of the Internet and Metaverse.

Despite the jokes about it, the rise of the battle pass in a variety of games following its success in Fortnite, shows that a new innovation in “free” games can define new eras of revenue on the internet. The battle pass is appealing because players don’t miss out on the core game, but those who do buy the battle pass create the fear-of-missing-out for those who don’t.

The plethora of subscriptions, especially in streaming services, seems to be the surefire revenue source for companies. I would imagine that subscriptions can help recurring revenue (rather than one-time revenue) and help companies predict their revenue in the longer term.

Use-based services are a revenue source I would like to see more of. Rather than paying subscriptions for months or years, you could pay per use of service, and cancel when you wish rather than jumping through hoops to cancel your service. A one-size-fits-all solution of the Internet doesn’t work by nature. Hence, if we have unified platforms where we shop, work, stream, and so forth, we need to be able to opt in and out willingly.

Internet freedom and capitalism are ideas that are often in conflict. The “free internet” is an idea of a place where everyone has access to learning, webpages, and more. Yet, companies still must make money; this is just how our world works.

The one revenue source I haven’t mentioned is ads, which are arguably the biggest revenue source because they require no action from anybody (other than using the web itself) and relying on data being sold. This fits the free internet model because content is still free, but as mentioned with legality and user privacy, has issues. This may become a tougher market over time with more regulation, just like the aforementioned legal side of adult content and net neutrality with internet service providers (ISPs).

Free games like Roblox with in-app or in-game purchases seem to fit this model well and make money. As long as you have access to the base game or the base webpage for free, you can always buy more cosmetics or be shown more ads.

For better or for worse, the free internet beckons regulation.

What makes the Metaverse?

Words haven’t come yet for the Metaverse, or at least coherent definitions.

I think the Metaverse hasn’t really materialized yet, but it will. I think something of the Metaverse is something that advances technology in ways we haven’t seen so far - like AI, advanced VR technology or AR glasses. Apple and Meta are both having a go at this in recent years.

Part of the metaverse is escapism. You can escape into our so-called virtual worlds, meeting people from around the world with similar interests. You can learn and play and get lost in a world entirely different from your own. Some people need escapism from whatever they’re going through in life. Or, often times, it will help you live your life outside of technology better.

I’m cautiously optimistic about the future of the Metaverse; I don’t think we need to put too much stock into every technology that comes along, like AI, crypto and blockchain, but we can embrace the ideas of advancing Internet technology.

However, to get to the internet of the future, The Metaverse, so much work needs to be done with the legality of it all, revenue sources, user privacy, big data, and more.

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