My definition of the metaverse:
– The metaverse will be a perpetually accessible, live, and synchronized 3D virtual space open to an unlimited number of fully autonomous users.
– VR will be the only method of access to the metaverse, via privately-owned hardware or purchasing time at commercial VR facilities.
– A dominant metaverse will emerge, with several competing secondary metaverses.
– The major versions of the metaverse will be architected by big tech companies.
– There’s little likelihood of interoperability between metaverses.
– The metaverse(s) will be populated by a vast number of public, commercial, and private environments and experiences, which will be created and operated by an equally diverse and expansive range of contributors and creators.
– Each user will have a single, unique identifier for each metaverse.
– There will be a limited supply of certain resources, particularly area mass (similar to limited real estate in the physical world). The real estate frenzy has already begun—see Republic Realm’s recent $4.3M purchase of “land” in The Sandbox. As their user bases grow, metaverses will release expansions (new digital land).
– As within the physical world, everything in each metaverse will be unique (via blockchain)—and creators will design and sell a variety of digital goods beyond what we see today. Some of these digital goods will have real-world counterparts, and vice versa.
– Each metaverse will operate as a fully functioning economy in which users will be able to make payments; exchange and convert currencies; create and sell digital goods and experiences; and invest in users, companies, and projects.
Do you agree? Disagree? Think I missed something in my definition? For comparison, you can find Matthew Ball’s metaverse definition here: https://www.matthewball.vc/all/themetaverse
