Maybe you are not involved in gaming and do not use virtual reality, and thus you think that the Metaverse is irrelevant for your business. Should you dismiss it completely? Maybe not. After all, most if not all of the major trends impact businesses sooner or later. It is already a necessity for companies to have a well thought digital strategy and to look for opportunities to maximize the business’s digital presence.
SWIIT takes you into the Brave New World of the metaverse. We explore what it is, what opportunities lurk and what to watch out for.
What is a Metaverse?
The metaverse is a post-reality universe, containing a multiuser environment that merges physical reality with virtuality, and users through avatars. The metaverse is an interconnected web of social immersive environments that live on multiuser platforms that utilize technologies such as virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and extended reality (XR) to enable multisensory interactions within the metaverse.
The idea of combining digital and physical realities where people can live immersive experiences and spend much of their time gives rise to the term Metaverse. This concept is not new since it appears for the first time in 1992, however, in recent months it has acquired great prominence among society.
Opportunities
Although the Metaverse is a concept that is still difficult to define precisely, it will provide a major shift in the way we make use of and interact with technology.
Fashion: Avatars are the central fixture of a player’s virtual identity in the metaverse, which describes why digital self-expression is becoming more important to online users. Fashion brands are playing a crucial role in shaping the metaverse.
Marketing & branding: Companies can use virtual reality in the metaverse to engage with customers in a more creative way, offering them exclusive brand experiences in the new virtual world.
Creator economy: The metaverse enables creators to sidestep these platforms and directly connect with their audience, allowing the creator economy to blossom.
Entertainment: The metaverse will make concerts and other virtual events limitless and borderless, allowing a global audience to participate and enjoy exhibitions.
Travel: By combining the virtual world’s limitless travel opportunities with the profitable tourism industry, the metaverse hosts a range of lucrative potential for those in the travel sector.
Employer branding: organizations can use emerging technologies to enable augmented virtual workspaces, which can dramatically increase employee engagement and productivity. This can particularly help in remote working environments, inspiring creative collaboration in the workplace.
Learning & development: Leveraging VR and AR technologies, the metaverse can enhance education and enable online course providers to offer immersive learning experiences across a wide range of fields.
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Downside of the Metaverse
Everyone is raving about all the potential benefits of the metaverse – but there is a darker side, too. Here are some potential downsides to the Metaverse:
Privacy: We already have privacy concerns when we browse the web. The technology that is already tracking our behavior online will also exist in the metaverse, and the tracking is likely to become even more invasive and intense.
Health: Internet or gaming addictions are already a big problem for kids and adults, and getting hooked on spending all our time in the metaverse could be an even greater problem in the future.
Access: How can we make sure that everyone in the world has equal access to the metaverse, and not just the people who have the most money and live in advanced countries?
Digital law: Can a virtual act be a crime? The Metaverse will bring regulatory challenges and will introduce new gray areas in many laws.
Identity control: In the virtual world, we will be using avatars – and it will be possible for people to hack our avatars and steal our online identities. If this happens, the hacker could pretend to be you and could wreak havoc in your virtual and real worlds.
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Is the Metaverse a Good Fit For Your Business?
The metaverse presents a future of abundance and possibility. It is up to industry leaders and entrepreneurs to invest in metaverse strategies at the early stage to solidify lucrative channels in this exciting new frontier.
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