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Patricia Reiners

Patricia Reiners

The Metaverse 

8 Use Cases for the Metaverse Web 3.0 — The (R)evolution of the Internet

Zuckerberg defines the metaverse as follows: “The metaverse is an embodied internet that you’re inside of rather than just looking at.”

With Internet 1.0, you were basically only able to consume content from screens. We surfed websites, looked up contact details and when it came up, we might drop by some chats.

Web 2.0 was all about social media and mobile revolution. Here we move on centralized internet and social media platforms. Above all Facebook, Google, Amazon etc. Most of us use our cell phones on these platforms to look at the Internet, i.e. at the computer or mobile phone screen.

And now comes version 3.0 : The Metaverse. In doing so, we become part of the Internet, we are part of the Internet.

But how can we imagine that in concrete terms? Now let’s take a closer look…

This is what the Metaverse might feel like…

Have you ever been in a flight simulator? As a kid I was a huge fan of flight simulators and 3D cinema. I actually still am a fan. There, one of the coolest attractions for me was a 3D flight simulator that allowed you to fly through the universe. You probably know this:

You sit down in this dark ball. The seat moves hydraulically and you have a huge screen in front of you. And then you fly through the universe and have the feeling of sitting in this spaceship and flying through space and time.

In a 3D cinema, you put on the 3D glasses and immediately feel like you are inside the movie.

For me, this is the first step in the direction of how we can envision the Metaverse. With just one big difference: In the Metaverse we are part of this digital world. So we don’t get them in front of us and can then “only” look at them, e.g. in the flight simulator or in the 3D cinema. Instead, a real world emerges.

A real world where we can really live, where we can really interact, where we can really do business with other people, where things can really happen. Let’s take a closer look at a few eye-opening examples of how this can look in practice.

So the Metaverse is a digital world controlled by us as real individuals, shaped by us, lived by us. We “beam” or “teleport” ourselves into a digital world.

As already mentioned, the very, very big and most prominent feature of the Metaverse is its decentralization. In the Metaverse is no platform like Web 2.0. So no centralized Google, no centralized Facebook, or apple etc. Everything runs on a company’s platform. Everything is completely decentralized.

https://www.basicthinking.de/blog/2021/11/02/reskin-kuenstliche-haut-facebook-metaverse/

In principle, each of us can create new worlds and spaces. For example, every person can decide with their avatar in which world, in which room, in which environment, in which social interaction they engage in. In addition, they can choose which other people or avatars they meet.

And this is completely independent of the platforms of the big tech companies.

The whole thing can always take place peer-to-peer, without anything or anyone — without an intermediary in between. You and I could communicate, interact, meet directly with each other in this Metaverse. And this is where the next key topic comes into play: the blockchain.

When you hear the term blockchain, you might think about cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin or Ethereum. Here people interact, communicate and trade directly with each other without any bank, any intermediary, any state, any platform in between. Incidentally, this gives us a huge opportunity to regain sovereignty over our data.

It’s a completely different digital world overall. So, there are no limits to the creativity, dynamics and number of these Metaverse worlds. But in terms of social interactions, communication, economics, commerce, etc., the world is real — and not far removed from our physical world as we know it.

 

Yes, you might be able to make money in the Metaverse! 

Due to the decentralized design, it may even be possible for every single person, i.e. you and me, to earn money in the Metaverse.

Nowadays, Facebook pixels or Google tracking are built into websites. With it, our online surfing behavior is tracked. Who makes money from it? Not us, but the big tech companies.

A blockchain-based decentralized service belongs to no company. For example, you could now agree to having your behavior tracked in the metaverse. With the condition that each of us earns money from advertisements that are displayed there.

Everything is suddenly controlled peer-to-peer decentrally, each individual has sovereignty over their data and can — if they wish — even benefit directly from it.

Perhaps with these developments we are currently experiencing the greatest democratization in human history. At the same time, blockchain, cryptocurrencies and the metaverse naturally also have a high potential for disruption:

Not only in the direction of companies, but especially in the direction of the state with all its classic institutions such as banks, insurance companies, etc. It will be exciting to see what will happen here in the next 30 to 50 years. This development cannot really be stopped…

Metaverse examples: This is what it might look like in practice

Let me put some images in your mind of what we can imagine when the Metaverse becomes a reality…

🏝 Traveling

Traveling will be possible for everyone. Traveling is something that probably 95% of humanity on this planet these days cannot really do. But consider the following possibility:

You step into the metaverse and can suddenly see the Eifel tour. Inside, outside, everywhere. And that even when I’m in australia.

This not only has the effect that you can suddenly travel around the world. It also has the advantage of being much more resource-efficient, environmentally friendly, and ecological. More and more people on this planet will be able to visitit other parts of the world.

👯 Meeting friends

Walks with friends who are far away. Another really great use case and a real eye-opener for me: you can quickly make an appointment with friends who are far away. Maybe they are in Hamburg or New York. No matter.

You just make an appointment in the Metaverse, go for a walk with each other, and chat about everything and everything. You can spent quality time together in the Metaverse. In which room, in which world do you want to meet? Then our avatars go for a walk together. We beam ourselves digitally into this world, so to speak, and have a great time together!

Source: Meta

🎸 Concerts

Experience live concerts right in the middle of everything and imagine your favorite band is playing and you can be there. Concerts in the Metaverse is nothing new, last September Coldplay did a concert in the BMW Metaverse called Joytopia and a few weeks ago Said Ghuetta did a concert in Roblox

Not just by watching a concert on a computer screen or using a mobile phone. But really live in 3D. Right in the middle, your avatar can dance, enjoy the show and you can meet others concert visitors.

Coldplay concert in BMW’s Joytopia world lasz summer

😷 Medicine

Do you remember the last time you went to the doctor and needed to wait long times on the waiting room. How about telemedicine instead of full waiting rooms. A visit to the doctor may no longer be necessary. Because doctor and patient can meet in the metaverse and talk and interact with each other there.

In the metaverse, for example, many steps must be clarified before an imperative operation can be conducted. Maybe even investigations with devices that we haven’t even suspected yet.

An important point: Everything is more resource-saving and sustainable!

👔 Business

Let’s take a look at what could be possible when it comes to business, teamwork, leadership…

Team meetings today via Zoom, soon in the shared meta space.

Meta room instead of meeting room: The Covid-19 pandemic has probably also given the Metaverse a real boost. Suddenly so many more people are working digitally via zoom, teams, etc. Of course, we also know about the disadvantages. You just don’t really sit together at a table.

And that’s exactly what a meta-space can solve. You sit down together at a table in the metaverse. It’s almost as if you were meeting live. And I’m sure there are many more advantages and possibilities. Just the thought of which software and tools you could integrate that you might not have at a live meeting.

Meta horizon workplace

Customer talks and guided tours completely independent of location

Customer meetings and employee meetings are no longer a problem, even if remote teams are spread all over the world. You just meet in the Metaverse and work together there.

Guided tours through companies, production halls or through team workspaces — that’s no problem at all. It will be exciting to see how this will look technologically.

How will this work? How will we enter this world? how will it feel to hear all future music for 30, 40, 50 years. We will see …

🧑‍🏫 School lessons & Education

Who says kids will still be heading to buildings in 50 years? That a teacher stands in front of the class and explains the world to the kids. Maybe they all meet in the metaverse? Or do you go directly to the site of action? isn’t there the possibility to choose the teacher and the courses?

Colleges and Universities: Cross-border real-time research

Here, in a metaverse, joint teaching and research are possible across national and university borders. And also in real time. For example, you could do research and work together in a Metaverse lab.

Another field of huge potential and opportunities: online training, further education and joint events.

Daegu launches metaverse-based education program for schools

👋 Marketing

An exciting playground Intellectual Property (IP) In the next-generation Metaverse worlds, companies can create their own worlds and digital products — and then sell them. The Metaverse visitor can then interact with their characters and avatars. A small example:

Instead of watching Mickey Mouse on TV, you jump into a world and interact directly with the Disney heroes. The user can decide when and where he wants to interact with brands which makes its incredibly interesting for

🛒 Create and sell digital goods

Digital goods are a huge topic and are making more and more headlines with NFTs. And here, blockchain-based digital artwork and trading cards from our favorite soccer players are just the beginning of the possibilities.

In order to move and reside in the metaverse, an avatar is necessary. Such a person wants to be dressed naturally, he wants to be equipped, he wants to own certain things. Just like it is in the real world. Accordingly, there will also have to be the possibility of buying various digital goods in the digital world.

This is no longer just a pipe dream. Young people in particular are willing to spend a lot of money on digital products. It may be difficult for us older people to identify with that, but it’s absolutely normal for younger people.

https://www.one37pm.com/nft/sports/most-expensive-soccer-nfts

 — — — — 

The Metaverse: still a dream of the future and yet already real

Certainly many novel products will be developed in connection with the Metaverse, of which we have no idea at the moment. Who would have known 20 years ago what social media is or what a smartphone makes possible?

A decentrally organized metaverse can belong to all of humanity. We can be curious to see what will develop in the coming years and decades. One thing is certain:

This is the new development stage of the Internet — Web 3.0.

Certainly difficult to imagine at the moment. But only a few decades ago, there was only television. It was also unimaginable that a large part of the world’s population would be looking at screens almost continuously in 2022, and even carrying one around in their trouser pockets.

And it’s just as difficult for us today to imagine a future in the Metaverse.

So, See you in the Metaverse my friends!

 

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