Metaverse has recently become a hot topic of discussion, especially when Mark Zuckerberg changed the name of his company to Meta Platforms Inc., or Meta for short on Thursday, October 28, 2021. But do you know the history, advantages and disadvantages of the currently booming metaverse? Don’t Worry I will review about History, advantages & disadvantages of metaverse for society.
What is Metaverse?
Quoting The Verge, Metaverse is a digital reality that combines aspects of social media, gaming, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and cryptocurrency that allows users to interact virtually and can enjoy various metaverse features such as watching music virtually, working in metaverse indirectly, you can even buy land or buildings in the metaverse to make your business. This makes the metaverse interesting and unique to play with, it can even be a job for you to make money virtually. and it is possible, someday there will be a Metaverse University to study with friends virtually.
History of the Metaverse
The term Metaverse was first coined by Neal Stephenson in the cyberpunk genre novel “Snow Crash” published in 1992. In Snow Crash Metaverse itself is a virtual world that can be visited using VR devices at that time.
Since then, there have been countless companies interested in developing the metaverse.
Companies Starting to Focus on Implementing the Metaverse
Facebook (META)
As we know, if Facebook changes its name to Meta, with the change of name Facebook is ready to become the initiator of Metaverse. It is reported that Facebook has also introduced its initial version, Horizon World. Facebook has also prepared various technologies that can support Metaverse such as VR Messaging, Project Cambria, and Horizon Marketplace.
By developing the Google Glass product, Google is also preparing to launch Google’s version of Metaverse. With this more and more big companies are Developing Metaverse Virtual Worlds, which will probably become a Trend in the future.
Microsoft
Microsoft started its steps in the Metaverse by introducing Mesh for Teams which can be used for presentations, meetings and chat via avatars without having to meet in person. This is the first step for Microsoft towards a bright future and continues to grow over time.
Even one of the games owned by Epic Games has carried the Metaverse theme, namely Fortnite, which now has 350 million registered players. Epic Games develops VR, AR and 3D content to make it more accessible to users. Epic Games like Fortnite make the players imagine as if the players are in the game & fight directly. This gets our adrenaline pumping and makes it even more exciting.
Technological developments will certainly bring positive and negative impacts for its users, the metaverse itself has its advantages and disadvantages, namely:
Advantages of Metaverse
The development of this technology has a good impact on business and education including:
Creating New Business Opportunities, metaverse has the advantage of opening up new marketing opportunities, users represented by avatars can shop, socialize, take part in recreational activities, and learn.
Like Metaverse Education. They can enhance lectures or allow remote students to visit campus virtually. Virtual reality simulations assist students in practising medical or architectural skills that are difficult to practice in real life.
Disadvantages of Metaverse
In addition to having advantages, Metaverse itself has several drawbacks, including being addictive and losing track of time, just like playing online games in general, where the metaverse is a virtual world that can make users forget their real-life tasks. So the conclusion is we must always learn and keep learning to keep up with the times. However, we must be wise in using these facilities.