The Metaverse will revolutionize learning, discovery, and experience, as well as being a place for communication and work, says Meta.
What is the Metaverse and what is its reality?
The metaworld is a 3D virtual space, which in the future should function as an interactive world on the other side of the screen. There are games, workspaces, clubs, entertainment, user interaction, recreational areas, and much more. Basically, you can do anything you can think of in it. There are no physical limitations, and a world other than the laws of nature exists as a matter of course.
“The metaworld, like today’s Internet, is a collection of technologies, platforms and products. “It is not created, operated or managed by any one company or institution,” says Nick Clegg, president of global affairs for Meta (formerly Facebook).
On the face of it, I think it’s a great idea to do something that society can’t imagine right now. The companies that have been able to create the basic structure to build this virtual world will have an absolute privileged position and a chance to get rich.
The Virtual Reality market will reach $37 billion in 2022
Phenomenal market growth rate
According to a survey by research firm Markets and Markets, the virtual and augmented reality market will reach $37 billion worldwide in 2022. It is expected to reach $114.5 billion by 2027. This means a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 25.3%. Thus, the industry has the potential to achieve strong growth overall.
The driving force is the gradual transformation of other markets and interest in virtual reality.In particular, the covid-19 pandemic has shown that various things can move into virtual space.
In addition, previewing with a real estate agent is also possible remotely if you have virtual reality glasses.Various things can be introduced in the virtual world – education, medical training, pilot training, etc.
Of course, all of this contributes to the expansion of fast 5G networks around the world. With instant response and powerful hardware, you can, for example, take a walking tour of the digs in Rome in the evening while in the Maldives.
Big investments and (for now) big losses
The current metaworld is basically an image of the aforementioned Strong metaworld. Its boss, Mark Zuckerberg, has a very loud voice as the promoter of this virtual world. And while it’s proven to be a huge investment in virtual reality campaigns and development beyond words, it certainly doesn’t seem profitable yet.
In the third quarter alone, the Reality Labs division, which develops virtual reality and the metaworld, suffered a loss of 9.4 billion euros (2,170 billion kroner). Moreover, there is no prospect for improvement, at least for the next few years.
However, these results do not mean that it is too early and the project has only just begun to gain momentum. It’s been eight years since Facebook acquired Oculus Virtual Reality. Thanks to a set of protective goggles and manual controls, the Oculus Rift quickly became the preferred virtual reality hardware. Later came the Oculus Quest and Oculus (Meta) Quest 2 series kit. It is now said to be the pinnacle of the middle class of virtual reality goggles.
But at least company executives don’t seem too concerned about the huge losses so far. “I think in the next few years we’re not going to see ourselves as a social networking company anymore,” he said. “They’re going to start seeing us as a company that solves the problems of the metaclass universe,” Zuckerberg said last May 7.
Of course, it would be foolish to think that Facebook is going into the market just to sell its physical products.
The meta-universe and advertising
The reason why Meta developed the meta-universe can only be guessed at this point. First, Meta would have to play a little gambit against investors. The meta-universe is disguised as a revolution in the way people interact with the world and social groups. This could just be PR to distract from the real problems.
The next idea, of course, is practical. Facebook has devoted all its efforts to developing a meta-universe to benefit from advertising and promotions. In terms of social media, this is essentially uncharted territory at the apex of technological evolution. It’s also an opportunity to get even more data by “milking” users and selling “milk” in the form of advertising.
In any case, the popularity that stems from the pomp of the meta-universe seems to only benefit Facebook and the metasociety as a whole. It may be a call to other users who want to participate in this digital revolution, and it may appeal to some investors.
The rest depends on whether Meta pounces on the realization of this revolution. This suggests that massive job cuts are more serious than the company admits.
