In the fifth installment of the “Untangling Web3” podcast, hosts Alec Burns and Jack Davies ventured into the realm of the metaverse, tackling a topic both ethereal and concrete.
Davies immediately set the stage by acknowledging the elusive nature of the metaverse, asserting, “The metaverse is both tangible and intangible. It can mean many things to different people, but it is quite hard to wrap your head around some of the concepts.”
He characterized the metaverse as a vision of virtual worlds, realms, and realities that might seamlessly blend with our perception of the physical world. “It’s essentially a way of doing new things in immersive environments,” he expounded.
Burns defined the metaverse as a fully interactive digital reality that converges the physical and digital domains. He elucidated the various levels of immersion, ranging from Virtual Reality (VR) to Augmented Reality (AR) and Extended Reality (XR). To experience these digital wonders, hardware like Oculus headsets, HoloLens, Google Glass, or even a smartphone camera lens is essential.
The metaverse is, in essence, an amalgamation of various disciplines. Burns pointed out that some people describe it as a 3D internet, intertwined with AI, blockchain, and Web3 technology.
Before delving deeper into these disciplines and their interplay, the hosts delved into the historical roots of the metaverse concept.
Davies highlighted that the concept of the metaverse predates Facebook’s transformation into Meta, emphasizing that it has been present in the collective consciousness for quite some time. “A lot of people go back to this Sci-Fi novel by Neal Stephenson called Snow Crash from 1992, and I think that’s where you’d have this first description in fiction about what the metaverse is like,” Davies noted.
Burns noted that another significant milestone was the 2000 release of the life simulator video game, “Sims,” which sold six million copies of its first version. Subsequently, “Second Life” emerged, which, according to its creators, wasn’t a game but an experience of creating a virtual life in a virtual world, centered on the creator economy.
Both hosts reflected on the profound influence of “Ready Player One,” both the book and the movie, on their perception of the metaverse. Davies expressed his vivid connection to the philosophy of plugging into a new virtual world with limitless possibilities.
While gamers are expected to be early adopters of the metaverse, its practical applications in real life are increasingly apparent. An example of this is the ability to try out products in the virtual world and then have them delivered to the physical world, akin to the scenario depicted in “Ready Player One.”
How businesses and large organizations embrace and cultivate the metaverse, and its relationship with Web3, were also topics of discussion. Burns noted, “The metaverse, in my mind right now, is effectively the gateway to Web3… Web3 is the foundational protocol that allows that space to function at the lower levels.”
Davies envisioned Web3 as the technological infrastructure that enables genuine utility within the metaverse. “So without Web3, the metaverse might just be this smaller, narrower, focused thing where you might have metaverses for gaming. But with Web3 and the technology stack, enabling micropayments, enabling ownership of digital property, that’s where I can certainly envisage the metaverse becoming this much bigger thing,” he articulated.
Burns emphasized the role of Web3 in enabling digital property ownership and facilitating peer-to-peer engagement and value exchanges. He stressed the synergy between what Web3 enables and its direct incentivization of metaverse usage through digital property and ownership.
Davies added that enhanced engagement presents a compelling proposition for businesses, allowing them to leverage “digital real estate” as a portal to attract new customers. He highlighted the potential for customers to virtually experience products before making a purchase, an enticing proposition for businesses.
The metaverse opens the door to a myriad of use cases, including virtual concerts, weddings, advertising within digital spaces, educational applications, medical procedures, and enhanced office setups. The possibilities appear boundless.
However, the hosts acknowledged several challenges within the metaverse space and the underlying technology, with interoperability being a primary concern. Individual developers have created separate metaverses, each within walled gardens, making seamless transitions challenging.
“It’s going to be really hard to have lots of different versions of the metaverse. People want a seamless transition from place to place,” Burns noted.
Davies concurred, asserting that Web3’s role is critical in fostering interoperability. “By putting things on a blockchain, by having digital assets that are themselves interoperable, then we have a common shared currency that can at least go between these different worlds,” he stated.
The hosts agreed that, despite a slow start, the metaverse is poised to gain critical mass in the next 10-15 years, transforming it into a remarkably immersive experience.
“In the Metaverse, you have a similar problem that’s being faced in Web3 as what will be the killer application. It could even be that the metaverse as a concept is the killer application of Web3 that makes it take off,” Davies suggested.
