What is the Metaverse and Why it Matters

Two weeks ago Meta (previously known as Facebook) made a big splash: they announced they were changing their name. [Facebook is still Facebook, it is just owned by a company called Meta.]

It represents what they believe is the future of their company. They believe the future of the web — what some are calling Web 4.0 — to be a shared online 3D virtual space.

I have long struggled with this concept. In fact, it isn’t new. This idea of a 3D virtual space has been around since the advent of Web 2.0 and avatar-based communities like Second Life.

And while I still don’t quite get it, the concept is interesting to think about.

Two articles re-focused my attention over the past week:

Fred Wilson, a venture capitalist from Union Square Ventures, wrote about the Metaverse, “But then I was passing by the Bright Moments NFT Gallery in Soho yesterday and there was literally a line around the block to get into the Bored Apes Yacht Club event. It seemed like there were thousands of Bored Apes NFT owners standing in line for hours to be able to hang out together in person. I texted my colleagues “I guess this metaverse thing is overrated”. […] But it does suggest to me that hanging out together online is still not quite as much fun as hanging out together in person.”

On Monday morning as I was catching up on e-mails, Rex Woodbury wrote about Gather, a cutting-edge execution of this thing we have come to call the Metaverse. It builds a manifestation of the real world for digital engagement and has a lot of use-cases, more than just being “immersive”. I have flagged Gather for a project I am working on and now that I have seen a bit of Gather, this concept of the Metaverse could be on to something rather unique.

Do I think the Metaverse will change my life and the way we do business? No. But do I think it has potential to change aspects of life and experiences? Yeah.

And that’s the fun part.