What is metavers?

To give a complete vision of the metaverse today is not easy. This new environment promises a revolution. But what is the metaverse? What is it really about? What will change in the years to come? In this article, we explain everything you need to know about the metaverse.

HR Strategy

By Arnaud HUCHER

Learning & Development Consultant

Metaverse: the preamble

In this article, we propose a compensated travelling on a topical subject which is only at the beginning of its career as a future star of all the poles in which we all work within SQORUS: the metaverse.

We humbly attempt here to provide some keys of information on this mode “Ready Player One” (Spielberg, 2018) that is no longer the adaptation of a short story in film that has been able to impress, entertain, tenderize several generations.

Thus, via subjectively selected sources – from experts in innovation to popularizers, but also contradicts – we propose as a first point a definition of this new environment that is the metaverse, necessarily ending with that of Meta (Facebook).

The metaverse: what are we talking about?

The metaverse – announced and publicized by Mark Zuckerberg, invented by the author Neal Stephenson in 1992 – which is already a contraction of ” meta universe “.

Here’s how the term is constructed with a little etymology and lexicology:

On the one hand we have ‘meta‘, a prefix that comes from the Greek μετά: ‘after, beyond, with’. This prefix ” expresses at once reflection, change, succession, going beyond, beside, between, or with. ” (Wikipedia)
On the other hand, ‘verses‘: don’t think here of the poet’s best friends, but of the contraction of the word ‘universe’.

We thus obtain by association: ” beyond the universe ” or ” parallel universe “.

These translations may seem (voluntarily) superlative: we think they are finally acceptable, since Quantum Physics and Research on the Universe (the real one) have pushed back the limits of the simple conceivable (cf. conferences of Christophe Galfard for example).

Discover our Innovation offer

“Selected pieces of metaverse definitions

The metaverse according to Innovation Makers Alliance

At Innovation Makers Alliance (IMA), the metaverse is ” a virtual and immersive digital universe where users evolve in the form ofavatars, backed by colossal human and financial resources “. In his preface to the digital deliverable “ Exploration in metavers and Web3 “, Philippe Kerignard adds that ” the concept of metavers encompasses many uses, extremely diverse and of a rare richness “.

The metaverse according to Futura Sciences

Futura Sciencesin its effort to popularize, details what defines the Metaverse:

Immersion: with this first condition, the connection with VR is palpable
The permanence and openness of the said universe: the metaverse must be reachable by anyone, anytime. We think here by extension to a customization of the ATAWADAC dear to the training of today where theavatar is the novelty, a version of ourselves that must be able to leave this universe as quickly and freely as it entered.
The permanence of the universe and sustainable elements we must be able to find, in this parallel universeWe have to be able to find elements (geographical environment, real estate and furniture, works and possessions, vehicles, etc.) that we will be able to find permanently as well: another thought for the “Spielbergian Oasis”.

The metaverse according to METAMANDRILL

The site METAMANDRILL is a doorway of interest on the subject. The site takes time to address:

the visions – known – of what these giants have, but also prepare, ambition via this evolution of the Internet that we know
the ” Metaverse Guide” , which offers a more in-depth immersion of an article (already well researched) presenting an “aggregate” definition of the metaverse. It includes:
- the (general) mention of tools: ” VR headsets, hololens, game consoles and even applications “;
- a form of definition curation with 9 different versions of the meaning of metaverse via other online blogs or news publications;
- verbatims in images of “points of view” of several CEOs.

Metaverse according to Meta

Finally, Meta introduces us introduces through its founder: “The next platform will be even more immersive — an embodied internet where you’re in the experience, not just looking at it. We call this the metaverse, and it will touch every product we build. In the metaverse, you’ll be able to do almost anything you can imagine — get together with friends and family, work, learn, play, shop, create — as well as completely new experiences that don’t really fit how we think about computers or phones today. We made a film that explores how you might use the metaverse one day” Mark Zuckerberg.

The anti-hero of “The Social Network” (Fincher, 2010), who thus seems to envisage the new Internet – at least its next stage of evolution – adds that people will be able to “Instantly teleport in the form of holograms” from wherever they want (from the living room to the office to the university) before adding “You’ll move across experiences on different devices — augmented reality glasses to stay present in the physical world, virtual reality to be fully immersed, and phones and computers to jump in from existing platforms“.

“It’s not about spending more time on screens; it’s about improving the time we already spend. The metaverse will not be created by a single company. It will be built by creators and developers creating new experiences and interoperable digital elements unlocking a creative economy massively larger than that constrained by today’s platforms and their policies” Mark Zuckerberg.

Conclusion

To conclude this first part, the metaverse is a new environment that improves the way people interact with each other and the spaces they create.

It has great potential for businesses, but also carries some risks… What are the first controversies around the metaverse? What should we understand? This is what we will see in the second part dedicated to the controversies of the metaverse. See you on our blog on December 29th!

If you are interested in the subject of innovation, the SQORUS teams are here to help you. Do not hesitate to contact us to discuss it.