Meta: What is the metaverse, and how will we make use of it? Many have an answer to this, including Zuckerberg. Find out more here.
Zuckerberg has made some interesting moves recently. One of the biggest has been to rename his conglomerate from the Facebook name to that of Meta. This move carries with it a number of other changes and announcements, including the creation of a metaverse. Many watched with amusement as he joined an Olympic gold medallist for a spar in the new Meta metaverse. What will be the ultimate use of such a space?

(Image Source: Pixabay)
What is the Metaverse?
The metaverse is a theory that has held some sway in pop culture for a while now, and we are beginning to see it made reality too. It is a digital space that is open and accessible to all. No matter where it is being accessed from across the internet, people should be able to access the metaverse for relaxation and entertainment.
The idea of a free and open space for all is one of the guiding principles of the world wide web. The metaverse is the next step here. As we spend more and more of our lives online, we will need spaces where we can come together as a community. The metaverse is the place where we will be able to do so.
Zuckerberg’s Sparring
In the announcement of the new metaverse and Facebook’s rebranding, Zuckerberg could be seen fencing a digital opponent, played by Olympic gold medallist Lee Kiefer. This interaction could be the herald of a new sort of entertainment and playability in the digital world.
At the moment, there is little that we can experience in terms of touch within the digital world. Virtual reality allows us to place ourselves in another world in terms of sight and sound. You can easily end up exploring the most beautiful and intricate of worlds, but you can’t yet feel anything beyond some rudimentary buzzes from the controllers.
In a full metaverse experience, we will be able to immerse ourselves fully in a new digital world. This includes the ability to feel and touch things. Zuckerberg’s spars might have looked a little clumsy and odd on the outside, but they represent an important step forward. His team is busy developing working virtual physics plus objects that we can actually interact with. This would be one step closer to realising a full virtual world that we can venture into as easily as we do with our own – the metaverse.
What Will We Do in the Metaverse
The best metaverse incarnation will allow us to try out a variety of different things. We will be able to relax and play different games here. These games could even see us get in touch with people all over the world even more easily than we do right now. No matter where you might want to go, there should be an opportunity to interact with someone on the other side of the planet in a far easier manner than what we are currently able to do.
With this will come easier trade too. At the heart of the metaverse lies cryptocurrency. Using a decentralized currency such as these means that you will be able to trade freely with people without worrying about exchange rates and other factors that come into play with fiat currencies. The metaverse allows us to interact with each other on a level that has yet to be seen in the real world.
There are also many other activities that can be undertaken in the metaverse beyond trade and entertainment. Seoul announced that it would be the first city to join the metaverse recently. This would include the creation of a virtual town hall. From here, citizens would be able to undertake many of the tasks that they would typically have to head to the physical town hall for. This will make many of the day-to-day admin tasks that the citizens of Seoul need to do easier for them to complete. Rather than carve out a portion of their day to head to the town centre to handle them in person, they simply have to log online to the metaverse. This is a model that we might see adopted across several of the world’s major cities.
What is the Point of the Metaverse?
The metaverse might seem like this grand, overarching design from science fiction. In many ways, it will be science fiction made reality when here and available for us to interact with fully. However, it is also likely to be an important tool that many of us will find a place for in our lives. It can become a safe space for entertainment, relaxation, and interaction. Just as we have communities and infrastructures that we can turn to for support in the real world, so will we be able to head online to find such support in the virtual one.
The metaverse is an exciting and interesting development that could change our online interactions as we know them. Keep watching for the latest innovations and leaps forward in this sector – there is always going to be something new to discover and enjoy as the metaverse takes shape!