What is a metaverse?
The initial negative reaction may be wrong
The future belongs to fintech
Technologies are developing by leaps and bounds
Reality versus fantasy — it’s not that simple
I’m already in my sixties, so in some areas I’m a little behind the times. When I took my first steps in the raw materials business, the computer was on a separate floor in a special cold room. In the 80s, personal computers began to appear on our desks. And a few nanoseconds were now enough to make calculations that required hours.
My first mobile phone weighed about 10 kilograms. I carried it in my suitcase. Today, my mobile fits in my pocket, and in terms of computing power, it significantly exceeds that computer in a specially designated room. He also took over most of the functions that were performed by other electronic devices in the 80s, 90s and noughties.
I observe technological progress “from the first spectator row”. I was lucky enough to meet Steve Jobs when he was selling his NeXT computer system to our company during his brief absence from Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL).
As a writer and market analyst, I have also learned an incredible amount for myself from social media. Technologies will continue to develop by leaps and bounds. It’s hard to imagine what changes my grandchildren will witness over the next 50 years.
Innovative development is always extremely rapid. Today, everyone is hearing the concept of the metaverse. This term is used to refer to virtual reality. To be honest, this concept is not quite clear to me yet. Technology has improved our real, everyday life. The metaverse is somewhere in “fantasy land,” as Rodney Dagerfield would say in his classic movie “Back to School.”
What is a metaverse?
To begin with, the term “metaverse” does not have a specific author, as well as a generally accepted definition. In general terms, we are talking about “digital reality that allows users to act and interact in a virtual space.” It combines elements of social media, augmented reality, online gaming and cryptocurrencies.
Here ‘s how the Wall Street Journal characterizes the metaverse:
“A vast world that transcends technology platforms, in which people exist in immersive, shared virtual spaces. Using avatars, people will be able to try on things from stores and attend concerts with friends just as they do offline.
” The “official” version of the metaverse will require huge computing power, including completely new tools and programming language. Facebook (NASDAQ:FB) chief executive Mark Zuckerberg said in July during a conference call dedicated to the company’s quarterly results:
“This is a virtual reality in which people can be in digital spaces. This is a kind of Internet incarnation — you are inside it, not outside. We believe that [the metaverse] will replace the mobile Internet.”
Meanwhile, early versions of the metaverse already exist on some online gaming platforms. Virtual spaces with a variety of content — from commerce to concerts — are already offered by Roblox, Second Life and Fortnite.
Proponents of the concept claim that the metaverse will become a new stage in the development of humanity and creativity. I have my doubts about this. Being inside the Internet means moving away from reality and the sensory experience of everyday life in the real world.
The initial negative reaction may turn out to be erroneous
And yet, during the 60 years that I have been watching technological progress “from the front row”, which began to accelerate in the 80s, I was able to see the advantages created by innovations. At first, the concept of the metaverse caused me a negative reaction. I thought it was a break with nature and the natural world. But the exact same reaction I had at first was caused by cryptocurrencies.
When I first found out about the existence of a digital currency a little over 10 years ago, I thought it was nothing more than a technological video game. My sons spent their entire childhood playing Super Mario and Xbox games. I gave up video games when I graduated from university because I simply didn’t have time for them anymore.
Bitcoin mining reminded me a lot of a video game in which mining was a game and tokens were a reward. It seemed to me that for these tokens, as well as for game tokens from my youth, it would never be possible to purchase anything worthwhile.
It turned out that I was deeply mistaken. If I had bought $100 worth of bitcoins then, by the end of last week they would have been worth more than $120 million.
Maybe I’m behind the times, but my initial reaction to the metaverse was the same. Real life is beautiful, I don’t need to live my life in some kind of virtual reality inside the Internet.
The future belongs to fintech
Nevertheless, the future belongs to fintech. I have no doubt about it at all. Blockchain technology has changed everything because it reflects the necessary evolution of the business.
Cryptocurrencies are experiencing rapid development, as trust in governments issuing fiat money is declining. Individuals are collectively looking for alternatives that can return the power of money to the masses.
James Shurovieski, in his book The Wisdom of the Crowd, published in 2004, gave examples illustrating the idea that “groups of people are smarter than individuals, and it is collective wisdom that shapes the face of business, economics, societies and nations.”
Cryptocurrencies embody the wisdom of the crowd, and their ascent to Olympus is proof that the future belongs to fintech and means of exchange that go beyond the borders of states and state control.
In this sense, bitcoin is the leader of the cryptosphere. In 2010, one bitcoin was worth five cents. At the end of 2017, bitcoin futures began trading on CME
The monthly chart shows that last week bitcoin reached a new record high of $67,680 per token. Some consider cryptocurrencies dangerous, others say it is a “bubble”. However, most critics are simply interested in maintaining the status quo.
Meanwhile, the crowd continues to push bitcoin to new heights. The trend to increase value is the wisdom of the crowd.
Technologies are developing by leaps and bounds
From time to time I wonder what changes have befallen my grandparents. They survived two World Wars and the Great Depression. They found the era of the emergence and popularization of radio and television, which replaced newspapers and word of mouth. For those who were born at the end of the 19th century and the beginning of the 20th century, those changes were truly impressive.
When I was a little boy, we had a dozen TV channels. Today there are thousands of them. Video recorders have replaced Betamax, and streaming has replaced video recorders.
The engine of my car starts by pressing a button. And so on and so forth. It is possible to list all the technological innovations of the last decades for a very long time. People tend to resist change, but technology has improved our lives, making it easier and more efficient.
Reality versus fantasy — it’s not that simple
The next generation of technological innovations, it seems, will delight us visually and auditively, but with smells and tastes it will be different. I still like reality more.
The fantasy world, of course, has a right to exist, but I am worried that living in a different reality will affect socialization, interpersonal relationships and, possibly, other things.
And yet, the experience with cryptocurrencies shows that it is not worth discounting the metaverse. Again, the interaction of reality and fantasy is a complex phenomenon that is likely to change our lives, although it is not yet clear exactly how.
The metaverse promises huge income to technology companies. I’m just worried about how much it will cost users?
