Metaverse

In Context

• Facebook is planning to rebrand itself with a new name to reflect its focus on building the metaverse.
  • This will create 10,000 jobs in the European Union in the next five years to work on futuristic technology.

What is Metaverse?

• The term ‘metaverse’ was coined by American writer Neal Stephenson in his 1992 novel Snow Crash, where a 3D virtual world was inhabited by the avatars of real people. 
  • He described the concept as a successor to the internet.
• It is a broad term. It generally refers to shared virtual world environments which people can access via the internet.
• The metaverse is a digital reality that combines aspects of social media, online gaming, augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR), and cryptocurrencies to allow users to interact virtually.
  • There is also a specific type of metaverse which uses blockchain technology. 
• The definition of the metaverse is evolving, but today it refers to real-time 3D virtual spaces, where users can meet, create, socialise, work, buy goods and services and attend events with other people who are not in the same physical space.

Source: IE