Metaverse, the combination of the prefix “meta” (implying transcending) with the word “universe”, describes a hypothetical synthetic environment linked to the physical world. The metaverse is defined as a massive virtual environment parallel to the physical world, in which users interact through digital avatars. In the metaverse, all individual users own their respective avatars, in analogy to the user’s physical self, to experience an alternate life in a virtuality that is a metaphor of the user’s real worlds.

To realize the metaverse, technologies other than the Internet, social networks, gaming, and virtual environments, should be taken into consideration. The advent of AR and VR, high-speed networks and edge computing, artificial intelligence, and hyper ledgers (or blockchain), serve as the building blocks of the metaverse.

People are now already meeting up in the metaverse, which for example, helps with social capabilities and connections. This includes: getting to know each other, learning new skills, building relationships, providing products and services, collaborating, relaxing, playing games, shopping, and consuming products. The metaverse also offers endless possibilities to be creative by building, creating, and participating in a virtual economy. The metaverse is still in development and definitely not near the maturity phase, therefore, there are vast opportunities to be explored in this brand new world.

As stated above, the metaverse is still in development and not close to maturity, but it still provides many advantages to users and brands at this point.

Firstly, the metaverse provides a new and vast field for advanced blockchain use. Blockchain is the primary technology that empowers cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin, Ether, Dogecoin, etc. However, blockchain technology does much more than just complimenting and maintaining cryptos. It can function as a distributed ledger for recording peer-to-peer transactions and supports the creation of digital assets, which are called non-fungible tokens (NFTs) or dApps.

Also, it provides new opportunities for virtual work and learning spaces. With the Covid-19 pandemic, a new normal is established both for working people and students. The metaverse not only gathers people for virtual entertainment or businesses but also for remote working and education. Therefore, it offers an unlimited sea of ​​possibilities.

As we mentioned virtual entertainment and businesses we have to tell more about the markets in the metaverse. Technology always provides new opportunities for businesses, helping them promote their services and offerings effectively. Enterprises coming empowered with a two-dimensional surface of e-commerce now elaborate the metaverse, where they are able to adopt life-like virtualized spaces for 360° experiences. Also, the metaverse complements in forms of creation, ownership, trading of digital assets, and tokenized versions of real-world assets.

Last but not least the metaverse contains huge opportunities to expand the social media platforms, which are profitable advertisement channels for brands.

Brands should be in a test-and-learn mode to get the most of the metaverse, which is the next iteration of how people use the internet to connect, communicate and transact. Before entering the metaverse brands should determine their expectations and pick their targets considering a metaverse strategy built especially for them. Brands with younger target audiences should hurry more to take place within the metaverse.  

Be aware of other companies taking place in the metaverse, observe them, and build your strategies accordingly. As a new and not close to maturity platform, the competition it will provide will also be a new one, other than we are all used to.

Look for applications and the fields you can pilot in the metaverse that will allow you to realize your long-term targets such as sustainability.

NFT stands for non-fungible token. It’s generally built using the same kind of programming as cryptocurrency, like Bitcoin or Ethereum, but that’s where the similarity ends. Cryptocurrencies are “fungible” like physical money, they can be traded or exchanged for one another.

On the other hand, NFT is a non-exchangeable, irreplaceable digital certificate of ownership based on blockchain technology. You can digitally create this certificate and link it to a digital object, including online-only assets like digital artwork and real assets such as real estate. Other examples of the assets that NFTs can represent include in-game items like avatars, digital and non-digital collectibles, domain names, and event tickets.

After creating it, it will be registered in a blockchain. This registration is also linked to a secured digital crypto wallet. As you have a digital key in this wallet – which belongs to that specific NFT – you can prove that the NFT is your property. The rest of the world can also see that you are the owner of this digital asset, while the registration of your NFT is in a blockchain (which is always public and decentralized). Although everyone can see this, no one could be able to change this registration.

A cryptocurrency is a digital or virtual currency that is secured by cryptography, which makes it nearly impossible to counterfeit or double-spend. It can be used to buy, sell or trade. Using the special password for owned cryptocurrency, payments can be done just like sending an email.  

Web 3.0 represents the next iteration or phase of the evolution of the web/Internet and potentially could be as disruptive and represent as big a paradigm shift as Web 2.0 did. Web 3.0 is built upon the core concepts of decentralization, openness, and greater user utility. File storage, databases, web servers, computing power, web browsers, and much more will be replaced by decentralized servers, which are called “the Blockchain”.

The blockchain consists of a network of millions up to billions of different devices (called nodes) that are connected to each other. The blockchain is simply a database where basically everything can be stored. Actually, every node has a digital copy of this database. In this way, they can all check whether their copy is still correct and manipulation is almost impossible.