The Metaverse Could be the Next Big Deal in Business Operations, But Innovators Have to Solve the Entry Barriers
Technological innovations in the 21st century have significantly changed the nature of business operations; today, most companies are investing in their digital footprint to woo a generation that has become accustomed to the internet. More recently, the covid-19 pandemic has forced even the diehard traditionalists to digital ecosystems. Applications such as Zoom and Google Meets are slowly becoming the order of the day, both in formal and informal settings.
What if these digital interactions could be more personalized? From the look of things, we are heading to an era where human beings will be able to replicate real-world activities and exist inside virtual ecosystems as avatars; the metaverse. This highly discussed concept within tech communities traces its roots to Neal Stephenson’s 1992 science fiction novel ‘Snow Crash’, in which he predicted the metaverse.
Three decades down the line, major brands like Adidas, Coca Cola, and Nike are all setting up shop in the metaverse. Most of these institutions have partnered with popular Web 3.0 platforms such as Decentraland and The Sandbox, enabling them to acquire virtual land parcels where they can showcase their presence in the emerging virtual worlds. In the metaverse, anyone can visit virtual stores and get a similar experience, regardless of their geolocation.
“This Autumn, Adidas, known for celebrating ideas at the bleeding edge of originality, it settling in at the frontier of creativity: The Metaverse. Our goal there? To see every one of its inhabitants thrive. The Metaverse is where anyone can express their most original ideas and be their most authentic selves, in whatever form they might take.” - adidas Originals (@adidasoriginals) December 2, 2021
Sophistication: The Major Barrier to Entry
While the metaverse has been touted as the next era of digital societies, it remains inaccessible to most people. Only a handful of the world’s population have interacted with the digital assets market; for instance, in the U.S, a mere 12% own a cryptocurrency. It is not because investors do not want an exposure in this burgeoning market, but its complex nature has driven away many prospects.
Similarly, the metaverse is built on sophisticated blockchain infrastructures and tokenomics models that confuse even the best in the market. No wonder brands like Adidas and Nike have taken the easy way out by partnering with well established metaverse platforms. Assuming the metaverse has a good chance of becoming the primary form of interaction, it should be much easier to access for both the average folk and long standing institutions.
It is also noteworthy that the current metaverse world is highly fragmented, users are often limited within a single ecosystem. For example, metaverse assets on Decentraland cannot be transferred to The Sandbox or other alike platforms. This factor is also a major challenge in the adoption of the metaverse. Luckily, with the fast-paced nature of crypto innovations, some solutions are gradually popping up.
Bringing the Metaverse Closer to the Masses
Like the case of Web 2.0 applications, the only way to increase mainstream adoption is by making it easier to interact with the metaverse. Most people are curious of the infrastructure nuances, the market simply wants an easy way to access the product. While forming partnerships with metaverse platforms like The Sandbox and Decentraland is a good starting point, individuals and companies have more customization needs.
To this end, we have upcoming Web 3.0 platforms such as Looking Glass Labs (LGL), whose focus is to offer NFT and metaverse infrastructural solutions to individuals and businesses. Stakeholders looking to make a debut in the decentralized web can leverage LGL’s leading brand ‘House of Kibaa’ to curate 3D NFTs and other digital collectibles. More notably, HoK’s metaverse assets can exist simultaneously across different NFT blockchain environments.
Collaboration is another important aspect in building a more accessible and interoperable virtual world. Innovators from both Web 2.0 companies and the crypto ecosystem need to work together towards solutions instead of leaning on the competitive approach. In doing so, the $8 trillion untapped metaverse economy could become one of the most successful technological advancements of the 21st century.
Final Thoughts
Looking back to the early days of the internet (1980s), it was mostly an experimental endeavor. This is no longer the case in today’s world, close to 63% of the world's population have access to the internet. If the metaverse were to follow a similar trend, it means that billions of people will soon be interacting as virtual avatars. A highly probable scenario given the tech-savvy nature of Generation Z, which is also the next phase of the consumer economy. That said, the metaverse can only achieve a mainstream adoption status if it becomes much easier to access.
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