Metaverse, levelling up computing, networking and partying
Towards an "interoperable network of realtime rendered 3D virtual worlds" - and better parties?
Think of the metaverse as the fourth era of computing after mainframes, personal computers (from the 1980’s) and mobile and cloud ecosystems (from the aughts), says Canadian investor and author Matthew Ball.
Each era changed who accessed computing and networking resources, when, where, why, and how. Matthew Ball, Time.com
In his book, Metaverse, Ball offers a thorough definition of metaverse, the emerging next computing era.
A massively scaled and interoperable network of realtime rendered 3D virtual worlds that can be experienced synchronously and persistently by an effectively unlimited number of users with an individual sense of presence and with continuity of data such as identity, history, entitlements, objects, communications and payments.
Ball details the requirements and the metaverse building blocks covering networking, computing, virtual world engines, interoperability, hardware, payment rails and finally addressing the role of blockchain in building the metaverse. New standards1 and new infrastructure will be required.
Why consider something that is obviously in the far away future? Because the platform companies, the internet giants of today have all began orienting towards the next era. Their imaginaries about the internet of tomorrow will affect our using the internet of today. And because it is the 3D virtual world companies that might be the metaverse giants of tomorrow.
It is in today’s virtual environments where the future influencers are made, points Paris Hilton, the celebrity who found inspiration in the realtime 3D social affordances2, in her foreword to the Metaverse Handbook.
"Just like social media manifested a huge diversity of influential figures and entrepreneurs, the metaverse will manifest its own prominent influencers and creators who build a following ion Roblox or in Decentraland or the Sandbox and they may not even be the same people we tune into on YouTube or follow on Instagram today” Paris Hilton, in the Metaverse Handbook
According to Hilton, the appeal of the metaverse begins with personal virtual sanctuaries, the likes of the Mars House by Kim Kristal.
Reuters December 29 2021: U.S. reality TV star Paris Hilton launches metaverse business on Roblox