Metaverse 

The latest digital/virtual fad that is apparently not really a fad is metaversa and web3. Apparently, we don't spend enough time online - buying stuff, interacting with the many social media platforms. So to increase our online presence, virtual reality is being added to many aspects of our online experience. 

This meta experience is not quite here yet but these are the things we know about it so far. A google search, a very involved read through of various techy websites and thinking through some of my current nightmares with regards to digital technology got me the following,

a)  The term was coined by Neal Stephenson in his 1992 dystopian cyberpunk novel Snow Crash.

b)  Various gaming companies have built on the concept of what was introduced in the novel and have gone further in their massive multiple player online games (MMOs). 

c) Venture capitalist Matthew Ball describes them on his website: The metaverse is a massively scaled and interoperable network of real-time rendered 3D virtual worlds which 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.

d) The metaverse will be driven by diverse forms of technology such as cloud infrastructure, software tools, platforms, applications, user-generated content, and hardware. 

e) Ever since Facebook renamed itself as Meta, and maybe slight before that, many retailers are gearing up to be ready for this new level of reality and ways to interact with their shoppers. Nike and Walmart are prime examples but I saw a LinkedIn post by J&J about meta experience. 

f) Epic Games, Electronic Arts and other virtual reality gaming companies are going to be in the leading edge of the meta experience. And the employees that work in those companies are going to be hot properties of many a retailer. (the second is my prediction)

g) If we are worried about data privacy, screen time, problems with attention, then it is time to get ready for metaverse. Government regulations that are lagging behind now will be left in the regular Universe unless there is a miracle and maybe not even then. 

h) Retailers have another source of revenue, virtual products and the virtual products will be used to showcase the physical products and therefore will be part of their marketing plan, They will have an ongoing relationship with their customers, who will provide instant and/or continuous feedback on the products. 

There is a lot more than what I have covered here, my next post will be on the current gaming companies and their marketing and user engagement strategies. 

• https://martech.org/marketers-the-metaverse-is-coming/
• https://www.cnbc.com/2022/01/16/walmart-is-quietly-preparing-to-enter-the-metaverse.html
• https://www.td.org/atd-blog/what-is-the-metaverse-where-we-are-and-where-were-headed
• https://techonomy.com/2021/06/kids-have-kickstarted-the-metaverse/