The virtual world that the COVID era pushed into the mainstream
Have you heard of the metaverse? A portmanteau of "meta," meaning beyond or virtual, and "universe," meaning world, the metaverse means more than a simple virtual world. It refers to the way an interconnected virtual and physical reality actively interact with each other — or to that space itself.
Ever since COVID-19 turned into a global pandemic, "untact," or contactless, has become the single biggest keyword across every industry, and the metaverse has accelerated right alongside the many other digital transitions underway. Content platforms used to be the metaverse's main target, but as more and more industries try their hand at it, new kinds of platforms and services are appearing one after another — combining VR and AR, and blockchain technology as well. That tells you the range of fields that need what blockchain has to offer is widening, and that the need itself is becoming more visible. Blockchain is no longer just a technology; it has started to deliver real value in everyday life.
On that note, here is a well-organized article on where the metaverse came from and why, where it stands now, and where it is headed. You can read the full piece at the link at the bottom of this post.
The 'Metaverse' Is Surging in the COVID Era — Have You Heard of It?
Contactless living is expected to become routine, and virtual spaces where people can interact with one another are spreading
The term "metaverse" is the talk of the ICT industry. Described as a hyper-connected digital world where reality and virtual space merge, the metaverse keeps drawing comparisons — the platform that comes after the internet and the web, the digital trend that succeeds social media.
What lifted the metaverse into a new concept for the digital world was the rise of technologies like virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR). Before the metaverse became the headline, VR, AR and holograms drew attention first as the technologies that make immersive content possible.
Much like the many digital transitions accelerating right now, the metaverse is having its moment in the COVID-19 era. When people cannot meet even when they are close by, and most communication moves into contactless spaces, the idea of a metaverse spreads.
The metaverse will be the virtual reality space that comes after the internet
Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA
■ Virtual and real interacting — an idea from a novel 30 years ago
For today's young people, the so-called MZ generation, the fastest way to understand the metaverse is the game "Fortnite." A BTS music video choreography premiered inside the game, and players copied the BTS dance with their game characters. Rapper Travis Scott's concert also took place inside Fortnite, and close to 30 million people enjoyed the in-game show.
■ An era that went online instead of outdoors
You cannot talk about the metaverse without the social conditions of the COVID era. In a time when contactless is routine, no technology could escape the market's demand for remote everything, and users had little choice but to grow comfortable with remote connection services.
■ A generation is arriving that finds the metaverse familiar
On the 2nd, SK Telecom staged Soonchunhyang University's matriculation ceremony inside its "Jump VR" app. Earlier, when COVID kept UC Berkeley students from holding their graduation on campus last year, they built the campus themselves inside the game "Minecraft," held a virtual commencement and streamed the game over the internet. It is a fair sign that the generation now entering and leaving university will take metaverse spaces as a matter of course.
The metaverse deserves attention as a platform for teaching and meeting remotely, free of the constraints of time and place. That is the backdrop to global ICT companies such as Microsoft, Google and NVIDIA declaring large-scale investments in the metaverse space.
Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute, <Global Trends Report After COVID-19>
- Source: ZDNet Korea
- Original: https://news.naver.com/main/read.nhn?mode=LSD&mid=shm&sid1=105&oid=092&aid=0002215107
