Today I attended an event on how industry see and use the Metaverse. The chief scientist’s talk on the Metaverse as an interconnected virtual environment where social and economic elements mirror reality (is that the WEF definition?) ..across devices isn’t quite my definition.

So many questionable issues here, so many lost opportunities, where do I start?!

Time to write something!

For example, if everything just mirrors reality, where is the innovation? Is the reality the realistic simulation or the simulation as an illusion convincing people, that they are “in” reality? And does the mirror affect or impact on reality?

To the pixelated trenches! #metaverse #definitionbattle #XR

But above all, where is culture?

Here is a better definition by the South Australia Microsoft CTO but what exactly does “collective” mean?

“…metaverse is a collective virtual shared space, created by the convergence of virtually enhanced physical and digital reality. It is persistent, providing enhanced immersive experiences, as well as device independent” from Gartner..

https://www.gartner.com/en/newsroom/press-releases/2022-02-07-gartner-predicts-25-percent-of-people-will-spend-at-least-one-hour-per-day-in-the-metaverse-by-2026

Gartner defines a metaverse as a collective virtual shared space, created by the convergence of virtually enhanced physical and digital reality. It is persistent, providing enhanced immersive experiences, as well as device independent and accessible through any type of device, from tablets to head-mounted displays. 

Gartner, February 7, 2022.

Update: At the lunch break I sat down with him and we agreed the definition of collective should be people, content, and technology.

My UniSA Colleague Professor Mark Billinghurst quoted from the Metaverse Roadmap and focused on the less common quadrants.