The metaverse is a key trend of the near future in the high-tech world. It exists at the level of prototypes and concepts, but full-fledged implementation is just a matter of time. In this article, we will look at what technologies and ideas are used to create new digital worlds, and who is behind these projects.

Imagine having a second life. You just put on virtual reality glasses and you can do whatever you want. Entertainment, shopping, work: everything is just like in the real world. Welcome to the Metaverse!

The metaverse economy is based on cryptocurrency, the value of which depends on activities within the digital world. Everyone gets a space for ideas and opportunities, which are not available to him in the real world. The opportunity to try new things, to be someone else, to get a completely different social role and status. Everyone will find a motivation to be here. The main thing is to provide a flexible and friendly space. This is what the major corporations of the world are working on right now, trying their best to outdo each other.

There is talk about the intention to create your universe from literally everywhere. The very idea of creating a virtual world is not new, and its rudiments have long been reflected in pop culture. Here we can recall the films The Lawnmower (1992) and The Matrix (1999), as well as the most recent example, Ernest Cline's novel Ready Player One (2011) and Steven Spielberg's 2018 film adaptation of the same name.

The technologies that will become the basis of the metaverse, namely virtual and augmented reality, are also used for more than the first year as of 2022. However, the metaverse has only now begun to turn into a reality. What is the reason for this delay? The moment has only now arrived. In our time, a basis of technological capabilities has finally emerged that allows us to talk about some kind of minimally formalized result. Let's say Metaverse's minimal value proposition.

So, what do we have now? Today's available implementations of the concept are popular games like Roblox. They offer each user to create their game universes based on the tools available.

Also popular are similar sandbox games with blockchain integration. An example is the mobile project Sandbox. Stars like Deadmau5 and Snoop Dogg already have their universes there. Personal metaverse brings them additional income because fans are interested in being closer to their idols. In such "pocket" metaverses, everyone has the opportunity to buy a virtual home next to the celebrity. Such a purchase can cost tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars today, but there is always the prospect of rising prices. It turns out that a virtual house near your favorite musician is also a profitable investment.

However, the main focus is on the global metaverse. Standing out is Meta's Horizon Worlds. Mark Zuckerberg has personally invested $10 billion in the project in 2021, which speaks to the seriousness of his intentions. It is assumed that the desire to launch a meta-universe has long been in the minds of Facebook's creators because they bought the Oculus Rift virtual reality helmet technology back in 2014.

Eternal competitors Apple and Microsoft openly declare their intentions to create their digital universes, but their projects are still vague. Speaking of the metaverse, we will refer further to the concept from Meta as the benchmark.

What is the technology core of Mark Zuckerberg's metaverse? Let's explore the available information.

Meta's Metaverse connection is possible with virtual reality helmets. That is, the Metaverse is exactly the kind of virtual reality that we are little by little used to. However, the new devices will receive a lot of modifications, such as tracking facial expressions and pupil movements, as well as controlling body position. Meta has already registered many patents for their VR helmets. These will all be aimed at innovative visual-tactile experiences first, and then the monetization factor will kick in, like advertising accents and so on.

It's worth designating separately. Technology will help recognize the user's interaction patterns with the content provided and learn to offer what they like best. Or learn how to offer content so that it starts to be liked. This is about contextual advertising and deeper user involvement in the digital world by demonstrating the images and objects that are most pleasing and addictive to him.

We will see a clear vision of these concepts by the fact. Here we are talking, for example, about the making virtual world unique at the expense of public opinion. The metaverse is built by users who choose the appearance of a particular building. Sponsors can auction off the best retail space. And so on. The world used to come together in social networks; now it's happening in a new digital state. There are many more opportunities to be part of the whole.

People want exclusivity and uniqueness. Items and elements of custom avatars will be implemented as NFT with all the consequences.

And that's not all. Soon we'll find out what's hidden in Zuckerberg's technology treasure chest. However, even the named technologies make it possible to present the metaverse in all its glory now.

The metaverse has already gathered initial hype and interest. Crowds of people will come here to try themselves at the moment of opening. It's up to the developers to decide what happens next. If the new world works as described, people will get opportunities for self-actualization that aren't possible in real life. They will be able to be whoever they want to be. Clerks become business owners. Family men become free bachelors.

And most importantly in our view. Opportunities to make money. There are already bloggers who have established themselves as a class by the mere power of the Internet. That is, the metaverse is the obvious next step in the development of a market economy in a changing world. Its arrival is inevitable against the background of the development of cryptocurrencies, NFT, and much more. We said earlier that the metaverse was made possible by the emergence of the right technologies, but that's just the practical side. The global existence of the metaverse makes economic sense now. And it is a natural part of the planet's transition to digital finance.

In the next article, we will talk about how the metaverse can be monetized, and how Meta is already planning to do this.