07/05/2022 11:37
The experience of the metaverse, a real virtual world that has all the appearance of a parallel reality in which you can buy land, build houses and live a life completely different from the physical one. Renamed as the next version of the internet, the metaverse recreates the feeling of being physically present without actually being there. And everyone is trying to dive. From Facebook a Nike, da JP Morgan a Toyota, the business world is obsessed with the metaverse with companies betting heavily on the concept of shared worlds powered by virtual products and digital experiences. Microsoft and Facebook are superimposing immersive virtual worlds on their existing platforms. Fashion brands like Ugg are seeing new revenue streams by selling virtual clothing on Zepetto. A bet that will pay off considering that Citigroup, one of the main American investment banks, has estimated that the market value of the Metaverse could reach eight to thirteen trillion dollars by 2030.
Work and metaverse
Many companies are experimenting with new ways to market, train employees through virtual reality and develop entirely new business models. But how will the world of work change in the metaverse? Just think of a physical workplace, yes, but in which you collaborate with robots, humanoids and other intelligent devices. The metaverse colleagues are not just avatars of our real-world counterparts but they will be joined by artificial intelligence and human-like bots.
Gartner predicts that by 2026, 25% of people will pass at least one hour a day in the metaverse for work, shopping, etc. By linking real and digital life, the metaverse can provide interoperable opportunities in the new world of work by establishing a community where we can work, play, transact and socialize, ultimately helping organizations achieve better engagement with their employees through increased workspaces. .
Americans not very excited by the idea of entering the metaverse
However, it must be said that nearly a third of US adults are more “scared” of the metaverse rather than “excited”.
According to a recent survey by Axios and market research software company Momentive of more than 2,500 US adults, people are currently more likely to fear the metaverse than to be enthusiastic about it. The poll, which took place March 23-25, asked respondents whether the idea of the metaverse made them “more excited or scared about the future.” Only 7% of respondents said the idea of a metaverse made them “more excited” about the future. Nearly a third of respondents said it made them “more scared”.
The largest portion – 58% – responded “neither,” suggesting that the majority of Americans still treat the idea of the metaverse with relative indifference. Additionally, as many as 60% of respondents said they were unfamiliar with the metaverse idea in the first place. Americans’ apathy – or fear – of the metaverse could be troubling for companies already investing billions of dollars in developing their virtual worlds, from Meta and Microsoft to Disney and gaming companies like Roblox and Epic Games. Not to mention individual investors who are already shelling out millions of dollars to grab virtual real estate on platforms like Decentraland and Sandbox.
But the poll results may also encourage metaverse skeptics – like Evernote founder Phil Libin, who said earlier this year that much of the current hype around the metaverse is little more than a fad. Will he be wrong?