Metaverse explained
The metaverse is a virtual world that incorporates various technologies, including virtual reality (VR), artificial intelligence (AI), augmented reality (AR) and cryptocurrencies, to allow users to dive into (through VR) an imaginative or bring an immersive experience into their world (via AR). There are already many metaverses, such as those found in virtual worlds such as Decentraland, and digital game platforms such as The Sandbox.
Customers can enter the metaverse through virtual reality accessories like VR headsets, closing the apparent divide between digital and physical realities. For instance, in a virtual reality world, you may play games, go to the doctor, go to work, watch concerts, browse the shelves of a grocery store and much more without ever leaving your (physical) house.
In addition to VR, improving the relationship between the physical and digital worlds necessitates a positive level of machine intelligence, which is why some of the metaverse experiences require artificial intelligence. For instance, AI can help with natural language processing (i.e., the automatic computational processing of human languages) so that machines and robots can understand what users are saying.
Virtual items can be embedded in the actual environment using augmented reality technology. Sight, sound, touch and motion are all sensory markers that feed a single conceptual picture of the arena in your brain. This can be done with very little visual constancy with AR as long as virtual components are powerfully recognized geographically and temporally in your environment.
While several corporations have been working on various aspects of the metaverse in recent years, internet-native companies such as Facebook (now Meta) and Microsoft have taken the lead. But, why companies are investing millions in the metaverse?
Jeffries (an investment bank) believes that investing in the metaverse will be similar to investing in the early days of the internet. Moreover, according to Grayscale Investments, the metaverse possibility extends far beyond gaming. It is expected to be a trillion-dollar income opportunity encompassing hardware, social commerce, digital events, advertising and creator monetization.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg rebranded the firm by changing Facebook’s name to Meta because he believes that the concept of a digital future is vital to enhance the user experience. Furthermore, the Facebook metaverse will most likely be accessible via smart glasses with augmented reality, virtual reality headsets, and limited desktop and mobile applications.
This article aims to explain if Microsoft has a metaverse, what Facebook’s metaverse is and make a comparison between the two.
How brands can enter the metaverse universe?
The metaverse’s immersive environment isn’t simply for consumer-facing businesses. Instead, several business applications of metaverse range from teaching future surgeons to providing product demonstrations to collaborating with distant relatives.
The digital landscape, in particular, necessitates intellectual curiosity, so brands should always be in a test-and-learn mindset. The metaverse could be the next evolution of how people connect, talk and transact on the internet. Here’s what brands can do to enter the metaverse world:
Discover your target audience
Do some research on the customer needs that remain unfulfilled and how you can fill the gap with the use of technologies like AR and VR. Also, figure out if customers are interested in being a metaverse or not.
Conduct a competitor analysis
Watch out for what your peer firms do in the metaverse space and how you can introduce a differentiated product. Other things to find out include the unique selling proposition of your brand and why customers should choose your product over the competitors’.
Product research
At this stage, you need to find an answer to various questions like what can you test in the metaverse space to see if more sustainable products exist? How can you enhance the customer experience with your products/services? What features will your product offer?
Prepare for metaverse launch and maintain the equilibrium
Involve your research team in formulating a strategy for how and when your brand should emerge in the metaverse. However, if you’re already in it, be aware that all new areas include risk and reward; and unpredictable things may happen. The good news is that the current pandemic has made us all more adaptable than we’ve ever been. Moreover, profit is the return for bearing the risk.
Facebook and the metaverse
Facebook’s rebranding as Meta Platforms, or Meta, for short, came as a surprise to regular consumers of the app, but Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, claimed that the renaming was to signal that the company was branching out and was linked to more than one product. He added that Meta better represents what the company is working toward.
The name change follows an announcement that the business aims to hire 10,000 people in the EU to construct the “Metaverse,” a move reminiscent of Google’s 2015 organizational restructure into Alphabet. But why did Facebook changed its name to Meta?
Facebook’s rebranding is a great and forward-thinking move for the corporation. It focuses on the emerging metaverse notion of virtual communities driven by AR and VR technologies. Facebook’s current services, including Facebook, Messenger, Instagram, WhatsApp and Oculus, will be included in Meta.
However, one problem with Meta’s attempt to be the sole firm supporting the metaverse is its significant role in our lives if its vision of the future becomes a reality. In recent months, the firm has struggled with outages on its core apps, which have rendered significant portions of the world unable to interact. The ramifications of such an event in an all-pervasive VR reality like the metaverse might be enormous.
Microsoft and the metaverse
Microsoft is also among the companies leading the metaverse technology. Microsoft, the Xbox’s owner, has been investing in games for a long time. Furthermore, Microsoft has disclosed that it would acquire Activision (the maker of video games such as Candy Crush and Call of Duty) blizzard — what does it mean? And does Microsoft own Activision?
The Microsoft-Activision deal portrays that people will be spending more and more time in the digital realm, and gaming will be at the heart of metaverse-powered virtual worlds. Additionally, Satya Nadella (Microsoft’s CEO) believes that if the metaverse is an immersive environment, gaming already offers users such an experience through titles like Minecraft (Microsoft-owned) and games-making studios such as Mojang.
In addition to the above, Microsoft will receive immediate access to Activision’s 390 million monthly users and existing game titles. According to research firm Newzoo, gaming, at present, is a $180 billion worldwide market, and Activision’s titles and talent will aid the firm in competing against gaming services Meta’s Oculus and Sony’s PlayStation. But, what is Microsoft’s metaverse called?
Mesh, a platform that will enable Teams, and allow people in different physical locations to send chats, join virtual meetings, collaborate on shared documents, and more, is Microsoft’s metaverse. Mesh expands on Team features like Together mode and Presenter mode, making remote and hybrid meetings more immersive and collaborative.
Mesh for Teams will be available on various devices ranging from laptops, regular smartphones to mixed-reality headsets. It also serves as a pathway to the metaverse, a persistent digital realm populated with digital twins of places, people and things.
Additionally, Microsoft’s augmented reality headset and platform, Hololens, is already impressive. Manufacturing workers at companies such as Daimler, BMW and Ford benefit from the platform, which allows them to learn quickly, track, eliminate errors and improve process quality.
Microsoft intends Metaverse apps to be used in business, education, training and entertainment. These real-world requirements can be upgraded and reinvented using avatars, AR and VR.
Microsoft metaverse vs Facebook metaverse compared
Microsoft has progressed beyond considering the development of reports and records to allow collaboration on such documents. Facebook is built on the idea of allowing people to form connections. While this is extremely important and necessary for advancement in both professional and personal life, it is not without flaws.
Microsoft’s vision for the metaverse looks a lot like Facebook’s. However, there are significant differences such as Facebook’s greater concern with internet-based social media relationships, and Microsoft’s sharper focus on work.
The Facebook (Meta) concept is more closely aligned with the sci-fi future form, a far-off future in which people spend a significant amount of their lives immersed in colorful virtual realities. Microsoft has dependably performed admirably in this quest, and their collaboration and utility instruments remain the preferred option in the workplace.
Microsoft is taking a hierarchical approach, incorporating their metaverse concept into their project contributions like Mesh for Teams and associating people in mixed reality through work. In contrast, Meta points to a bottom-up approach, bringing all customers into a metaverse that can then grow into a place for both play and work.
Both organizations’ virtual worlds slant toward their unique ability; Microsoft understands the enterprise aspect, while Meta understands the social element. Because they’re both fundamentally the same, it’s tough to say which of these dreams is more logical.
The section for Microsoft Teams will consist of a number of pre-assembled vibrant locations that may be used in various scenarios, ranging from gatherings to social blenders. Microsoft envisions that, in the long run, organizations will want to create colorful custom environments, such as the Nth Floor with Mesh, and bring them to Teams.
Horizon Home (the primary thing on the Quest headset) is Facebook’s early concept for a metaverse headquarters. It might allow your friends to join you in Horizon Home, where you can hang out, watch videos and jump into games and apps together. Meta will also create virtual residences known as “Skyline Homes,” where you will be able to hang out and pursue your interests with companions, friends and others with the same enthusiasm. It’s similar to Roblox, but more colorful.
However, Microsoft’s Mesh for Teams will begin with pre-fabricated colorful meeting places and social blenders. It will also enable organizations to create metaverses within Teams where these symbols can mix and mingle, collaborate on projects and have fortunate experiences that stimulate growth.
From an innovation perspective, Microsoft sees Teams as a blueprint for the metaverse, where businesses may create their own virtual places and hold a multiverse of realities together, rather than controlling its own metaverse, which seems to be the aspiration of Meta/Facebook. Enterprises can use application programming interfaces to build their metaverse and have a consistent identity across these metaverses.
A summary of differences between Microsoft vs Facebook metaverse is outlined in the table below:
Other players in the metaverse space
A few companies, led by entertainment and gaming giants, have also entered the virtual world (the metaverse). For instance, the entertainment giant Disney experiments with headsetless augmented reality so that theme park visitors may ride through the metaverse soon. During the last week of December 2021, Disney received approval for a patent (virtual-world simulator) to develop tailored, interactive attractions for theme park visitors.
In addition, the system would track individual park visitors to customize projections rather than being built for bulk enjoyment. For example, one family may see Donald Duck at the entrance, while another may connect with Snow White and Cinderella.
Another player that is investing in metaverse is Roblox, which is developing a platform that allows users and developers to construct digital worlds. In addition, the company is concentrating on future commerce and business transactions on the platform, which has its own virtual economy fueled by the Robux currency.
Epic Games, the developer of the computer game Fortnite, has expanded beyond its basic shooting game to include social events such as virtual music concerts and dance parties. Users can dress their avatars in different clothes and create their own islands and games for a fee.
Autodesk, a Cloud software company, creates tools that architects and engineers use to design and build structures and products. Its software is also used to create virtual worlds for pleasure and gaming. Furthermore, Snapchat has been developing unique avatars and AR filters to overlay digital characteristics in the actual world.
Nike is collaborating with Roblox to create Nikeland, a virtual reality experience. In Nikeland, users can customize their avatars with Nike clothes and sneakers and access Nike arenas, fields and buildings to engage in activities like tag.
On the other hand, Google has remained tight-lipped about its metaverse aspirations thus far. Similarly, Amazon has been quiet about its VR aspirations, but it might be a significant player in how we shop in the metaverse.
How will the metaverse shape the future of work?
Metaverse technology has the potential to create new and imaginative methods for people to collaborate and work over the web. However, executives must guarantee that this vision of work does not result in employee burnout due to spending too much time immersed in virtual worlds.
The goal of hybrid working will be to achieve a balance between the virtual and physical worlds. To maintain healthy metaverse working practices, HR will need to design new hybrid working policies. They’ll also need to include metaverse expertise into an organization’s governance structure so that people aren’t subjected to dehumanizing management and over-monitoring techniques.
Furthermore, because of the nature of metaverses, the amount and quality of personal data collected and analyzed will grow exponentially. This will necessitate the hiring of metaverse analysts who can supplement strategic decision-making with artificial intelligence and deep analytics.
Facebook’s own research indicates that consumers are hesitant about fully merging their social media presence with their professional lives in such an intrusive way. As a result, businesses will need to understand the role of health and safety in immersive digital environments, necessitating demonstrating that data is secure and unhackable by the next generation of quantum computers.
Hence, it is clear that organizations that can attract a new generation of talented transdisciplinary metaverse professionals by focusing on the human dimension and the technological element by creating purposeful innovation cultures based on a more humanized and conscious approach to work will prosper in the future
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