It is easy to think that the diffusion of the Metaverse will, in time, open new perspectives also in the world of work, thanks to its ability to dematerialize physicality, improving the development and sale of products or services, optimizing remote human relations, fluidifying business processes (whether they are educational or collaborative), and finally evolving the interaction with physical places and machines.
In this scenario, fundamental is the development of shared virtual spaces, places where to meet replicating as much as possible the interactions of the physical world. After the great digital awakening, following the pandemic emergency, these virtual spaces have progressively acquired more and more relevance in various business sectors: the marketing and sales departments of companies have created digital twins of showrooms, agencies and stores, to continue their sales activities by putting customers at ease even remotely.
The novelty of the "digital twins" represents a turning point also at corporate level, thanks to the birth of the so-called virtual offices, virtual worlds for business, where it is possible to meet through one's avatar and collaborate through specific immersive tools. Today these new digital ecosystems, children of the coming virtual transformation, represent the ideal tools for a hybrid approach to the workplace, allowing to enjoy the advantages of smart working in terms of productivity and motivation, without suffering its limitations. However, at a closer look, these are the first steps towards what is already seen by many as the key tool of the companies of the future, in other words the virtual world of the company, a virtual headquarters, a new point of aggregation with customers and suppliers, and above all a new type of digital interface for computer technologies in the space.
A technological revolution such as the one that is foreseen, will bring upheavals also on the economic level. In this regard, according to a study by the consulting firm PwC, spatial computing will be the next industry to exceed the annual value of one trillion dollars, reaching one and a half trillion by 2030. To get a yardstick, that's the size of the global pharmaceutical market as a whole. Just as the advent of the smartphone has enabled the birth of new businesses, the new world of the Metaverse will enable the birth of new billion-dollar startups, new ecosystems, even new economies. As often happens with the birth of a new disruptive technology, it will force many economic actors to change, and not only will new needs be created, but also old needs will be met in a new way.
It is therefore essential today for all companies to take note of the advancing change, equipping themselves on the front of immersive technologies, in order to fully exploit the growth of their immense potential and take a strategic advantage over competitors.
The Metaverse therefore appears to be a world that is not entirely new: imagined for years by writers, visionaries, artists, scientists and entrepreneurs but also simple dreamers, it is only now becoming a project with high potential.
In fact, the digital revolution underway in recent years has made it possible to create the basis of the technologies that exist today, creating prototypes of what will be in the future, assuming the perspective of the beta economy: what we have now is nothing more than the basic version of what we will have in the future.
Some cutting-edge brands are already experimenting in the metaverse, proposing new forms of advertising. A “phygital” reality that will probably change our lives and whose full revolutionary potential we don't yet know.
Although the potential is enormous and the enthusiasm is really great, it must be considered that as happened for the colonization of new media spaces, the legal systems of the various countries will struggle to keep up with these new technologies in constant evolution.
Before the Metaverse is brought to fruition, in parallel with the planning of its creation and occupation, laws will have to be written in the next ten years to regulate its use and protect the privacy of its users.
When new technologies have been created in the past, wrong predictions have often been made about their success, or these tools have been reworked and used by users in ways that not even the creators themselves had conceived. Some negative consequences, however, are foreseeable even now.
First, the Metaverse, especially in its infancy, could exacerbate the social inequalities and technological divide already present in our society. Those who will not want to, or will not be able to access it for demographic, economic or territorial reasons, because they live in areas where technological infrastructure is not available, will be excluded from great job opportunities or meaningful socialization experiences.
Additionally, a difference will not only be created between those who are in the Metaverse and those who are not: in fact, the inhabitants of the Metaverse may also be stratified into social classes. Although the access to the Metaverse is free, in order to enjoy its functionalities, you will have to spend large amounts of cryptocurrency, since clothes, furniture and entertainment activities will be charged. This will generate even more frustration and discomfort among younger users, who are particularly susceptible to peer group influence.
As if that were not enough, the possibility of being able to explore wonderful worlds that are normally inaccessible, could tempt people to isolate themselves and stay at home weaving social relationships that, although supported by sophisticated technology, will remain a substitute for those that can be established face-to-face in the physical world.
In conclusion, the possibility of self-representation with an avatar of which one can choose the features, could be a relief for those who are not comfortable with their own image, but could at the same time be dangerous for adolescents and those suffering from personality disorders, who in a delicate moment of growth or life will be able to hide behind the shield of a virtual body, instead of learning to accept their imperfections and their appearance.
The hope, then, is that the Metaverse will enrich our remote social interactions with a more realistic sense of co-presence and give brands the opportunity to connect with their community in an engaging way, but without this new mixed reality plane totally supplanting the physical world experience.
I don't know if the metaverse will be the new gold rush, I just know it will be our future.
Dear reader, I want to finally thank you for taking this futuristic journey through the world of the metaverse with me. It only remains for me to wish you nothing but the best for you and your future business plans.