Explain like I'm five · Emerging Tech

What is the Metaverse?

Metaverse, told as a story about a virtual pavilion where avatars gather together, instead of a flat video call.

we're all here, but it feels like we're aparta flat video-call screen has no sense of 'being together'

We're all on the video call, but it still feels like we're apart.A flat video-call screen has no sense of 'being together.'

on a video call, everyone's stuck in their own little box — not a shared spaceso a video call never quite feels immersive

On a video call, everyone's stuck in their own little box — not a shared space.So a video call never quite feels immersive.

virtual pavilionMetaverse = an internet where avatars share the same virtual space togetherpeople gather in one virtual space, each as an avatar

Metaverse is an internet where avatars share the same virtual space together.People gather in one virtual space, each as an avatar.

Represent myself as an avatara stand-in for the real me
Share a 3D spaceavatars are together in the same place
Interact in real timevoice and motion, live
Join a virtual economybuy and sell items
WHAT IT'S MADE OFavatar — a stand-in for mevirtual space — a shared 3D worldreal-time interaction — voice and motion, livevirtual economy — buying and selling itemsavatars, space, and live interaction make it feel like 'being there'

Avatars, a virtual space, and real-time interaction make it feel like 'being there'; a virtual economy adds a reason to stay.Without avatars or live interaction, it's just another screen.

long headset wear can make you dizzy; the gear is pricey✕different metaverses still rarely share avatars or itemsthe headset itself gets its own booth next: VR

Wear a metaverse headset too long and you can get dizzy; the gear is pricey too.Different metaverses still rarely share avatars or items.

In one breath

The metaverse is an internet that gives you the feeling of being together in the same virtual space, as an avatar — usually described as a shared space, real-time interaction, and a virtual economy.

The metaverse is an extended internet environment where users, through avatars, interact in real time in immersive 3D virtual spaces and trade virtual goods. VR/AR headsets are just one way to enter it, and a lack of interoperability between different metaverse platforms, plus fatigue from extended wear, remain unresolved challenges.

When grown-ups say it

Metaverse
The virtual space avatars share together. Space, interaction, and an economy are its usual parts.
Avatar
A virtual stand-in for me. Represents me inside the metaverse.
Virtual Reality
The headset technology for entering a virtual world. One way to enter the metaverse. → the VR booth
Digital Twin
A twin that copies reality exactly. A twin copies reality; the metaverse can invent new worlds too. → the Digital Twin booth
Virtual Economy
Trading items inside the virtual world. Sometimes connects to real money.
Interoperability
How well different metaverses can share avatars and items. Still fairly low right now.
Immersion
The feeling of really being there. The very thing a flat screen can't give.
Immersive Content
Video and spatial content built to create immersion. Used in both metaverse and VR.
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