The word Metaverse doesn’t make sense.
What does Metaverse mean and where does it come from?
In case you didn’t know the history behind the word. The “Metaverse” comes from a book called Snow Crash. It’s an exciting book. But it is pretty worrying that Facebook and other corporations are trying to shove the idea down our throats, considering what the book is about. There is a massive difference between the Metaverse in Snow Crash and the Metaverse in our world.
What is the Metaverse from Snow Crash like?
The world of Snow Crash is not a pretty one. However, the plot is pretty interesting. It follows someone called Hiro Protagonist, a katana-wielding hacker in the Metaverse, to take down the Metaverse virus drug known as Snow Crash. However, in the real world, he is a pizza delivery driver for the Mafia.
I haven’t read the book, but I know that the critical difference between the Metaverse in Snow Crash and ours is that Snow Crash has an open-sourced Metaverse. The Companies in our world want to own the Metaverse, which directly contradicts the definition and purpose of the original word. In Snow Crash, you cannot own the Metaverse.
However, just because it’s open-sourced doesn’t mean that it’s better. Snow Crash and its “Metaverse” is a cyberpunk dystopia nightmare. It’s a dangerous escapism trap where the Metaverse is the only nice escape from reality because the rest of the world is so shit. Your value is tied to the ability to contribute to the Metaverse through code, models, or other means.
What would the Metaverse be in our world?
From what it seems, big tech wants to own the Metaverse. People have compared it to the bad ending in Ready Player One. Most likely, the Metaverse would be not open-sourced. No one but the company can make changes, and it will probably spy on you. Also, because it’s Facebook, run social experiments on you without your permission. It might be hard to believe that Facebook did that, but I can probably find a link here and here.
I like the idea of a Metaverse. But not a corporate one. Instead, I would take an open-sourced nightmare rather than the big tech boot. It just doesn’t sound like a place people would enjoy. Most people in these types of settings would prefer they have control over their lives and the tech they live in. If every change and model had to be approved by a group of corporate overlords, I don’t think people would stay for long. It’s the same reason modding a video game is satisfying. People were outraged anytime a company tried to control a modding community for a video game. It would be the same for our Metaverse.
How are people reacting to the Metaverse?
From what I know about gamers such as myself, we are grossed out by the word Metaverse. It feels like a new way to squeeze money out of gamers. It’s being pushed by the worse people in the tech and gaming industry. As of right now, it’s full of scams and bad promises. The Metaverse has a bitter taste in most gamers’ mouths. And the Metaverse has a lot of connections to NFTs, which are starting to die off.
In theory, a simulated reality like the movies and tv shows sounds excellent. But no one wants it to look like this. From the businessman’s perspective, the Metaverse is the best new thing. But they need to get a reality check from their consumer base. Otherwise, the Metaverse will be a colossal flop.
