Exploring the metaverse and virtual real estate

(Words by Alexa Tran)

It is hard to miss the sizzling of metaverse popularity in recent months. Metaverse is showing tremendous success even in its infancy. According to Bloomberg, the global Metaverse revenue could reach $800 billion in the next 2 years.

• Facebook is rebranding to ‘Meta’ 
• Popstars like Ariana Grande, Travis Scott & Justin Bieber did metaverse concerts
• Brokers and real estate agents probably talk about it

The vision of these virtual spaces becoming the future of human communication and interactions is fascinating to us. Ultimately, we want to know how the meta-universe will transform our future to be prepared for the advantages and challenges it presents. 

But what is the metaverse actually?

The term was first coined back in 1992 by Neal Stephenson in his novel ‘Snow Crash’, referring to the metaverse as a virtual 3D world inhabited by avatars of real people. 

So this concept is far from new. Over the decades, there have been many attempts to bring it into reality. Games like Fortnite, Minecraft and Roblox have been providing metaverse-like experiences for years.

The metaverses today are borderless virtual worlds combining different advancements including blockchain, cryptocurrency, NFTs, social media, online gaming and virtual reality where people live their lives connecting using a digital representation of themselves.

The avatar itself is an NFT created for membership and identification of a metaverse. It becomes a new way to identify yourself and show that you belong in a digital community. Your avatar can move, speak, perform animated actions and can be customised. 

Think of it like the internet coming to life with interconnected and virtual communities where people can socialise, work, play, transact and create. It’s the whole new and improved version of the world wide web.

What can I do in the metaverse?