It is a fashionable term, used (by the way and inappropriately) continuously, and it is certainly one of the words of the year:
the Metaverse, the new frontier of technology
, often superficially defined as the natural development of social media, is characterized by being an upgrade with virtually infinite functionality and recipients.
However, although this
term is already inflated
, knowledge of the dynamics that will guide Internet 3.0 is still poor, also due to a new language to learn to familiarize with.
But what do we really know about this whole universe
that we apparently can't do without?
Here is
a glossary with the essential terms of the Metaverse
, so as to facilitate the understanding of the complex technological dynamics that govern it and bring us closer to the new digital tools destined to enter the everyday life of the future.
“The history of modern societies is marked by great technological revolutions which, although initially they may seem very distant from the everyday life of ordinary people, over time end up having a profound impact on our lives.
For this reason, knowing the meaning of the first neologisms linked to the Metaverse is an excellent opportunity for everyone - not only for newbies, but even for the most experienced - to be able to understand the dynamics and prepare to seize the professional and personal opportunities offered by this new frontier of progress ”- commented Gianluca Pedrotti, expert in intercultural communication and editor of the Babbel language team on the occasion of the glossary on the Metaverse theme.
How did we get to the Metaverse
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Its story begins in 1992 with the cyberpunk novel "Snow Crash" by Neal Stephenson: although not at the center of the work, there is a first prophecy about the Metaverse,
an 'open source' counter-reality not owned by any multinational
.
Only ten years later should the first real realization of the Metaverse be dated,
in the video game "Second Life"
(in Italian: "Second Life"): a virtual world that offered its' residents' the possibility of having a ' second life online thanks to personalized avatars.
Basically, the prehistory of what is happening today and which is the result of a long path of technical development:
● Virtual reality: known more briefly as VR, the term literally means “virtual reality”.
It describes a digital world, mirroring the real world but totally artificial, which is accessed through special gloves and visors that allow isolation and total immersion.
● Augmented reality: in Italian "augmented reality", consists of an extension or enhancement of the real world.
Unlike VR, with which it is often confused, AR does not involve a 360 ° immersion in an alternative digital environment, but consists in the integration of information generated by technology into the real world.
The result is to be able to add details to the visual field actually perceived by the user, projecting images only in a limited area in front of the eyes, or showing additional information on the smartphone or tablet display.
● Mixed reality: from the self-explanatory name “mixed reality”, MR consists of an experience that connects virtual reality with augmented reality, within which users can interact simultaneously with artificial and real entities.
●
Extended reality: the all-encompassing term "extended reality"
(abbreviated to XR) refers to an all-encompassing experience in which the boundary between real and digital world becomes very blurred.
In other words, it is the meeting point between VR, AR and MR, the last step before the Metaverse.
●
Metaverse:
the word Metaverse is a semantic cast based
on the English word "universe"
("universe"), in a perfect conjunction between past and present: in fact, it combines
the ancient Greek prefix "μετα-" ("through, beyond, after ”)
with the suffix“ -verse ”.
According to the etymology alone,
the Metaverse
would thus be “
something that goes beyond the universe
".
Still difficult to define, the Metaverse promises to be a set of interconnected virtual and real worlds, in which its 'inhabitants' will be able to carry out many daily activities - and much more - without having to move from home.
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Some technical terms to know
Although the Metaverse is still in its initial phase, it is advisable to start familiarizing yourself with some of its key technical terms:
●
Blockchain and NFT:
if blockchain or "block chain" is a digital database open to all that allows to permanently record transactions (including cryptocurrency exchanges) by organizing them within blocks, the NFT is an acronym that stands for non fungible token (in Italian "non-replicable digital token"), ie a digital asset developed at inside a blockchain.
If you want to simplify the matter, blockchains are comparable to current banks and NFTs to valuables.
●
Digital twin:
in English it means “digital twin”, it consists of a virtual replica of any real world entity within the Metaverse.
Digital twins go beyond the concept of digital simulators, being digital references in their own right: systems that can run parallel to the real world and above all, in real time.
●
Virtual teleportation
: as suggested by the translation “virtual teleportation”, this is the technology that transports in a few seconds, through multisensory and photorealistic renderings, a person inside the Metaverse and from one virtual space to another.
● Liminal spaces: they are "neighboring spaces" (the English adjective "liminal" takes up the Latin noun "limen", "border"), in other words, hybrid spaces of the Metaverse, where physical and virtual elements overlap: a land of Middle between real and virtual.
● Digital holograms: “digital holograms” are the 3D reproduction of a person, object or place within a virtual space.
● Interoperability: this term, which can be translated as “interoperability”, refers to one of the development keys of Internet 3.0, that is the possibility for every element of any Metaverse (data, assets, contents) to be shareable and usable on other Metaverses.
The words we will use in the Metaverse society
Just as the Internet and social media have introduced new languages and professions in a few decades, here are some words that will describe the society of the future:
● Avatar: the word derives from the Sanskrit avatāra, literally "divinity descended to earth", translated into the jargon of the Internet, through English and French, to indicate the digital alter ego within virtual games.
In the Metaverse the avatars will be 3D and more and more realistic, until they become a real transposition of the users.
● Meatspace friend: the term can be translated as “friend in flesh and blood / friend of the world in flesh and blood”;
with the imposition of the Metaverse in everyday life, this word will indicate friends with whom one relates vis-a-vis in the real world.
● World builder: among the many jobs that will exist following the next digital revolution, we will find the "builders of worlds", those who will be in charge of developing and optimizing the Metaverses with new technologies.
● Mesher: if you have to find a literal translation of this term, the "mesher" are the "meshers / harmonizers" (in English the word "mesh" means "mesh" as noun and "mesh, harmonize" as a verb) .
In the Metaverse, the mesher will be a particular type of developer, who will take care of the creation of basic 3D models, available to user-avatars who can then customize them.
● Immersive commerce: means “immersive shopping” and represents the future of e-commerce in an enhanced reality.
In fact it is a particular type of "immersive experience", a term that includes all those digital experiences that will characterize the companies of the Metaverse: in this case it will be real virtual shops where customers-avatars will be able to make 100% digital purchases.