Pretty funny to think that not so long ago (OK, it was the ‘80s), we couldn’t imagine not having a home phone. In the not-so-distant future, it’s likely that smartphones will be nothing like they are now. We will experience immersive interactions with each other’s personalized environments and communities, also called the metaverse.
If you’re understandably skeptical after watching social networks come and go, you are probably wondering if this whole “metaverse thing” is just another flash in the pan or if this is something brands need to be ready to embrace.
One thing is for sure. The metaverse can’t be ignored. Brands such as Gucci, Coca-Cola, Google, Autodesk and more are already embracing it. How will it unfold for small business? Nonprofits? Government orgs? We don’t know. What we do know is that it will be here before we know it.
Let’s step back for a second.
The adoption of the internet 1.0 in the late ‘80s and early ‘90s took a long time because we were still defining what the internet was. To explain the internet to a new user then, you had to have a long conversation about what it was, how it worked, etc.
Obviously, times are now different.
With the introduction of social media in the early 2000s and web 2.0, a new world emerged. By 2016, we were living most of our lives on the internet and relationships were built online. Games such as Farmville, the Sims and Roblox created worlds, e-commerce opportunities, social interactions and competition we couldn’t even imagine just a few years before.
With Gen Z and Millennials spending an average of seven hours per week gaming online alone, the adoption of the metaverse is already starting.
The metaverse is a new frontier for online interactions and is projected to see exponential growth by 2026 creating a brand new space for commerce and advertising. People are creating an entirely new digital world where they can meet and transact. Like the emergence of “influencer marketing” in web 2.0, brands will need to be more creative and authentic as they adapt to the new norm.
This is part one of a metaverse series. We will continue to explore what big brands are doing in the space and what it means for organizations like yours. Stay with us for more.