[OPLIN 4cast] OPLIN 4Cast #773: The idea of a 'metaverse' isn't new, but the growth is

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OPLIN 4Cast #773: The idea of a 'metaverse' isn't new, but the growth is
October 20th, 2021

[image: Virtual beach scene with pier and palm trees] Call me crazy, but
I've been moderately involved with the virtual world of Second Life
<https://secondlife.com> (which is most assuredly *not* a game, by the way)
since late 2006. While many gave it a try in its heyday during the
mid-aughts, a good number of people weren't sure what to do without a
specific goal or thought it was too complex to learn. SL has had its ups
and downs, and has even seen some growth since the advent of the pandemic.
Personally, I've enjoyed the creative freedom and the social connections
its provided me over the years.

The concept of (and the term) "the metaverse" was applied to Second Life
long before Facebook and general tech appropriated it. It's interesting to
me to see how other entities are taking the idea of a virtual environment
and expanding the definition to include AR, VR and mixed reality.

   -
   - Decentraland's Metaverse Festival is a First-of-Its-Kind Event
   <https://www.trendhunter.com/trends/metaverse-festival> [TrendHunter]
   "Decentraland is exploring festivals of the future with the overall theme
   of Evolution and a main stage design that will change every day from Water
   to Earth to Space and finally, Metaverse. Naturally, the Metaverse Festival
   will have its own merch shop with a twist, thanks to NFT wearables."
   - How to Govern the Metaverse
   <https://www.wired.com/story/metaverse-video-games-virtual-reality-ethics-digital-governance/>
   [Wired] "Researchers and designers of virtual worlds are increasingly
   setting their sights on more proactive methods of virtual governance that
   not only deal with acts like virtual groping once they occur, but
   discourage such acts in the first place while encouraging more positive
   behaviors too."
   - Why the ‘Metaverse’ represents a revolution in advertising
   <https://adage.com/article/digital-marketing-ad-tech-news/why-metaverse-will-redefine-advertising-we-know-it/2373971>
   [Ad Age] "Isabel Perry, director of technology at Byte (part of Dept)
   noted, "Metaverses are jam-packed with innovative marketing potential,
   (ranging) from live shopping to virtual stores, fashion shows, product
   launches, content production, live flagship events, enhanced social,
   pimping-up of Zoom calls and NFTs paving the way for real economies. The
   possibilities that this hybrid digital/physical world offers are
   near-endless. It's time for forward-thinking brands to get involved.”"
   - The metaverse: A parallel universe online
   <https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-amazing-things-youll-do-in-the-metaverse-and-what-it-will-take-to-get-there-11634396401>
   [The Irish Times] "Yet after the social isolation foisted on much of the
   world’s population by the pandemic, the idea of escaping into a fully
   digital space no longer seems as outlandish. If workers took to Zoom so
   easily, why not congregate in a digital office?"

*From the Ohio Web Library <http://ohioweblibrary.org>:*

   - What is a metaverse
   <https://search-ebscohost-com.proxy.oplin.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ulh&AN=152010037&site=ehost-live>
   (Sparkes, M. (2021). What is a metaverse. *New Scientist*, *251*(3348),
   18.)
   - New York Comicon Goes Metaverse
   <https://search-ebscohost-com.proxy.oplin.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=lfh&AN=145713333>
   (MACDONALD, H. (2020). New York Comic Con Goes Metaverse. *Publishers
   Weekly*, *267*(37), 55–61.)
   - What will the Internet look like in the next 10 years: The metaverse
   concept
   <https://search-ebscohost-com.proxy.oplin.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=pwh&AN=2W62251004159&site=ehost-live>
   (What will the Internet look like in the next 10 years: The metaverse
   concept. (2021, September 30). *Hindustan Times*.)

------------------------------
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