Dive into the metaverse
From taking a digital dip in the Ganga to hanging out with 3D avatar pals, the Metaverse is set to change the way people connect, play, study, work, trade and socialize this year…
Parul Khanna, a 25 something digital marketer, spends a whopping six hours online outside of her job. Wondering what she does? Well, she spends most of that time on social media, primarily on Instagram and Facebook. Doing what may be your next question? Well, she says, “I have an image online and a following that wants me to look a certain way and show content that they can relate to.” So, she spends hours trying to get the perfect selfie, often working on editing the image for the perfect backdrop or taking so many images of her food at a restaurant that it always gets cold. “But the perfect picture is important,” she insists. After all she is part of the new buzzword of today — the Metaverse.
Parul is, however, not alone. According to a report in November 2021 by DappRadar, a company that tracks user behaviour across blockchain projects, India ranks fifth in terms of interest in metaverse projects, behind the US, Indonesia, Japan, and the Philippines.
After Facebook changed its name to
Meta, there has been an increased focus on Metaverse, a digital, immersive extension of our real world.
What is the Metaverse all about and more importantly, how can it help us? Experts weigh in.
DECODING METAVERSE
The last decade has seen rapid growth of social media and the immense effort people make in creating a digital impression. “The Metaverse is a virtual extension of our lives, where humans from across the world can engage, interact and create their unique spaces. It’s not something that has come up in one day — it’s a gradual transition of our lives moving into digital realms, and now with advancing technology in VR, AR and AI, there are new 3D
possibilities for the world to explore,” says Supreet Raju, Co-Founder OneRare.
Anshul Agarwal, CoFounder
& Director, XR Central adds, “Metaverse is a connected ‘universe’ of extended reality (XR) worlds, comprising augmented reality (AR), mixed reality (MR), and virtual reality (VR). Essentially, the Metaverse will be a highly scaled-up version of the open-world environments you see in Roblox and Fortnite. You and your avatar will be able to go watch films, have coffee, buy land and jewelry, and even work for digital currency on the metaverse.”
MAKING IT WORK
As human beings moved from isolated cave-existence to more complex social structures, the way we engage with information around us has become more and more evolved.
Achin Bhattacharyya,
Founder & CEO, Notebook says, “Think of a situation where you are working from home. However, instead of your laptop screen, you are wearing a device that encloses your perceptions and puts you in virtual space. This includes real elements, like seeing your hands as you type something and imaginary elements, like the typing appearing as a hologram out of thin air. Now add your colleagues in, but instead of an online meeting, now they are present as avatars that are moving in this simulated 3D environment. That, essentially, is the Metaverse experience.” Prashant Sharma, Co-founder, Plutoverse avers, “Metaverse is the integration of both our online and offline worlds and realities. This is where you make friends, do a job, make money, sell your goods, play games and hangout. Metaverse is not limited to going to a virtual world, it’s the path towards making the virtual and real world one.”
LEARNING MATTERS
The most substantial effect of this will be seen in the education sector. Reshma Budhia, Director, Toss The Coin explains, “Can you imagine how exciting it would be to learn astronomy while floating through space or experience life underwater while learning about marine
biology?
Students get to visually experience the subject and that will have a lasting impact on their minds, not to mention a keen curiosity to know more.” In a country that suffers from deep-rooted infrastructural issues, Metaverse provides us with a solution that is not only ready to scale but also one that carries huge potential and promise. “Skilling and education in the Metaverse can universalize and democratize education so that even a student in the village can now undergo high quality learning. By leveraging the immersive technology students in Metaverse can now get a virtual tour of an automobile shop floor or a manufacturing plant. They can start learning real-world skills through virtual workshops,” says Manav
Subodh, Co-Founder, 1M1B Foundation.
“METAVERSE
WILL REQUIRE
COMPANIES AND PEOPLE TO RE-IMAGINE WHAT IT WOULD MEAN TO OWN, SELL AND RENT DIGITAL ASSETS; VIRTUAL EXHIBITIONS,
CONFERENCES, SHOWS, TRAVEL ARE EXPECTED TO BECOME AS “REAL” AS POSSIBLE, WITHOUT HAVING TO STEP
OUTSIDE ONE’S BEDROOM.”
LIFESTYLE CUES
The Metaverse will fundamentally change the way we digitally connect and socialize with humans. Imagine a world in which you can play different games with your digital friends, or even in real life friends. “But it’s not just games. You could visit galleries, attend classes, live stream sports, experience concerts and other events. During the pandemic, we were all stuck at home and we started craving social interaction. We watched Zoom events, virtual galleries, worked remotely and more. People who cannot afford to travel internationally could attend lectures and concerts with international students,” says Sonali Fabiani, Founder, Altry Foundation. The 3D environment creates new opportunities. Dr. Prithwis Mukerjee Director, Praxis Business School explains, “One can create an accurate Metaverse version of Kashi and participants can have a digital dip in the Ganga. Or you can create an accurate version of the Pigalle District of Paris, complete with cabaret shows and users can book tickets and see performances that are performed live by the avatars of actual human actors, which can be made to look like the actor or even better.”
GAME ON
It will also impact industries including Gaming, Entertainment and Manufacturing. Imagine a Metaverse world where you log-in into a game based in a completely new city or neighbourhood, regardless of your actual location. “After a couple of games, even if you get bored, you can walk into your favorite cinema hall. Even better, become one of the characters in Harry Potter, or Avengers and follow them in the
Sonali Fabiani,
movie. Or at times, visualize your “own” version of Avengers: Endgame on your blank Metaverse canvas creating your own character arcs as you go along,” says Anupam Kulkarni, CEO & Co-Founder, iauro Systems
Pvt. Ltd. “Metaverse will require companies and people to
re-imagine what it would mean to own, sell and rent digital assets; virtual exhibitions, conferences, shows, travel are expected to become as “real” as possible, without having to step outside one’s bedroom. And the plumbing to make all this work will need to be rebuilt and innovated, there will be a need for new interoperable and safe payment mechanisms, identity verification, content creation, security,” says Vivek
Saxena, Cofounder
& CEO, Thinkly.me.
BEING INCLUSIVE
If you would like to go under the Dome inside the Taj Mahal, walk the Great Wall of China or for that matter go shopping in Paris, all this will be possible by a few clicks and a pair of good 3-D goggles. Raghavendra Rathore, MD, Raghavendra Rathore Jodhpur, says, “The beautiful thing about
Metaverse is
that your identity can be dictated by you, if you choose to have a face like an actor then so be it, you choose to be a cross gender personality then so be it. In other words, it will liberate our traditional way of seeing each other with no geography.” Metaverse is a worldwide platform, not just domestic to your demographic. “This means you will be competing with people around the world and sports, education, entertainment, sharing of knowledge, connectivity, will be fundamental applications of the Metaverse. The most interesting perspective would be that you can be whoever or whatever you want to be. You will no longer be restricted by demographics, no longer judged upon skin colour or where you are from. If you are on the Metaverse, we will all be equal,” says Gaurav Gurbaxani, Founder,
DigitalMarket.com.
VIVEK SAXENA, COFOUNDER & CEO,
THINKLY.ME.
WORK LIFE
The global
pandemic has indeed created a need for high-end technologically equipped virtual spaces. The transformation in the working culture and the lifestyle pattern has set examples for how we can use Metaverse effectively. “If you are from the marketing and advertising field, you can do parallel metaverse marketing alongside real-life marketing. Virtual collaborations and diverse workspaces can exist in an easier and smoother fashion. HR professionals can guide their teams to step into this virtual world and hone their skills, collaborate, and learn with people from across the globe,” says Raj N.
Founder and Chairman Zaggle, Zik Zuk. “Collaboration of ideas from different parts of the world can be possible. The entertainment can be more personal. I feel that
shopping experiences can be enhanced, and retail will be Metaverse shops where people can buy goods and get them delivered to physical addresses,” says Prasad Shejale, Founder & CEO, Logicserve Digital.
BE AWARE
The first thing to bear in mind in the realm of digital creation and virtual reality is not to lose sight of our true selves. “For businesses, this is the right time to dive into the metaverse community as trailblazers and squeeze the most from it. This will give you the first mover’s advantage, especially if your business is digitally inclined and seeks digital growth and development. Along with this, one key precaution a person should take is to moderate the usage by children as they are more prone to adapt to whatever
they learn and come across in their prime,” says Angad Singh Manchanda, CEO & Co-founder, Chimp&z Inc. The metaverse is not all hunky dory as addiction to the online world is a serious issue. A S Rajgopal, Founder, MYn, cautions, “Metaverse will lead to multiple security and privacy problems. Privacy is a fundamental right which underpins human dignity and other values like freedom of association and freedom of speech. The problem is that people don’t know how their
data is being used by apps today, it is important to build widespread awareness of these addictive free offerings and protect the citizens of the
world.”
“THE BEAUTIFUL THING ABOUT METAVERSE IS THAT YOUR IDENTITY CAN BE DICTATED BY YOU, IF YOU CHOOSE TO HAVE A FACE LIKE AN ACTOR THEN SO BE IT, YOU CHOOSE TO BE A CROSS GENDER PERSONALITY THEN SO BE IT. IN OTHER
WORDS, IT WILL LIBERATE OUR TRADITIONAL WAY OF SEEING EACH
OTHER WITH NO GEOGRAPHY.”
RAGHAVENDRA RATHORE, MD, RAGHAVENDRA
RATHORE JODHPUR