Web 3.0 and the Metaverse

If you follow the IT world then you have probably heard about Web 3.0 and the Metaverse, but what are they about?

Usually people think they are just names given to the same thing but this is far from the truth. And, just to be clear before I go deeper in both terms, the Metaverse is probably the most useful feature of Web 3.0.

Web 3.0

Web 3.0 is no other than a new generation of web technologies that use decentralized protocols for information exchange such as blockchain. The blockchain is a peer-to-peer network that allows us to exchange information without the need of a middleman, and this is extremely important to understand the purpose of Web 3.0 as it is all about returning to people their most valuable asset, their information.

Think about how most applications work today, for instance, in any instant messaging application, the user types a message and sends it to another person but in between, the server receives and processes the information, to finally send the message to the final recipient. So as you might already figured this out by now, the middleman is the server and it has full control of the data being processed every day; this is the main reason why Web 3.0 was built, using decentralized protocols, users will be able to securely share their information without the need of any middleman.

In addition to blockchain technology, others core components of Web 3.0 are Artificial Intelligence (AI), Virtual Reality (VR), and Augmented Reality (AR). You might be thinking Web 3.0 is the future but this is already happening, some applications such as Alexa, Siri, Cloud Storage, and many others are already using it.

The Metaverse

I know what are you thinking, ok, everything is nice but when do we start with the cool stuff? Let’s do it! The Metaverse is an integrated network of 3D virtual worlds focused on social connections.

One of the main aspects of the Metaverse is to fuse the physical and virtual world so users can experience a real-life situation without the need to physically be in the same place. How cool does this sound? This is a disruptive technology that is changing the game rules in every industry such as social networks, workplaces, social events, Healthcare, gaming, digital commerce, etc; and all of this is built in Web 3.0, which allows for securely exchanging information.

Keep in mind the Metaverse applications can converge with each other, for instance, Ariana Grande gave a concert in the Fortnite’s Metaverse where over 12 million people witnessed her performance. Ariana has not been the only singer performing in the Metaverse, there are some others like BTS, Justin Bieber, and Twenty-One Pilots who have also performed in other Metaverse; this is a good example of how Gaming and Social Events converged.

We have been talking about the fun part of it. However, think about how this will impact many activities like e-commerce, real-state, and healthcare where you won’t need to imagine whether that furniture you want to buy looks nice in your room or how your house would look like if you change the colors of the walls or provide healthcare assistance to patients. Now users will be able to experience everything in a virtual world that looks just like the physical one.

So that’s it

Now you have a good idea of what Web 3.0 and the Metaverse are and most importantly, how this is already changing the way people interact. The IT industry is working on maximizing its potential, and it seems the sky is the limit, or should I say the universe?