The metaverse is here. Are you ready?
In The Metaverse Handbook: Innovating for the Internet's Next Tectonic Shift, a duo of experienced tech and culture experts delivers a can't-miss guide to participating in the most promising new technology since the advent of the web. Through dozens of metaverse creator case studies and concise, actionable insights, you'll walk away from this book understanding how to explore and implement the latest metaverse tech emerging from blockchain, XR, and web3.
In The Metaverse Handbook, you'll discover:
- What the metaverse is, why you should care about it, and how to build your metaverse strategy
- The history of the metaverse and primers on critical technologies driving the metaverse, including non-fungible tokens, XR, the blockchain, and web3
- How to unearth unique metaverse opportunities in digital communities, commerce, and immersive experiences
As the metaverse has rapidly become the technology platform and marketing buzzword of the future, this new reality for companies, creators, and consumers is not easily understood at the surface level. Those who aim to be at the forefront of this exciting new arena must first understand the foundations and central technologies of the metaverse.
An essential resource for digital professionals, creators, and business leaders in the vanguard of the coming technology revolution, The Metaverse Handbook provides the go-to roadmap for your journey into the metaverse.
Table of Contents
About the Authors vi
Acknowledgments ix
Foreword xvii
Introduction xxi
Chapter 1 A Vision for the Metaverse in 2032 1
Extended Reality Emerges 3
Your Own Personalized Metaverse 4
The Rise of Bots and Digital Humans 6
The Ubiquitous Metaverse 9
Chapter 2 What Is the Metaverse? 11
From Snow Crash to Meta 13
Defining the Metaverse 19
The Metaverse Represents the Next Digital Shifts 21
Changes to Digital Identity 23
Changes to Digital Value 28
Digital Respect and Signaling Identity 30
Access to Exclusive Internet Experiences 31
Crowdfunding 2.0 33
Changes to Internet Immersion 36
It Starts with Web3 Communities 39
What’s the Metaverse’s Interface? 40
Preparing for the Metaverse 41
Chapter 3 Why You Should Care About the Metaverse Now 45
The Well-Timed Interest Geek 47
Interest Geeks of the Metaverse 50
Interest Geeks Over Power Brokers 53
Chapter 4 History of the Metaverse 57
La Réalité Virtuelle 58
The Early Internet 60
Early Virtual Worlds 62
Blockchain and Digital Assets 65
The Modern Metaverse 68
Chapter 5 The Metaverse Building Blocks 75
The Main Metaverse Tools 78
The Secondary Metaverse Tools 82
Building Your First Metaverse Asset 85
Chapter 6 Enter the Metaverse 87
Sandbox Metaverses 92
Decentraland 93
The Sandbox 103
Cryptovoxels 105
Somnium Space 105
Honorable Mentions 106
Gaming Metaverses 108
Miscellaneous Metaverses 114
Digital Presence 114
Phygital Commerce 115
Readymade Metaverse Environments 116
Social VR Worlds 117
The Mass Migration to the Metaverse 118
Chapter 7 Metaverse Assets 121
What We Will Own in the Metaverse 125
Avatars 126
Accessories 129
Objects 132
Real Estate 134
Metaverse Asset Management 136
Chapter 8 Challenges of the Metaverse 139
Interoperable Economies 140
Interoperable Graphics and Hardware 145
The Negative Narratives of the Metaverse 147
Chapter 9 Your Metaverse Plan 151
Designing Your Metaverse Plan 152
For Brands and Corporations with IP 153
For Entertainers 156
For Metaverse Interest Geeks 157
Further Reading at MetaverseQT.com 158
Index 161
