Editorial . . . . . . . . 

The metaverse is a merging of two concepts: virtual reality and digital second life. People can work, play, shop, and interact in the Metaverse, which is an unstated graphically rich virtual realm with stability. It is frequently referred to as a hypothetical iteration of the Internet as a single, universal virtual world enabled by virtual reality and augmented reality headgear. Because of the growing demand for immersion, metaverse growth is frequently related to the advancement of virtual reality technologies.

The word “metaverse” gained popularity after Mark Zuckerberg, the CEO of Facebook, introduced it last year. While the majority of us are still learning what the metaverse is, the GenZ generation is growing up with such inventions. They are not unfamiliar with a virtual environment where people may engage, communicate, learn, and purchase digital assets. It’s how they learned how to communicate. The most popular term in 2022 is ‘METAVERSE.’ It may be exploited as clickbait on the internet, but the concept of a futuristic virtual reality environment as an alternative to the real world is far from futuristic. With new breakthroughs in the Internet of Things (IoT), blockchain, and artificial intelligence, we’ve arrived at a stage where the digital world has significantly transformed (AI). The pandemic has expedited the growth of the digital world, which has led to widespread adoption of the digital world. Our perceptions of how the digital world fits into our lives have shifted in the last two years; the next five years may radically alter our expectations of the digital world.

The future vision of Metaverse is still mostly uncertain. We don’t know who or what will ultimately rule it, if several virtual worlds will coexist and be compatible, or which experience standard (AR or VR) will emerge. Every day, it appears that new and interesting use cases are added to the metaverse debate. Many high-end and popular firms are joining the metaverse, with virtual product launches gaining traction. Coca-Cola partnered up with 3D developers at Tafi to launch an auction for limited-edition virtual ‘loot boxes’ of NFTs in July 2021, which raised over $1 million. Metaverse brands must decide whether they’re there to develop a real digital model of their physical operations in the virtual world or to experiment with new ways to contact consumers in the physical world. In the metaverse, a brand’s strength can look as if as a shoppable virtual store in a virtual mall, or like an avatar space suit that transports visitors to a branded meet lounge on the moon. Of course, there are some reservations. How will the convergence of physical and virtual realities be handled in an evolving digital society? Is there a code of ethics in the metaverse? Would a decentralized Web 3.0 build a unified metaverse society? Do our societal ethical rules apply to the metaverse as well?

The metaverse will transcend physical realities into a virtual realm beyond anything we can now fathom. The future environment of the metaverse will be completely controlled by companies and branding. The challenge is deciding if the advantages of getting in early outweigh the risks and unknowns. Customers will be more loyal to a particular brand that can take advantage of the virtual world’s advanced capabilities, fundamentally changing the end-to-end consumer journey and customer quality. This is one of the areas where companies must determine whether they want to support innovation through virtual customer interactions or stick to conventional experience standards. As the metaverse emerges, brands seeking to enter an uncharted territory must do so with the development of a strategic direction. Even if they are unsure where the digital transformation will take them, now is the moment to start talking about it, and the businesses that have entered the metaverse, in my opinion, will benefit much from their early investor experience.