By Scott Camball

Unless you've been hiding under a rock or taken a deliberate digital detox, you won’t have been able to avoid the news about Facebook heavily investing into the Metaverse by hiring 10,000 specialized engineers in the next five years and transforming from a social media-focused company to a social technology company called "Meta," which is short for "Metaverse". But what exactly is the Metaverse?

Facebook's idea of the Metaverse is a network that combines online gaming, social media, and business collaboration in a virtual reality. It enables users to interact and communicate in the virtual world via a VR headset. It's a real time living experience that never pauses or ends, like a video game would. One of the main characteristics is the unprecedented interoperability. But what does that mean?

Remember that plan to go out with your friends that keeps getting cancelled? Well, now you can do that from the comfort of your own home. The Metaverse is a full social system and economy across the real and virtual world. The avatars’ experiences, content, and goods can move seamlessly.

What’s the History of the Metaverse?

The idea is nothing new; the idea was first mentioned in Vernor Vinge’s 1981 novel, True Names. The story was about hackers entering a full-immersion virtual world called the "Other Plane." Many other books and movies in the 1980s also played with the idea. Neal Stephenson coined the term "Metaverse" in his 1992 dystopian science fiction novel, Snow Crash.

The first actual virtual multiplayer worlds (such as Cybertown) that resembled a Metaverse were developed in the 1990s. However, the idea did not really take off until the release of Second Life in June 2003. In February 2020, the fist decentralized, block chain-based Metaverse, called Decentraland, was opened to the public.

What's the hype behind the Metaverse?

The gaming industry has started shifting from the developer-earning model to the play-to-earn model, resulting in income generated for gamers. The Metaverse is believed to increase online earning potential.

A Metaverse can be powered by blockchain technology, where users can purchase virtual real estate and other forms of digital assets using crypto currencies. Think about the concept of buying a gun skin or car design from one game but then being able to use it in all the games you play.

Gaming platform The Sandbox has shifted from traditional gaming to cryptocurrency gaming. The Sandbox Gamer Maker console enables users to produce games from scratch, play other people's games, and purchase digital assets.

Metaverse zealots see it as the next revolution of internet development. At the moment, web users interact with each other through social media platforms or message applications. The concept of a Metaverse creates a new form of online space that broadens people's interaction and experiences multi-dimensionally.

The global COVID outbreak increased the need for people to work remotely and enhance online interactions. The concept of the Metaverse sparked interest from investors who believe the Metaverse will be part of the “Next Big Thing.”

Microsoft is looking to transform the way businesses and operations happen altogether by creating an entire digital twin of the real world, which people interact with through mixed reality. This objective is already happening today; everything modeled in the Metaverse mirrors the status of its physical twin, including the interactions and relations among all of its elements.

Facebook launched Horizon Workrooms, a new way for office workers to connect using virtual reality and an Oculus headset. They are planning to transform their social media company into a Metaverse company in the next five years.

The term “Metaverse” has become popular in Silicon Valley. Microsoft has talked about the concept of merging the digital and physical world, and popular children's game Robolox (RBLX.N) labels itself a Metaverse company,while Epic Games's Fortnite also describes itself as part of the Metaverse.

Musicians can also host virtual concerts on these platforms. For instance, celebrities like Ariana Grande performed virtually in Fortnite back in September 2021. Also, Alison Wonderland and Paris Hilton were some of the headlining acts in Decentraland’s Metaverse Music Festival in October 2021.

Fashion companies are also trying out virtual clothing that people's avatars can wear in a Metaverse environment.

Facebook's Ambition to Conquer the Metaverse

Facebook, now also known as Meta, has been at the forefront of VR and AR, investing billions of dollars into companies such as Oculus VR headsets, AR sunglasses, and wearable technologies.

Facebook believes that the Metaverse has potential to unlock possibilities to access new social and economic opportunities. However, Facebook does not believe this transition will happen overnight; they predict the process of building the true Metaverse will take another 10-15 years. Mark Zuckerberg thinks of the Metaverse as the next generation of the internet. Rather than a flat panel 2D screen, it is essentially the 3D internet of the future.

What can we do in the Metaverse?

The possibilities are endless in the Metaverse. Imagine being able to do everything you do in the physical world and extend that in the Metaverse. You can learn, work, earn money, and enjoy all kinds of virtual entertainment, including adult entertainment. In the future, a big part of our lives could be inside a Metaverse, whether you like it or not.

The Adult virtual reality (VR) industry is expected to grow from $716 million this year to $19 billion by 2026.

According to a recent Juniper Research report, it will contribute to 22% of the worldwide digital adult material industry by then. According to the study, subscription-based approaches will be important in allowing adult material providers to effectively monetize VR content and benefit on the growing headset ownership.

Popular adult material platforms have formed strategic partnerships with specialist VR content companies in diversifying their adult material libraries and make sure more reliable streams of revenue, according to recent research, Digital Adult Content: Key Monetization Models, Emerging Technologies & Market Forecasts 2021-2026. It was revealed that over the next five years, the worldwide number of people watching VR adult material through suitable headsets would increase by 2,800%, with popular use cases like digital gaming and media boosting headset acceptance. It recommends that market participants should make use of current distribution channels to expand the reach of VR adult content to this rapidly expanding audience.

“The US will emerge as a key market for VR adult content; accounting for 33% of market spend by 2026,” said Scarlett Woodford, lead author of the study. “Adult content channels targeting US users must use advanced analytics to monitor viewing habits and trends; tailoring VR-enabled content accordingly.”

According to the study, memberships will account for 97 percent of the entire VR adult material industry by 2026, with channels of distribution adopting this monetization model to cover the additional expenses involved with recording VR material. It suggests that companies keep adult material collections fully updated on a frequent basis to keep the user's value proposition fresh and justify charging a recurrent charge. If this is not done, subscription services will lose value, and distribution networks will face customer attrition.

Scott Camball is an avid enthusiast of all things related to technology and the internet. He has a keen interest in virtual reality and augmented reality, specifically in the online space. Scott’s passion began in the early 1990s when he played his first VR game, and not long after built his first website. His interests quickly evolved into what would become his professional career, spanning across website development, online entertainment streaming and distribution, business VOIP and virtual reality. Scott is currently one of the co-founders of Vrsmash (2014), a virtual reality tube site providing VR adult entertainment. Scott is excited for what the future in virtual reality holds and is having fun experimenting with new augmented reality technology.

More about Scott Camball

Scott Camball’s lifelong fascination with virtual reality began in the early 1990s, at just 10 years old, after a visit to the Cybermind arcade in Toronto, Canada. There, he played one of the first multiplayer VR games, “Dactyl Nightmare”, and was instantly hooked. Even though the headset was heavy and the headtracking was poor, it was an incredible experience that became the catalyst for Scott’s future ambitions in the VR space.

Scott later experimented with Nintendo Virtual Boy, and became increasingly interested in virtual worlds after playing the 3D, online multiplayer game “Everquest”, in 1999.

Also during this time, and in the early days of the internet, Scott discovered a passion for all things web-related. At only 13 years old, he taught himself HTML and made his first website. From 2003-2011, Scott created and operated MixConnect, one of the first online, hip hop music streaming services. This was Scott’s first experience within the entertainment industry as well as the potential of online distribution platforms, and he was inspired.

In 2012, Scott combined his knowledge of VR and virtual spaces when he began working in the Business VOIP industry. He promoted large-scale teleconferencing units that create a more immersive, “telepresense” experience than traditional video calls. He also experimented with virtual, online metaverse environments for business meetings and conferences (sort of like the online, virtual world game, “Second Life”, but for commerce).

In 2013 Scott Camball was excited to finally get his hands on the first consumer VR headset since the 1990s, the Oculus Development Kit 1. He tried all kinds of apps and games and got into VR web development with Javascript and HTML5 where he developed new ways to interact with internet browsers in VR.

Nearly 20 years after Scott’s virtual reality journey began, he was excited to finally get his hands on the first consumer focused VR project since the 1990s – the Oculus Development Kit 1. With this he was able to explore and experiment with different applications and games, as well as with VR web development. Specifically, Scott was able to create new ways to interact with internet browsers in VR, using JavaScript and HTML5.

In 2014, Scott became one of the co-founders of VRsmash – a virtual reality tube site providing the VR community with VR adult entertainment. Utilizing his extensive knowledge of web development, online streaming and VR, as well as WebXR technology, Scott has helped create a truly unique VR streaming experience with VRsmash. Unlike some of its competitors, VRsmash provides a VR-based video browser that does not require downloading or removing your headset to change videos. The VRsmash VR environment has been built with HTML5 and JavaScript, and supports 180 and 360 degree videos.

Scott is excited for what the future holds with virtual reality and augmented reality, and is currently experimenting with new AR technology.

Follow Scott Camball on Twitter or email him at [email protected].