The metaverse is about pushing boundaries, not recreating reality

As bandwidth limitations crumble, the metaverse is becoming accessible to huge numbers of people. But utility remains a major question mark. It will be largely up to brands to determine what the metaverse is going to look like — and how people will interact with it. Here’s why brands should start viewing the metaverse as an opportunity for limitless innovation.

Back in 2012, festival-goers at Coachella lifted their collective jaw off the floor as Tupac Shakur seemingly returned from the dead to join Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg on stage blasting out a fully ‘live’ rendition of ‘Hail Mary.’ A revolutionary hologram technology recreated Tupac’s movements and presence in such a visceral way that it seemed like a new future of reality and creative possibility was dawning. Fast-forward ten years and now we’ve got digital Lego blocks, 1/2 body avatars and ‘low poly’ fantasy worlds. Why all the fuss about the metaverse and the billions of dollars invested in it if this is what it delivers?

The truth is, the technology to simulate or create highly immersive reality has existed for some time. In the mid-2000s, Second Life, a game that allows users to create an avatar for themselves, was tried by millions of people. Those who mastered access and had the right computing power to prevail actually built a thriving creative community that persists to this day. The barrier to mass adoption of Second Life was the complexity of the platform and the limited bandwidth available to much of the population. As a result, consumer disappointment and disinterest followed.