Big brands are jumping into the metaverse – your small business should too
The metaverse. You’ve heard about it. You’ve read about it. But do you really understand it? Unfortunately, most small business owners I know don’t. They should.
The metaverse is virtual. But it’s also real. It’s an online world that might generate its own economy. So far it’s been mostly created and championed by Mark Zuckerberg, who literally changed the name of one of the most familiar brands in the world to match its future promise – Meta. But the big brands are jumping in … and in a big way.
Microsoft is positioning its products for better business collaboration in the metaverse. Google is building a more-user friendly and less cringe-worthy version of its failed Google Glass so that people can use a new wearable device to access the metaverse without looking like a complete fool. Other companies like Magic Leap are building similar devices. Gaming company Epic Games has raised $1bn to support their “vision” for the metaverse.
Walmart has filed “several new trademarks” that apparently indicate it will be creating its own cryptocurrency and a collection of NFTs (non-fungible tokens, the unique identifiers that are being attached to digital art and products to identify them as being one of a kind and original).
McDonald’s recently filed 10 trademark applications including one for a virtual restaurant that would deliver to an actual home. Samsung recently launched a new smartphone on the metaverse – although not without some problems. Even the staid and traditional accounting firm PricewaterhouseCoopers has purchased virtual property on Sandbox, a metaverse platform.
How big is the metaverse? When you add it all up, billions have already been invested, with some analysts saying it could be a $30tn marketplace within the
Read more on theguardian.com
