Former Google CEO Has Doubts About the Metaverse
- The metaverse has over 60,000 active users according to statistics.
- Meta, formerly Facebook, is one of the firms spreading the adoption of the metaverse with several investments.
The metaverse, like many blockchain concepts, is far from a complete package. A lot of use cases are being discovered as well as possibilities. While there is much excitement about the virtual revolution, former Google CEO Eric Schmidt, is not particularly impressed by the lack of clarity in the industry.
Schmidt, who served as CEO of the technological behemoth Google from 2001 until 2011, believes that the introduction of Meta and other giant organizations to the mix has not helped bring clarity. Schmidt has reservations over the adoption and significance of this new technology as it concerns its future use case.
The former Google CEO opened on about his thoughts about the metaverse during an event in Colorado. He said,
There’s not an agreement on what the metaverse is, even though one company has changed its name in anticipation of defining it.
Schmidt was presumably alluding to Meta’s decision to pivot and make metaverse technology one of the cornerstones of its business. The tycoon has not kept his reservations against Meta’s foray into the metaverse. Schmidt had previously taken a swipe at the Mark Zuckerberg-led firm, noting that he had little doubt that Meta would be the organization to design the metaverse, even though its exact form is still up in the air.
The Metaverse is Growing at an Intriguing Pace
Neil Stephenson first used the word “metaverse” in his 1992 book “Snow Crash”. He imagined a time when individuals could interact with one another in a shared, immersive virtual world. However, the speed at which technical development advances has pushed it closer to reality. Despite the lack of precise usage surrounding the metaverse, statistics point out that the industry is fast becoming a regular part of the decade.
Experts believe that billions of individuals will spend the bulk of their time in the metaverse performing several functions in the near future. It will be a massive digital environment that includes social networking, leisure activities, retail sales, business transactions, educational opportunities, gaming, and pretty much everything else we do on the Internet today. It will also develop past games into an all-inclusive ecosystem where people can work, connect, and entertain themselves.
Although the term “metaverse” has been in use for over three decades, it gained widespread popularity in 2021. Reports showed that there were over 84,000 mentions of metaverse on social media in 2021, showing the growing interest in the space.
Companies such as Facebook are already splashing cash into the virtual world. The firm spent over $10 billion on creating its metaverse unit. The social media giant has made significant investments in its Facebook Reality Labs, developing engaging technology to create an advanced metaverse that will revolutionize how humans interact.
The metaverse is still in its infancy and has a series of problems to address. However, this has not stopped several firms from seeking ways to be a part of it. Banks, tech companies, real estate firms, and musicians are all becoming a part of the metaverse.
Lawrence has covered some exciting stories in his career as a journalist, he finds blockchain-related stories very intriguing. He believes Web3 will change the world and wants everyone to be a part of it.
