How Entrepreneurs Can Capitalize on the Metaverse This Year

The metaverse is under construction, and many businesses want to know how to pioneer their corner of this virtual reality. CNN regularly defines the metaverse and addresses future ethical concerns regarding its existence.

For even the most experienced journalist, defining this new technology is difficult. For example, is the metaverse an extension of the “internet,” or is it a completely different technology? Furthermore, since the metaverse resides inside enabled devices, is this new device more like a smartphone, or are we looking at another mobile device with something besides the internet?

It’s Okay to Question This New Technology

Because this is uncharted territory and a brand new idea – much like the internet was decades ago – it’s important to define this pace through questions instead of absolutes. Even criticisms can lead to a better build for metaverse spaces in the future. Like the early internet, we find what we want by defining what we don’t want. Good questions include:

• Why should the metaverse exist?
• Is this a better form of communication or just another screen?
• How will businesses make money in these spaces?
• What do people want from a virtual reality experience?
• Do people want a virtual reality experience?

The Birth of the Metaverse During a Pandemic

At the end of the COVID pandemic, Mark Zuckerberg decided to change Facebook’s name to Meta and begin constructing the metaverse through his Oculus Quest 2 headset. This was the natural consequence of pandemic conditions. With people stuck sheltering at home, Zuckerberg tried to find a way to break them out.

The pandemic’s most severe consequences ended over a year ago, though, and people are back out there living life again and enjoying reality. So what Metaverse supporters must do now is find another deeper and more meaningful reason to build this universe. Is it still viable? Who would want to visit a virtual reality frequently? And what metaverse business opportunities exist out there for people who are passionate about this technology?

The pandemic created a unique problem that didn’t exist before it: how to feel together even when we’re alone. The early metaverse promises social experiences beyond text communication on social media websites. Will it live up to this promise? We’re already finding out.

How Businesses Are Using the Metaverse

Businesses aren’t waiting around for the metaverse to be a fully realized universe. Instead, they’re already hard at work building their corner of it. From virtual offices to blockchain automation, businesses see opportunities where the general public doesn’t.

1. Virtual Remote Offices
   Businesses that want to make money from this new technology are already finding ways to save and make money with it. One of the most overlooked values of the metaverse is its potential for more cost-effective virtual offices. For businesses, saving money means making more money, and the metaverse makes 24/7 remote work possible. Many people are calling this the future of work.
2. Amazing Business Opportunities with NFTs
   NFTs – a potential sleeping giant – are a perfect fit for a virtual world with limitless business opportunities. As “art,” NFTs are something businesses can use to market, sell, or decorate. They’ve taken a slight downturn here lately, but wise investors know that’s a perfect time to redefine what the product offers the public. Businesses that find new ways to use NFTs might find great opportunities.
3. Virtual Gaming Is Already a Home Run
   The hardware has to spend a few years catching up to the imagination of the metaverse, but the general idea is there. By stepping into the metaverse, people can have a more immersive video game experience. One great business opportunity for this space is developing video games that can be accessed in this augmented reality space.
4. Metaverse Real Estate Is a Real Thing
   Yes, there are businesses out there right now buying up virtual plots of land to eventually open up for the general public. You can use this property to advertise or simulate your physical business. This opens up the possibility of doing business on a global level. Someone in another country might not be able to experience your local coffee shop today, but they might find you on the metaverse in the future.
5. Metaverse Education and Training Are All the Rage Right Now
   The metaverse provides a unique platform for interactive learning experiences that simulate real-world scenarios, allowing learners to practice and apply their skills in a safe and controlled environment. For example, medical students can use the metaverse to practice surgical procedures, while engineers can use it to simulate complex equipment operations.

Additionally, companies can use the metaverse for employee training and development, allowing workers to practice skills and procedures in a virtual reality before applying them in the real world. The metaverse offers endless possibilities for education and training, making it an exciting area to watch as technology evolves.

The Bottom Line

Businesses that get in on this technology early are the people who define it. It’s a chance to take the internet’s original promise and do it right now: to expand the online world away from just text and pictures and make it a real, living, breathing social space.