Jonathan Escobar Marin
When the team of ActioGlobal shapes the future of work, it is with the vision of creating a meaningful, global, digital future in which everyone, from every corner of the globe, can have the opportunity to turn their talent and passion into a positive impact for the world.
Today, we can confirm that in this mission of structural transformation of the working world, known as “New Work”, the metaverse will play a fundamental role.
Metaverse transforms the relationship with both your teams and customers.
Metaverse is the real digital transformation of the way companies work; everything that has been achieved so far, such as the shift to remote work, hybrid work or the introduction of omnichannel, have only been small steps on the way to that destination.
Metaverse means to realize a Phygital world (a concept resulting from the fusion of the Physical + Digital world), allowing people to interact in parallel spaces, one hundred percent virtual, through immersive digital experiences from anywhere in the world.
1. On the internal level,
Companies will not operate in corporate facilities but on virtual platforms that will unite hubs of talent, located anywhere in the world, to achieve common objectives – together. Consequently, the Metaverse will disrupt the limits of space, place and language as it provides simultaneous translation of languages – we will discuss this later – and ensure empathy towards cultural habits, synchronization of time slots and the quality of data infrastructures.
All this will make Metaverse revolutionize the business world as we have known it until today. Metaverse is the accelerator of the New Work, the future of work, where corporate facilities become transparent, companies become ecosystems or platforms that integrate talent from inside and outside the organization, from anywhere in the world, from any discipline and from any sector.
Companies will disappear as places “reserved for employees” but become connectors of the passion and capabilities of the collaborators´ talents.
2. On the external level,
It will mark a revolutionary relationship with customers: Companies will have the ability to reach customers through a channel that has not existed until now, putting them at the center of every initiative.
In other words, the Metaverse will force any company in the world that seeks to get closer to its customers to become a digital company , transforming its atoms into bits and, above all, learning from its users and consumers based on the data by the interaction between them generated in real time by the Metaverse.
Metaverse for all, no exceptions.
However, in its earliest stage of development, which is already immediate, it will be adopted with more agility by digital organizations, more accustomed to interacting in 100% digital and remote environments, and also multinationals, with a great need to connect talent.
MICROSOFT
Metaverse Deniers
The future is shaped
in real time.
One of them is the historical context. The more powerful computers have become, the more intense the experiences they create. Let’s not forget that the Internet started with something as unspectacular as white text on a black background. In the 1990s, one-dimensional images were added. Then, in the 2010s, video became the dominant medium. From this perspective, the transition to three-dimensionality is a logical consequence of the ever-increasing computing power.
Following, the possibility of a digital object feeling touch was a pending issue for the Metaverse. Therefore, Zuckerberg’s company has developed a haptic glove, on which it has been working for seven years, that generates a very distinct sensation of touch. This Meta accessory, together with the Oculs Quest 2 device, takes the virtual experience to the next level.
But the progression is not just theoretical. Google Maps already offers a virtual space containing the stations, stores and streets of the real world. The video game industry (the only type of entertainment fully exposed to the progressive power of Moore’s law) has been selling virtual worlds for years. EverQuest, an online game launched in 1999, had half a million subscribers at its peak. (Players soon used not only to slay dragons but also to socialize, and even marry). World of Warcraft, launched five years later, reached 12 million players. Today, 200 million people a month log on to Roblox, a video game platform where games can be created. Many users spend real money on virtual goods. It’s hard to argue that an idea will never take root when it has already been anchored in millions of people.
Given all this evidence, mocking progress is an unreliable guide to the future. Remember, when YouTube was launched in 2005, many wondered why anyone would want to watch pimply teenagers videotaping themselves in their bedrooms while the pleasures of cable TV were just a button press away. Within two decades, online dating has evolved from a secretive and embarrassing affair to a normal platform for getting to know people. Smartphones are among the best-selling devices in history. In the 1990s, their brick-sized predecessors were still derided as crude status symbols for insecure bankers. Just like these, many disruptions were initially mocked at.
Of course, this doesn’t mean that every brilliant idea from Silicon Valley will inevitably be successful. Nor does it mean that a full-fledged Metaverse will emerge overnight; it will be an evolving process. In any case, it should be kept in mind that a “metaversal” reality is a serious idea and not far off at all.
Risks of Metaverse
Metaverse will be a space where the physical and the digital worlds converge. The problems and opportunities it may entail are the same that we unfortunately find in the physical world (addictions, discrimination, harassment and violence…). However, this will not be due to Metaverse itself or the technology that supports it, but to the way we use it as a society.
Although we are still quite a long time and billions of investments away from a total Metaverse, we have to think about and anticipate such important factors as the ethical use of data, the privacy of the users or the psychological and emotional preparation of people to live in an immersive and interconnected virtual universe.
It is the responsibility of all of us to be aware of the risks of the Metaverse and to appreciate the creative opportunities it offers us by avoiding repeating the mistakes we have already made in physical reality and from which we are obliged to learn.
Metaverse, like the physical world, will be a world we must care for and protect from inequality. We need to educate ourselves to make good use of it and demand that its creators accept responsibility for achieving an ethical phygital space that provides opportunities for people, generates a healthy digital economy, protects privacy and is a safe, equitable and inclusive space for all. The Metaverse must be a place where we can be the best possible version of society and not just a profit target for companies, investors and big tech titans.
Metaverse provides opportunities
Metaverse is a new world, which does not exist right now and which offers us options not available, yet. It is not an enemy of the physical world, it is an amplifier of its opportunities in a space that we have never had until now.
For example, during the pandemic when being together was a hazard, virtuality has been our great hope. We learned to socialize from home, and online interactions were beneficial because they allowed us to stay connected. Metaverse opens up opportunities for us where there are limits due to distance, cost or availability. And it certainly opens up a whole new (digital) world of possibilities. If we zoom out, we can clearly see some big areas where these opportunities are developing;
Metaverse will change the way people shop, access media, play, get thrilled and interact, and it will provide a great opportunity for companies to generate new business, provided they are aware of the new behaviors of their consumers and the new needs that will be created by this new immersive reality combining physical and digital life.
Among the scopes that will open up new opportunities for companies, there are many that will help deliver incredible, high-impact experiences to consumers. For example:
Digital products:
Sports:
Remote work and education:
Culture and entertainment:
Games and gamification:
Manufacturing process:
Data security:
Cryptocurrencies:
Key technologies and developments for Metaverse
Real-time language translation and natural language processing
Virtual rooms with
immersive reality
Development of devices to address the sense of touch
Motion recognition and physical interaction in the virtual world
Perception of smells
and microsensations
Interaction through
Augmented Reality
Of course, there is still a lot of technical work ahead to reach this point. We have to combine technology that ten years ago we would have thought was only available in a supercomputer (computer chips, network chips, holograms, projectors, batteries, custom silicon chips, sensors for mapping the world, speakers, cameras, etc.) with a pair of glasses about five millimeters thick. But once this is achieved, and it eventually will happen, our world will be filled with people, places and objects that, although they do not exist, will be authentic. Simply by using our pupils as a mouse, we will be able to access the various hyperlinks of an infinite world.
Finally, the great demand for the short term is the development of a technology that guarantees a fully immersive experience to satisfy the needs and preferences of consumers and their avatars. An experience so complete that perhaps we will like it better than reality.
The future of work means a better future for all
We are convinced of the opportunities that the Metaverse offers us to leave no one behind. To create a future of inclusive, diverse and genuine work where no one is excluded because of their race, gender, origin or economic possibilities.
A reality where everyone, from all corners of the world, has the opportunity to turn their talent and passion into a positive impact on the planet.