Steemit Crypto Academy Contest / S3W1 - The Metaverse by @ojerindejoel.

INTRODUCTION: Good day everyone, I welcome us all to the fifth day of the third season of this engagement challenge. I wish us all the best in this season’s contest.

Define your understanding of the Metaverse. What has the Metaverse aimed to achieve? Is Metaverse here fully with us yet?

What is my understanding of Metaverse?

The metaverse is a very scalable network of interconnected virtual worlds that is focused on real-time interaction where people can perform various operations like working, playing, transacting, interacting socially, etc.

The network makes use of advanced technologies and virtualizations such as AR, VR, Haptic Sensors, and many others to fully put the user into the virtual world. The metaverse feels more like real life.

From what I understood from my research, it is believed that the metaverse would be a single platform where one can get access to the platform services like socializing, gaming, and business opportunities. In this platform, each person will be represented by a unique avatar.

What has the Metaverse aimed to achieve?

The metaverse aims to provide us with ways to overcome the limitations of the physical or real world like geographic barriers. It aims to innovate how people interact with each other.

Is Metaverse here fully with us yet?

Currently, the metaverse doesn’t exist yet and all we have now are just some predecessors.

Most people confused virtual reality (VR) with the metaverse which isn’t true, though virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), artificial intelligence (AI) and some other types of spatial computing will be part of the metaverse, it is also important that the metaverse can be accessed by multiple device categories and throughout the day, not just for an hour.

So, VR is not the metaverse and so, the metaverse is not fully with us yet.
Some people also confused games like Fortnite and Robox as the metaverse, this is not true, though both games have some of the features of the metaverse, they are not the metaverse and this is because they are standalone properties.

In the case of Fortnite, players can’t take their avatar to their organization meeting and in the case of Roblox, players can’t find business outside of Roblox that makes use of Robux for transactions. The metaverse will make this possible.

For these two reasons, I believed I have been able to convince you that the metaverse is not fully with us yet and that it is just getting started.

State the technologies that can be utilized to achieve Security, Ownership, and others in the Metaverse. In your own words, how are the technologies going to be utilized to achieve security and ownership? (Include any components of the technologies that would be of great advantage to the development of Metaverse).

State the technologies that can be utilized to achieve Security, Ownership, and others in the Metaverse.

To achieve security and ownership, I believe the following two technologies will play a vital role.

• Blockchain technology

• Internet of things (IoT)

Some other technologies that will be utilized in the metaverse include the following.

• Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality (VR)

• Artificial intelligence (AI)

• 3D reconstruction

In your own words, how are the technologies going to be utilized to achieve security and ownership? .

Here, I will be explaining how blockchain technology and the Internet of things will be used to achieve security and ownership.

Blockchain technology.

In the previous seasons of this engagement challenge, we learned a lot about blockchain technology and so, I will just go straight to the point.

Blockchain technology will provide a decentralized, secured, and transparent solution for digital proof of ownership. You should remember that the essence of decentralization that blockchain provides is to not have a single database that can be easily compromised.

Since the metaverse will be a single platform then without the use of blockchain technology, data storage, data transmission as well as data synchronization will definitely be an issue.

Blockchain technology makes use of decentralized storage capacity, powerful data processing, and node validation to tackle all the aforementioned issues.

To wrap this up, blockchain will help in achieving security as users’ data, transaction details, authorization keys, and ownership details are all encrypted.

I am going to regard Cryptocurrencies and NFTs as some of the components of blockchain technology as they are built on the technology and I will be explaining why these two components will be of great advantage to the development of Metaverse.

• Cryptocurrencies: In the Metaverse, there will need to transact or transfer value and so, there will be a need for a digital currency and this is where this component comes in. Metaverse users will make use of this component to buy and sell their goods or perform any transaction.

• NFTs: NFTs also have a vital role to play in the metaverse as they have the ability to offer immutable digital proof of ownership. With NFTs integrated into the metaverse, some activities around the trading of digital assets, representing users’ unique avatars will be regulated by it.

Internet of things

If you are seeing this for the first time, do not worry as I am going to make use of simple terms to explain what it is and how ownership can be achieved with it.

The concept of IoT was first introduced in the year 1999 and in simple terms, IoT can be defined as a system that takes things in the physical or real world and connects them to the internet using sensors together with some devices.
It is the sensor that does the conversion from physical data to electrical data which will consequently be sent to the internet by some other devices.

Now, one major point to note is that these devices which connect the data to the internet will have a unique identifier and this will help in proving ownership.

Apart from helping in achieving ownership, IoT will also increase the accuracy and precision of digital representations. For instance, with IoT, how some metaverse objects behave will depend on the physical conditions to which they were connected.

Do we have any Gamification developments that look like the Metaverse? Discuss any two protocols and how they work.

Here, I will be talking on Roblox and Axie Infinity.

Axie Infinity

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Axie Infinity is the one of the most gamification developments that integrates some features of the metaverse.

Axie infinity which was launched in 2018 is a game that is built on the blockchain, the Ethereum blockchain to be precise. Axie infinity has some distinct features from other online games which I am going to talk on as I proceed.

The game allows players to own their assets and also get rewarded for being able to complete a level meaning that it is a play -to-earn game which is still new to the gaming industry.

Axie infinity in-game assets such as the Axies creatures are represented by non-fungible tokens (NFTs) which are unique tokens. The uniqueness of the tokens confer ownership to the player and it also provides room for the player to trade it on the game marketplace for real money. This is one of what the Metaverse will offer.

Axie infinity has two in-game assets which are the Small Love Potion(SPL) and Axie Infinity Shard(AXS). Axies are traded using Small Love Potion and can be converted into real money and also, Axie infinity Shard is a governance token which enables players to have a say in the game development or proposed changes.

In Axie infinity, players earn tokens for fighting and winning a level and these tokens can then be used to breed Axie creatures by creating other NFTs. With the help of the blockchain technology, each creature gets recorded as a unique object which can be tracked.

Roblox

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Roblox is a platform that has some of the features of the Metaverse. It allows players

The Roblox platform is not a game but a gaming environment. There are over 50 million games in the environment and this checked a box of one of the features of the metaverse. Do not forget that the metaverse will be a single platform or a virtual world in which there will be sub-worlds.

In the game environments, Roblox is different from other gamification developments as each Roblox-created game in its environment is a different one and which doesn’t depend on another. Players can also create their own game or create another world together with friends or play other games that has been created.

The platform is also a social platform as users can make friends, chat and party with them with each other without the use of a VR headset.

To make money on Roblox, players buy Robux which is the virtual currency of the platform with real money, use it to get some in-game assets. They then build up Robus from the game which they can then exchange back for real money.

Summarily, Roblox allows players or users to play, imagine, socialize, chat, create, relate and interact with other users in numerous ways.

What are the Pros and Cons of Metaverse? Do you believe in the future of the Metaverse? Discuss.

Pros of Metaverse

📌 Connecting the world:
One major advantage of the metaverse is how it makes geographic barriers less relevant. When one is in the virtual world, one’s location does not matter anymore.

People can connect in the neutral ground or let me say space made by the metaverse. it will be easier to meet and connect with people with similar ideas and interests from all over the world right from the comfort of one’s home.

📌 Creation of business opportunities:
Just as people market and advertise their business on social media which has consequently brought about business opportunities, the metaverse will most probably bring about more new business opportunities.

📌 The metaverse offers an incredibly immersive way of promoting products and services using advertising strategies like virtualized storefronts, curated shows, highly interactive engagement, and customer service.

Using haptic technology, one can see and hold the product and this will create a better user experience.

📌 It will enhance online learning and education:
We all saw how the Covid pandemic affected education and so, there is a need for online learning. The metaverse will make learning more accessible, and conveying ideas and concepts will be easier with visual learning.

📌 It will have a positive impact on cryptocurrencies and NFTs:
Just as there will be a need to transact on the platform, then there will be a need for digital currencies.

NFTs and cryptocurrencies using blockchain technology will play a major role in the metaverse and this also means that the metaverse transactions will be secured, transparent, decentralized, etc.

NFTs will play a more vital role as they are tokens of ownership of certain digital assets or physical assets and since being able to prove ownership of assets will be essential in the metaverse, so also will the token be.

📌 Metaverse will helps in enhancing and improving the gaming sector.

Cons of Metaverse

• One major issue or disadvantage of the metaverse is the privacy issue. Just as said earlier, metaverse makes use of AR and VR devices to provide an immersive experience, these devices with camera capabilities can eventually lead to unwanted leaks of personal information.

• Due to live interaction, 3D processing, and huge amounts of data, there will be a need for one to have some expensive devices or hardware. Not so many people will be able to buy or get these infrastructures and I see this as a disadvantage.

Some other cons include,

• Virtual bullying

• Lack of moderation: Monitoring a large number of people at once will not be an easy task.

• Potential corporate complete takeover

• Mental health issues and addiction.

• And lastly, it will have negative impacts on cultures and societies.

Do you believe in the future of the Metaverse? Discuss.

Of course, I believe in the future of Metaverse. There are some technologies that are present now that decades ago probably seem impossible. This means that humans can achieve a lot and advance technologically.

Considering how a lot of companies are investing to realize the technology, how the term is spreading rapidly, the platform is right upon us.

Also, putting into fact that some of the features of the metaverse is already available, I believe it is just a matter of time before the metaverse is fully here with us.

That is it for this post, Thanks.

#science