Metaverse Investing

How NFTs, Web 3.0,

Virtual Land, and
Virtual Reality Are
Going to Change the
World as We Know It
Daniel Gonzales
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Table of Contents
Introduction
Chapter 1: Metaverse: All You Need to
Know
How the Metaverse Works
Metaverse in Pop Culture
The Evolution of the Web
Web 1.0: The Static Web
Web 2.0: The Interactive Web
Web 3.0: The Semantic Web
Chapter 2: Key Concepts of the Metaverse
Blockchain
Cryptocurrency
Smart Contracts
NFTs
Artificial Intelligence
Augmented Reality
Virtual Reality
Virtual Land
Chapter 3: Becoming a Part of the Metaverse
 Creating the Metaverse
Hardware
Software
3D
Community Management
Finance
Joining the Metaverse
Event Planning
Consulting
Virtual Real Estate
Virtual Business
Chapter 4: The Business of Metaverse
Angel Investment
Venture Capital
Stock Market
Unity Software
Snapchat
Meta
Microsoft
NVIDIA
InfiniteWorld
 Matterport
Disney
Chapter 5: What Will the Metaverse Change?
Travel
Entertainment
Military
E-commerce
Workplace
Gaming
Dating and Relationships
Media
Education
Chapter 6: The Future of the Metaverse
Decentraland
AxielInfinity
Horizon Home
Bloktopia
The Sandbox
Meta Hero
Yield Guild Games
Enjin
 Star Atlas
Chapter 7: Questions Surrounding the
Metaverse
Dot-com Bubble 2.0
Metaverse Is Overhyped
Laws and Regulations
Privacy and Safety
Dystopian Nightmare
Conclusion
References
Introduction
“Metaverse is the future.” If you are
interested in internet technologies, you have
probably heard that phrase before. Is it true?
Should you care? Both Mark Zuckerberg and
Bill Gates have answered that question with a
resounding yes. Facebook's Zuckerberg has
even rebranded himself to fit the new
territory. So indeed, the metaverse is the next
big thing—what people who missed the
"Web 2.0 train" have been waiting for.
The idea of a metaverse has been around for a
while. The term was coined by Neal
Stephenson in the 1992 novel Snow Crash. In
the novel, protagonist Hiro meets a
skateboarder who refers to herself as “Yours
Truly.” The two strike up a partnership and
start conspiring against the government and
mafia. Once the metaverse is fully realized,
this scenario could easily be a Sunday
afternoon activity for us.
Thankfully, technology is catching up to the
idea, making the metaverse an increasingly
important concept. Virtual reality (VR),
Artificial intelligence (AI), and blockchains
are all examples of pieces of the metaverse
slowly coming together. Funding and R&D
from big names will be one of the final pieces
of the puzzle. It seems we may be on our
way. As part of their Metaverse initiative,
Microsoft is creating business tools. They
aim to enable businesses to create virtual and
augmented reality environments where
employees can meet using its software
products, such as Microsoft Teams. In the
meantime, Facebook is working with Non-
governmental organizations (NGOs)
worldwide to keep the foundation of the
metaverse ethically sound.
Now you might be thinking, “Isn’t living
through your avatar in a virtual world already
a thing?” You’re absolutely right. Second
Life, for instance, is a classic example of a
virtual world with its own culture and
financial system. This is why it has come up
in discussions about the metaverse. The
metaverse we are discussing today, however,
is a broader concept. The process involves
entering cyberspace with VR glasses and
fully interacting with the surroundings as if
they were in person. In that case, Second Life
would be part of the metaverse and not a
metaverse in and of itself.
Mark Zuckerberg describes the metaverse as
an embodied internet, which implies the
metaverse will be an upgrade to the internet
as we know it, perhaps going so far as to
replace it. Tim Sweeney, the founder of Epic
Games, follows a similar approach. He says
that he imagines the metaverse to be “a kind
of online playground where users could join
friends to play a multiplayer game like Epic’s
‘Fortnite’ one moment, watch a movie via
Netflix the next.”
The tech giants clearly have a vision of the
internet's future, and the metaverse is going to
play a crucial role. It may not be at our
doorstep just yet, but Web 3.0 is definitely
around the corner, with technology advancing
at a rapid pace. The metaverse is already
home to a number of people working on
content, selling virtual land, and more.
Cryptocurrencies have become more popular
than ever before, and are becoming a more
respected investment tool. Consequently, the
concept of making money from the metaverse
is also becoming more prevalent.
In this book, we will dive deep into the
metaverse. We will cover technology,
philosophy, economics, and more, so you will
be equipped with all the knowledge you need
to take part in this revolution.
Now, without further ado, let's tackle the
question of what exactly is the metaverse.
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Chapter 1: Metaverse: All

You Need to Know

You are on a beautiful island in the Caribbean
surrounded by white sand and crystal-clear
turquoise water. You take a leisurely cruise
around the island on your boat. There are
exotic plants and all your favorite animals.
Your cruise is interrupted by a gentle sound.
It is time for your math class. You enter your
classroom, and your teacher from India has
some trigonometry in store. During recess,
your best friend joins you on your boat to
have more fun. Eventually, you get bored
with the Caribbean and decide to go to Japan
instead. There is more fun at the karaoke
parlor, where more friends join you.
No, it is not a dream. It is the metaverse.
You might struggle to comprehend what
exactly the metaverse is, and you are
certainly not alone. Defining a new
technology can be challenging when it is still
being developed. That is why, when
searching online, you might come across
multiple explanations.
The Wikipedia definition of the metaverse
looks like this: “The metaverse is a
hypothesized iteration of the internet,
supporting persistent online 3-D virtual
environments through conventional personal
computing, as well as virtual and augmented
reality headsets.”
Zuckerberg seems to agree with this
definition, though he simplifies it. According
to him, the metaverse is “a virtual
environment you can go inside of - instead of
just looking at the screen.”
Whatever the definitions might be, it always
raises the same question: how?

How the Metaverse Works

Several key attributes of the metaverse are

revealed by these descriptions. First of all, it
will involve entering cyberspace. We will do
so by using a headset such as the Oculus.
Once we put our headsets on, countless
universes will be at our disposal. The nature
of the metaverse is still unclear since we do
not know if it will be a single metaverse or a
collection of multiverses. At the moment, big
names in the tech industry are all working on
their version of the metaverse. The most
likely scenario is that users will decide which
ones will become popular.
Once we enter the metaverse of our choice,
virtual and augmented reality will take over.
We will enter this cyberspace through an
avatar. An avatar can be a representation of
you or something entirely different. In either
case, we can customize this avatar in any way
we want. The avatar is your gateway to
interacting with the virtual world. This virtual
world can be anything from a classroom to
moon travel. The possibilities are only
limited by imagination. User-generated
metaverses won't be a hot topic for the
foreseeable future. However, companies that
are creating the metaverse will surely come
up with amazing concepts.
These virtual worlds will have rules of their
own. Mark Zuckerberg is one of the people
constantly bringing this subject up. Facebook,
or Meta as it's now known, seems to have
learned from its unpleasant experience with
the government a few years ago. Leaving old
habits, they tackle privacy, safety, and ethics
with a new perspective. To ensure the
metaverse is exploit-free, international NGOs
have been working with the company since
the beginning. In addition, Mark Zuckerberg
touched on the topic in an open letter and
expressed how important it is for him to
create a metaverse where users are free to
make their own rules. We have seen a similar
approach in Web 2.0. You can befriend,
unfriend, and block other users on Facebook,
Slack channels are invitation-only, and your
Instagram account can be private if you want.
The metaverse is expected to provide all this
but incorporate more policies to improve
safety measures. As a result, we might not
influence a metaverse, but we will control
how we interact with it.
Finally, metaverses are likely to have their
own economies and, in some cases, their own
currencies. Metaverse transactions are
expected to be made on blockchains, making
cryptocurrencies and altcoins ideal tender
mediums. With metaverse currencies, we will
be able to rent a house, buy concert tickets,
go on vacation, and pay for an online course.
In addition to bringing cryptocurrencies to a
whole new level, many business ideas will be
generated through this system.
Right now, aside from a few examples like
Decentraland, we don’t have all too many
real-life examples of metaverses. However,
we do have some fictional examples that can
be used to make the metaverse more tangible
in our minds.

Metaverse in Pop Culture

Metaverses have existed as fictional concepts

for decades. In fact, people like Elon Musk,
Mark Zuckerberg, and other influential tech
entrepreneurs are all fans of these metaverses.
As software creators today, it's not
uncommon for them to discuss their love of a
particular franchise or book in speeches or
interviews.
Star Trek, without a doubt, is one such
franchise. Creator Gene Roddenberry always
wowed the viewers with his vision of a better,
more humane future. This is especially true
for Star Trek: The Next Generation
holodecks. Holodecks appeared in classic
Star Trek episodes as well, but the holodeck
episodes of Star Trek: The Next Generation
are a perfect example of an early metaverse.
An example of a more futuristic metaverse
would be the unforgettable Inner Light
episode. The episode depicts Captain Jean-
Luc Picard living an alternate life in a
capsule, only to wake up on the USS
Enterprise to realize it was just an alternate
life. The episode is a fan favorite, so if you're
into the metaverse, you will definitely want to
watch it.
The Netflix show Black Mirror would be a
more contemporary example. The show
follows a dystopian future of the metaverse,
but the concepts implemented are very
relevant to the core idea. Another streaming
platform series about the metaverse is the
Amazon Original Upload. Philosophical
satire certainly characterizes the series, but it
also explores what happens in a dystopia of
free-to-play games and the current online
world.
If you like fictional dystopias, a good movie
depicting the metaverse is Ready Player One.
The movie does a stellar job demonstrating
how VR experiences could be in the future.
Another movie that does a decent job with the
mechanical side of the metaverse is Minority
Report. Watching Tom Cruise in his prime
aside, holographic images and interfaces
coupled with special gloves are excellent
examples of how we will navigate in the
metaverse.
Another movie that is regularly brought up
about the metaverse is Ironman. Tony Stark,
the main character in the movie, is essentially
forced to create a metaverse. He manages to
create both virtual and augmented reality in
the movie, which is a remarkable
accomplishment and makes for a great film.
One of the best examples of how metaverses
could improve the common household is
Smart House. Our houses are already getting
smart. With smart appliances connecting to
devices like Alexa, we are already
experiencing a tech revolution in our homes.
The movie Smart House is an excellent
example of this, delving deeply into the issue
of human vs. technology, while still being
entertaining.
These concepts would not exist without the
development of technology. Enjoying
entertainment centered around the metaverse
and imagining its possibilities is both
inspiring and fun. But to truly grasp the
magic of the metaverse, we need to dig deep
into its technological aspects. Let's examine
the evolution of the internet and how we got
to where we are today.

The Evolution of the Web

Tim Berners-Lee invented the 'web,' as we

know it, in Switzerland in the early 1990s.
We wouldn't have internet browsers until
nearly half a decade later. Several years later,
search engines such as Google were invented.
Since then, the web and internet technologies
have undergone drastic changes. Nowadays,
internet use has become a survival tool for
millions. There have been three major stages
in the history of the internet.

Web 1.0: The Static Web

Initially, content on the internet was

predetermined. Therefore, people used the
term “static web” to describe it. The concept
of static content refers to any content that can
be delivered to an end-user without having to
be generated, modified, or processed. You
could make a website, and people could
browse it, but they couldn't interact with it
beyond leaving a comment.
The main difference between mainstream
media and Web 1.0. is user involvement in
content consumption. Our lives have been
forever changed by the internet because it
decentralized content production. Until the
internet, only a few media outlets created
information, which was consumed by the
masses. Having access to the internet meant
that everyone could produce content.
Moreover, users could influence content
creation by not giving attention to the
information they did not enjoy. Because of
this, Web 1.0 is celebrated as the
democratization of information.
Understanding the decentralization of content
production is very important. This mindset
later led to the decentralization of currencies
and gave rise to new technologies such as
Bitcoin. In other words, if you wish to
achieve anything in the metaverse, just keep
in mind that this internet principle always
determines success in online businesses.

Web 2.0: The Interactive Web

The democratization and decentralization of

the internet eventually led to Web 2.0. In this
era, people were not limited to consuming
content or throwing their two cents in the
comment section. With Web 2.0, they could
be content creators. Wikipedia, YouTube,
WordPress, and Blogger are all examples of
Web 2.0's impact on the world.
Web 2.0 had a rough start with the “dot-com
bubble.” The dot-com bubble was a rapid
increase in U.S. technology stock valuations
in the late 1990s caused by investments in
Web-based companies. The bubble burst in
2001, leaving Nasqad with a 77% drop and
investors in a panic. Several web companies
collapsed, and, for a moment, it looked like
the Web was just a fad.
Obviously, this wasn't the case. Technology
was advancing and growing just fine. It was
the stock markets that were the problem.
Amazon's Jeff Bezos is a perfect example of
this. Even though Amazon lost 90% of its
value during the bubble, it made its
shareholders extremely wealthy, including
Bezos, one of the most affluent people in the
world. If a scenario like this occurs in the
metaverse era, remember one thing: Long-
term investors will win out as long as
technology is expanding.
As a result of Web 2.0, the internet has
become a sea of user-generated content.
Sharing information and connecting with
others has become the norm. It led to
hundreds of thousands of online shops,
content creation platforms, and the influencer
era.

Web 3.0: The Semantic Web

Web 3.0 is predicted to be known as the

Semantic Web because it will become more
intuitive for every user. The name was coined
by none other than Web's original creator
Tim Berners-Lee. Scientific American
magazine published an article in 2001 in
which Bernes-Lee outlined his vision for the
internet. As an example, he presented two
brothers who coordinate the logistics
involved in supporting their mother's medical
treatment; using intelligent agents, they
execute the process automatically interacting
with clinical systems, among themselves, and
with their home devices.
This is the kind of intuitive technology we
can expect from Web 3.0. In this third
generation of the web, the goal is to provide
users with a personalized experience based on
their interests and needs. Amazon’s Alexa,
which collects information from the web and
tailors it to our needs, is a prime example of
Web 3.0 technologies.
Currently, we're transitioning from Web 2.0
to Web 3.0. We can expect Web 3.0 to have
as significant an impact as Web 2.0 has. Web
3.0 will introduce us to many exciting new
technologies, including the metaverse. In
order to gain a deeper understanding of the
metaverse, let's examine some of its key
concepts.
Chapter 2: Key Concepts of

the Metaverse
During your research about the metaverse,
you may come across terms with which you
are unfamiliar. You should not let that
prevent you from exploring this revolutionary
technology. Let's discuss key concepts of the
metaverse in a way that will help you get a
better sense of what it all means.

Blockchain

IBM defines blockchain as a shared,

immutable ledger that facilitates the process
of recording transactions and tracking assets
in a business network. That sounds a bit
confusing, doesn’t it? Let’s make it simple.
Imagine a circle. The circle is filled with
information. This information can be
anything from contracts to shopping lists.
When this information gets an update,
another circle appears and connects itself to
the first chain. Eventually, these circles form
a chain, and the term blockchain is born.
Each block is connected to every other block
chronologically, and the chain goes on as
long as it needs to.
Putting it this way, you might immediately
think of old accounting books, and you would
be absolutely correct. A blockchain is nothing
more than a digital ledger. Any type of data
can be recorded on a blockchain. What sets
blockchains apart from the good old Excel
sheet is security. Blockchains are nearly
impossible to cheat or hack. But how? One
word: decentralization.
Traditional ledgers use databases. The
internet runs on databases, which have
existed for decades. The problem with
databases is that they use what’s called
‘CRUD.’ CRUD stands for create, read,
update, and delete. In other words, you can
enter a database, examine data, make the
necessary changes, or delete information. As
a result, security risks arise since you aren't
the only one capable of doing all those things.
Third parties, hackers, and rogue
administrators are all capable of changing or
erasing your data.

This is why blockchain technology is

absolutely revolutionary. Blockchains use a
decentralized ledger. It is hosted on different
computers, also known as nodes. This allows
blockchain to support immutability. The
moment data is written, it cannot be changed
or erased, significantly minimizing the risk of
third parties interfering.
Immutability offers more than just security.
The immutability of blockchains makes them
the most transparent and trustworthy ledgers
out there. Blockchains have two functions:
read and write. Which means you can retrieve
information and add it to it. Databases, on the
other hand, can be made public but can’t be
verified by individuals. Blockchains solve
this issue, which is why cryptocurrencies like
Bitcoin prefer using them.
Using a blockchain depends on your
individual needs. Some blockchains are
public, but there are also private options. You
can choose to use a "permission system" that
limits viewing to specific users. Each method
has pros and cons regarding usage and
security, but there is no doubt that
blockchains are the best technology currently
available.
The metaverse era will be based on
decentralized currencies. We will discuss
blockchain’s role in cryptocurrencies in a
moment. The bottom line is if you are
interested in becoming a part of the
metaverse, the blockchain is something with
which you need to get familiar. Unless you
do so, you will be vulnerable to market
fluctuations, which are notoriously volatile in
decentralized currencies.

Cryptocurrency

Since Bitcoin started making teenage

millionaires, cryptocurrencies have become
the talk of the town. There are a lot of
questions about crypto currencies. Why do
their values fluctuate so much? What makes
them valuable in the first place? Can they be
trusted? Is it real money? Should you invest
in it? All of those questions have simple
answers, and they all have to do with, you
guessed it, decentralization.
In order to understand why cryptocurrencies
are so successful, we must first learn how
traditional currencies work. The distribution
of money as we know it is controlled by
central banks. A central bank’s primary job is
to control money circulation. They can do
this by printing more banknotes, changing
interest rates, setting reserve requirements,
and so on. It is a simple economic principle.
If there is a scarcity of a commodity, the
value goes up. If it is abundant, the value
goes down. In order to stabilize the value of a
currency and prevent inflation, central banks
tweak the distribution on a regular basis.
This is not the case with cryptocurrency. You
see, fiat money has no real value, it only has
attributed value since the governments
declare it legal tender, essentially making it
debt. Most cryptocurrencies are finite.
Bitcoin, for example, has a limited supply of
21 million, making it more valuable than
gold. Consequently, its value is determined
by its efficiency as a trade medium.
Bitcoins are not printed by central banks, so
you might wonder how they get into
circulation. That is where ‘mining’ comes in.
In order to mine, sophisticated computing
hardware is needed to solve complex
mathematical problems. A cryptocurrency's
value and availability depend heavily on this.
That is why the cryptocurrency market will
always be prone to volatility. For instance,
there are currently about 18 million Bitcoins
on the market. However, several millions of
Bitcoins are lost in transactions. Since
blockchains cannot be updated, only added,
this will prove to be true for other virtual
currencies in the future. Understanding this
aspect of cryptocurrencies is essential to
generating income from them.
In the metaverse era, we can expect virtual
and digital currencies to become even more
significant. In the future, metaverses are
expected to have their own currency or use
one that is already available. Knowledge of
virtual currency will prove to be useful to
your business or the investment you intend to
make. It makes or breaks you if you know
how a coin's mining operation, blockchain,
and developers work. Take the time to
become familiar with different types of
currencies, and remember that great
opportunities await those who can recognize
them.

Smart Contracts

IBM defines smart contracts as programs

stored on a blockchain that run when
predetermined conditions are met. Put
simply, they really are ‘smart’ contracts.
Your contract is sealed on a blockchain
instead of a regular safe, and it will only be
deemed valid once your arrangement is
fulfilled. Furthermore, they are fully
automated. That means all parties who signed
the contract will be aware of the outcome
immediately. Through this technology, there
is no need for third-party involvement or
commissions. Smart contracts essentially
make intermediaries redundant.
Smart contracts were first envisioned by
American computer scientist Nick Szabo in
1994. He is considered to be one of the
forefathers of decentralized currency. Szabo
envisioned a virtual currency called Bit Gold
in 1998, 10 years before Bitcoin was
introduced. Some speculate that Szabo is the
actual inventor of Bitcoin and used Satoshi
Nakamoto as an alias. His idea was to further
point of sale (POS) devices into the digital
space. Therefore, he proposed a software
protocol that included contract terms, called
smart contracts today.
One of the most exciting aspects of smart
contracts is their ability to automate
workflow. In essence, you can specify the
timeline and conditions of the project, and the
contract will update itself if a condition is
fulfilled. Businesses and managers will save a
lot of time on meetings, conference calls, and
expensive business trips.
Smart contracts are one of the features of
Web 3.0 already in use. They can be used for
a number of purposes, including but not
limited to releasing funds to the appropriate
parties, registering a vehicle, sending
notifications, or issuing tickets. It is not hard
to imagine that they will play an important
role in contractual law and our daily lives.
Smart contracts can be developed by a
programmer. However, as they become more
mainstream, companies utilizing blockchain
technology provide templates, web interfaces,
and other online tools to make structuring
smart contracts easier.
Smart contracts provide immediate execution,
which prevents time loss and paperwork.
Since the contract is between two anonymous
parties and third parties aren't involved, the
relationship between the partners is
completely transparent. Blockchains, where
the smart contracts are stored, are heavily
encrypted, making smart contracts one of the
most secure ways to conduct business.
Finally, they are free from any third-party
fees. These advantages will make future
contracts a lot smarter.

NFTs

You might have seen on the news, GIF

images or pixel art being sold for millions of
dollars through a system called NFT. You
might be wondering what makes a piece of
digital art so valuable. What’s even more
confusing is that oftentimes these artworks
are quite simple, and to the average eye, they
look like they would hold no real value.
Actually, NFTs are not complicated at all.
Let’s look at it from an artist’s perspective.
Say you have a friend who’s an artist, let’s
call him Gary. As an artist, Gary wants his art
to be recognized by the masses. But he is also
worried about copyrights. He is not wrong to
be concerned. In the digital era, it’s
incredibly hard to track whether your art is
being used legitimately or not. People copy-
paste images all the time. For all Gary knows,
his designs are being sold on t-shirts in a
remote part of the world. There is no
sustainable way to track it. That’s where
NFTs come in.
The term NFT stands for “non-fungible
token.” It is a digital signature that cannot be
changed. When Gary creates an NFT for his
digital art, he does two things: First, he
creates non-fungible ownership of his art.
This part of an NFT works just like how a
normal royalty would. By putting an NFT on
his art, Gary makes sure he makes a royalty
each time the item is sold. What sets apart
NFTs from traditional royalty is the fact that
they can be traded.
If Gary decides to sell his royalties, he can do
so in a few minutes by changing his non-
fungible token for cash, cryptocurrency, or
another NFT. Gary’s ownership is easily
verified through his NFT because it is being
held in a blockchain. Remember that
blockchains don’t allow users to change data,
only add to it. This allows Gary to verify his
ownership over his art any time he wants.
Artists need NFTs for sure, but there is a
bigger picture. NFTs will be the future of
digital ownership. As everything becomes
digitized, we need ownership protection
systems like NFTs more than ever. In the
short term, NFTs are expected to expand into
fields including music, sports, and gaming, as
well as other industries in the long-term.
They are well on their way to becoming a
digital property standard, making them an
excellent investment opportunity.

Artificial Intelligence

Simply put, artificial intelligence (AI) is the

intelligence demonstrated by machines. The
purpose of artificial intelligence is to simulate
the human brain and provide cognitive
functions such as decision-making. Artificial
intelligence has created many debates over
the decades about whether or not it can take
over human tasks. Some believe artificial
intelligence is simply there to help humanity,
while others argue allowing machines to
think for themselves could be catastrophic.
We will go into some detail about this debate
without getting bogged down in technological
jargon. However, it will be to your advantage
to learn more about artificial intelligence, as
the outcome of this debate will determine
what the metaverse will look like.
The debate goes all the way back to the
1950s. Known as the father of computer
science, Alan Turing advocated a humanistic
approach. In his opinion, artificial
intelligence had to be systems that think and
act like humans. He created the famous
Turing Test, which uses human interrogators
to distinguish between human and computer
responses. The test has been criticized a lot
since then, but Alan Turing cracked the
Enigma code and helped end World War II,
so his opinions are not easily dismissed.
The other side of the debate follows a more
pragmatic approach. It is championed by
Stuart Russell and Peter Norvig, the authors
of the seminal book Artificial Intelligence: A
Modern Approach. They argued for an ideal
approach over a human approach in which
artificial intelligence would think and act
rationally instead of intuitively like a human.
Metaverse will rely heavily on artificial
intelligence and machine learning. Without
them, devices intended to make our lives
easier will not be available. Whether those
devices will think like us and provide us with
what they think we want is different from the
machines making rational choices for us.
Although artificial intelligence as a concept
has existed for quite some time, its
implementation to the end-user is relatively
new. As technology continues to develop, we
will have access to various forms of artificial
intelligence. There will certainly be some
interesting decisions made by tech giants, and
how government regulations will react to it
remains to be seen.

Augmented Reality

Augmented reality (AR) and virtual reality

(VR) are often confused or used
interchangeably. These are two separate
concepts, and you need to learn how to
differentiate them while conducting your
metaverse research. Augmented reality adds
digital elements to a real-life environment,
like TikTok filters. Virtual reality, on the
other hand, consists of a completely artificial
environment that exists outside the real
world. We will talk about virtual reality in a
moment, but first, let’s dive deeper into
augmented reality.
We can expect to see augmented reality more
in the early stages of Web 3.0. While it is not
an easy technology to develop, making it
accessible to the general public is much
easier. Because of this, companies are coming
up with augmented reality features first so
they can get a foothold, while their virtual
reality projects are still in development.
Furthermore, augmented reality is simply
cool and fun. Billions of people use
augmented reality in the workplace, on social
media, and for entertainment, while entirely
disconnecting from the real world is scary to
many.
But there is a sweet spot for this in the
metaverse called mixed reality (MR). The
mixed reality is where virtual reality and
augmented reality meet to enhance the user
experience. Together, all this process is
referred to as extended reality (XR) and it
will be a crucial aspect of the metaverse.
Mark Zuckerberg and like-minded
entrepreneurs advocate for a metaverse that
will cut us from reality and into a new one. In
their vision, augmented reality and virtual
reality work hand in hand as extended reality
to push the boundaries of reality as we know
it.
Others like John Hanke of Google advocate
for a different approach. They believe the real
metaverse will rely heavily on augmented
reality. This is similar to what they envision
with Pokemon Go. Imagine taking a stroll in
your city with augmented reality glasses.
Upon reaching a historical building or statue,
the glass could then display a convincing 3D
animation of historic events to transport you
back in time. Perhaps you are in an art
district, in which case the glass could display
a digital exhibition without having to go
inside a museum.
The fact is virtual reality and augmented
reality are inextricably linked. Basically,
augmented reality gives the illusion of
artificial objects in the real world, while
virtual reality gives the illusion of inhabiting
an artificial environment. Regardless of the
debates, the fact remains. Augmented reality
is a great technology, and we will see more of
it.

Virtual Reality

Virtual reality (VR) is a computer technology

used for creating simulated environments.
Therefore, virtual reality is absolutely crucial
to the metaverse as it is one of the main
characteristics that will distinguish Web 2.0
from Web 3.0. In Web 2.0, the user interface
is a primary component. We interact with the
user interface using a mouse or touchpad on
our computers and clicking on a screen on
our smartphones. In virtual reality, however,
we will interact with the environment more
naturally by using a head-mounted display
(HMD). The headset and glasses will
simulate the real world with realistic 3D
environments and sounds.
The entertainment aspect of virtual reality
will be a game-changer, but there are other
important implementations as well. Virtual
reality is expected to change many industries.
Medical students can perform simulated
surgery on realistic patients to gain
experience. Soldiers can train in tough war
games without destroying the environment or
spending tax dollars on real equipment.
Athletes can continue training when injured
without compromising their cognitive
performance. This technology is likely to
reduce costs and improve efficiency in almost
every industry.
Metaverse experiences will be highly
customized by virtual reality. However, it
will be a while for virtual reality to be a
mainstream activity. Even with glasses and
headsets available, virtual reality still needs a
significant amount of computing power to
operate properly. Without it, it is prone to
problems like image latency and display
refresh frequency. Luckily, high-performance
processors are becoming more affordable and
accessible to the majority of us, so we can
expect to see a lot more virtual reality in the
near future.

Virtual Land

Are you wondering who owns the metaverse?

Well, you do! People who create metaverses
do not intend to hold the land for themselves.
Why would they? It is, after all, land, and
land can be rented out or sold. Perhaps you
think it is ridiculous if not borderline crazy to
pay for digital land. Republic Realm, a virtual
real estate developer, purchased a piece of
property in The Sandbox for $4.3 million,
and they would like to disagree with you.
Another example is a Twitter user who goes
by the name Flying Falcon. They announced
making a $1.5 million purchase in the
AxieInfinity metaverse, claiming it will be
the “Hamptons of the metaverse.” It is clear
that virtual land is on the radar of both
individual investors and investment groups
alike. But what makes virtual land so alluring
and expensive?
What makes virtual land expensive is the
building and maintenance costs associated
with it. It takes a lot of servers, processing,
and electric power to build and maintain a
metaverse. As such, they are valuable pieces
of digital assets. It is actually smart on the
creator’s part to sell the land instead of
keeping it as an investment themselves.
Additionally, by selling the land, they create
an investor user base that will bring in more
end users into the metaverse. This is a great
help with keeping their customer acquisition
costs low.
Although virtual land may be a great
investment, as we will see in the next chapter,
the risks associated with it are still very high.
In the same vein, if you are a high-risk/high-
reward investor, this is a very lucrative
investment opportunity. Cryptocurrency will
be spent on your virtual land and your
investment will net great returns as long as
that currency rises. Be sure to examine the
currency and blockchain carefully before
making a virtual land purchase. If you think
they have the right infrastructure, buy early
for the highest possible return on investment.
Chapter 3: Becoming a Part of

the Metaverse
Now that we went over the key concepts of
the metaverse, let’s go ahead and discuss how
to become a part of the metaverse. For
average users, it will be as simple as putting
on their headsets and using an internet
connection. However, you may want to seek
a career related to the metaverse, or you may
want to start a business and get a bigger slice
of the pie before the market gets saturated.
Even today, both are attainable goals, and
considering the metaverse will influence the
future, the time to plan is now.
You have two options if you want to work in
the metaverse or start your own business:
You can either join the ranks of infrastructure
creation, or you can build on it. One is not
better than the other, and the choice purely
depends on what you find more exciting.
The obvious benefit of working in the
metaverse infrastructure is its stability. As of
now, the metaverse is being built by tech
giants with a crystal clear vision of the
foreseeable future. If you choose to work for
them, you will not only be working on
exciting new technology, but you will also
receive competitive pay and benefits.
Furthermore, you will be able to gain
invaluable experience and know-how during
your tenure that will come in handy should
you want to start your own business later on.
However, the metaverse is clearly more
lucrative when you start a business. Until the
metaverse business becomes saturated, you
have a great opportunity to become one of the
first entrepreneurs to enter it. We will explore
the infrastructure and market aspects of the
metaverse for career and business
opportunities in this chapter. Let us begin by
talking about some ways that you can be
involved in the metaverse's creation.

Creating the Metaverse

You can work for the metaverse
infrastructure in a number of ways. The
creation of the metaverse will consist of
hardware, software, and content.

Hardware

Despite the fact that hardware is one of the

building blocks of the metaverse, it is one of
the least discussed. Part of the metaverse is
about experiencing 3D environments in the
most realistic way possible. Due to current
technology, we need external hardware to
assist us in doing this. Virtual reality glasses
are often associated with Facebook's Oculus,
a story of inspiring entrepreneurship in and of
itself.
Oculus glasses were first envisioned by
Palmer Luckey when he was just 15 years
old. This is a great example of how your
passion can turn into a billion-dollar business.
Luckey was interested in the earliest versions
of virtual reality glasses, a curiosity triggered
by his fondness for console gaming. Early
virtual reality glasses were introduced in the
1980s and 1990s. In those days, they were
either too expensive or did not work at all, so
they all failed as business models. Luckey
started collecting these failed products as a
hobby. Little did he know that his hobby
would develop into a deep understanding of
virtual reality glasses.
He created a Kickstarter campaign to build
virtual reality glasses. The idea behind his
campaign was to gather money for hardware
parts and to create about a hundred virtual
reality glasses. The campaign had a modest
expectation of $250,000. However, the
Kickstarter campaign raised much more than
that. Within 24 hours, Luckey raised
$680,000. In just three days, that number
exceeded a million and caught the eye of
game development giants like John Carmack
and Gabe Newell. In 2014, they were
acquired by Facebook for a whopping $2
billion. It seems that Zuckerberg's Meta was
already beginning to boil then.
Luckey’s story teaches us a valuable lesson
about entrepreneurship in uncharted territory.
First of all, timing plays a big role. Virtual
reality glasses weren’t Luckey’s invention.
They were invented decades before. What
changed was that Luckey had technology
behind him to identify what wasn’t working
and create what would work. Secondly, it is
the idea that matters the most, not necessarily
the product itself. Luckey’s affinity for
virtual reality led him to success, not his
prototype that he put on Kickstarter.
In conclusion, creating a hardware business
around the metaverse comes down to the first
economics lecture every student has: supply
and demand. You need to anticipate the
demand and when it will begin. Once the
market is ready, supply innovative solutions
that are affordable to the vast population.
Remember that hardware is the bare
minimum a user will need to have to enter the
metaverse. Therefore, it will always be
essential in the supply chain, and you will
have many opportunities to participate.

Software

Software is the bread and butter of the

modern-day world. The online world
wouldn't offer us all the opportunities it does
without it. It goes without saying that
software development will be important in
the metaverse for both online and offline
applications. You can work in the software
industry or start your own software
development company.
The good news about working in the software
is that metaverse positions are already
available in the present. Companies like
Facebook, Google, Apple, and Snap are
hiring software developers to work on their
share of the metaverse. If you are not a fan of
corporate jobs, you might consider working
for new startups that emerge in the metaverse
including Roblox, OpenSea, Decentraland,
Niantic, The Sandbox, and Solana. There will
always be a great demand for software
developers of all levels in the industry.
When it comes to steering your career toward
the metaverse, some programming languages
are better than others. Augmented reality,
virtual reality, blockchain, and
cryptocurrency all require different
programming languages. Your choice will be
influenced by which part of the metaverse
you are interested in and which language you
are comfortable using.
There is a good reason why C# and C++ have
been around for decades. Their object-
oriented nature makes them popular choices
for game development. Millions of people
around the world use 3D game engines like
Unity and Unreal to create environments.
Another language to consider is JavaScript,
which gained popularity in Web 2.0 and will
do so again in Web 3.0. If you're interested in
developing Web applications, JavaScript is a
great option. Lastly, we can’t forget about
Python, the newest kid on the block. Python's
open-source code base and scripting abilities
make it ideal for virtual reality, which is why
companies like Oculus choose it. Even if you
don't plan to work for anyone else, you will
still need these languages to develop your
own software.
It is best to team up with like-minded people
if you intend to create your own software
based on the metaverse concepts since you
will need to work fast and get ahead of the
competition. Don’t get too ambitious about
competing with the big names because they
will never be completely transparent about
their R&D. After all, they are competing with
big names themselves. Your hard work can
go to waste if they drop a product you didn't
know existed overnight. Instead, focus on
supply and demand. What are some
specialized areas that big players won't
touch? Build your business centered around
those niche areas.

3D

All aspects of building a metaverse we

discuss are vital, but 3D is the real
foundation. The reason is quite simple: We
perceive in three dimensions. If we lived in
Carl Sagan’s Flatland that would be a
different story. However, the human brain
processes the world in three dimensions,
which means virtual reality must be
constructed accordingly. Even if another form
of reality existed, we couldn't perceive it, so
the users couldn't benefit much from it.
3D's popularity predates the metaverse.
However, the low-polygon Lara Crofts is a
thing of the past. As computer processing
power improves, 3D technology continues to
evolve. Ray tracing technology from
NVIDIA is a fantastic example of this. It is
very close to creating environments that are
similar to real life, if not there already.
Metaverse companies stand to gain the most
from the 3D aspect of the technology.
However, because 3D is safe and predictable,
there will be fierce competition. Don't wait
for content mills to take over the market
before you reap the benefits of 3D. Get your
studio or freelance service set up as soon as
possible, and take advantage of social media
to build a network and increase your
popularity.
Picking a niche is the key to success as a
content creator. When designing 3D
environments, you will have many different
choices. Authentic designs are well suited to
architecture, corporate simulations, and
hardcore game development, while cartoon-
like designs are well suited to early
metaverses and casual game development.
There are pros and cons to each side, so
choose whichever style fits your interest and
talent. After that, you can go ahead and
choose a niche. Your niche could range from
hyper casual game development to military
training. Keep doing what you enjoy, as it
will help you stay motivated.
You can also take on the software aspect of
3D if you want to push the envelope. A 3D
artist needs software such as Maya in order to
create and render their work. In the last
decade, there were also 3D modeling
programs such as Blender that were able to be
used by anyone to create 3D models without
being an artist. Both have become industry
standards. There is an exceptional chance that
a program that directly imports metaverse
APIs will prove valuable because they are the
ones more likely to become industry
standards.
Community Management

Compared to software or hardware

development, community management may
seem insignificant, but that's short-sighted.
Effective community managers will become
one of the most important assets of any
metaverse. We need only look at the forum
culture of Web 2.0 to understand this.
When early forums hit the web, they were all
the rage. For the first time, people from all
over the world were able to share their
thoughts. But most importantly, it was the
first time they could do it immediately.
Certainly, this paved the way to freedom of
information. There were, however, some hard
lessons along the way. It was unfortunate that
we had to learn these lessons after real-life
crimes were committed using internet
anonymity.
Moderators and administrators were first used
at that point. They were chosen from among
users who spent significant amounts of time
on the forum and who wanted to contribute
their free time to it. This brought the concept
of ‘vetting’ to the internet. Essentially, a
moderator's job was to respond immediately
to user input. Additionally, they could
monitor a user's personal messages. As time
went on, different online communities
developed different policies. Although some
opted for total freedom, while most of them
strictly prohibited hate speech.
However, if an internet dispute crosses over
into real life, it's always a tricky situation. A
lot of debate has occurred regarding whether
a crime committed online can be prosecuted
in court. Governments were not prepared for
this, which resulted in internet regulations
that continue to be murky to this day. Just ask
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who had to
explain how social media works in front of
the House Financial Services Committee.
You can enter this line of the metaverse in a
few different ways. You can consider the
legal side of the metaverse if you're interested
in pursuing a career in law. A corporate route
is an option, as big tech names are willing to
pay good money for lawyers who understand
where they are coming from. Other options
include working for NGOs and lobbyists.
Again, if the law isn't your dream career,
consider software. With over a billion
accounts on their hands, companies like
Facebook don't have the option of hiring
moderators, although they do that as well.
The real goal is to develop artificial
intelligence to take over this job for them.
Therefore, community management is one
area that won't let you down if you are
interested in developing artificial intelligence.
The options are not limited to big companies
either. You can create a great enterprise if
you combine artificial intelligence with
consulting options for small and medium
businesses.

Finance

Another area that will build the metaverse is

finance. Better yet, almost anyone can
contribute to this aspect of the metaverse. The
only requirement is a passion for the
metaverse, an open mind, and financial
literacy, which can be learned on your own.
Learning these skills will lead to wonderful
opportunities.
Metaverse economies are prone to volatility
due to their decentralized nature, as discussed
in the previous chapter. This fact presents two
business opportunities. First of all, you can
work on a private blockchain to create a less
volatile cryptocurrency. This is no easy task,
but if you can create the right team and lead
them with the right vision, it is perfectly
achievable. Keep in mind that R&D requires
significant time and money investments, and
it could take a long time. On the other hand, a
method that gives some stability to the
volatility of the virtual economy would be a
game-changer.
The second and quicker way would be to
become a financial advisor. In order to
become a financial advisor, you should
consider a college education, although it isn't
mandatory unless you plan on working in
official means. Providing valuable
predictions in a volatile economy is
invaluable for both personal investments and
portfolio management. Furthermore, since
there is still some controversy around
cryptocurrencies, some people have gone so
far as to call them akin to gambling.
Metaverse economies are still a novelty,
enabling users to make incredible profits. But
as the number of metaverses grows, they will
need services to make their economy more
stable. Additionally, governments will wish
to regulate them to ensure tax compliance.
Therefore, you do not have to go down the
traditional finance world road. Instead, you
can take a software-focused approach. With a
good understanding of blockchains, you can
provide a wide range of services to meet the
new demands a new economy will bring. In
addition to creating unique blockchains, you
can also develop innovative smart contracts.
You can then customize templates for user
agreements and privacy policies, all of which
are essential to Web 3.0.
Lastly, you can simply create economies. The
process of creating and maintaining a
cryptocurrency is a team effort, but making
altcoins isn't so hard. This business requires a
lot of visibility, though. It is estimated that
there are a little over 5,000 altcoins as of the
start of 2022. Crypto circles refer to these
coins as 'shitcoins' because they don't
function properly and have no value. That
doesn’t have to be the case. Remember
Dogecoin? It created a lot of millionaires
when Elon Musk got interested in it. Getting
Elon Musk onboard for your PR campaign
isn't always feasible, but we can learn from
this experience. It can work just fine if your
altcoin serves a purpose and establishes a
name for itself in the right circles.

Joining the Metaverse

Creating a metaverse might not be your cup

of tea, but you can build on what's already
been created. Listed below are some ideas
that will change certain industries and lead to
new employment and business opportunities.

Event Planning
Virtual reality will revolutionize the way
events are organized. You can offer virtual
events as one of the early studios to offer this
service. The events can be anything from
concerts to seminars. For your virtual event
planning business to succeed, you will need
to do three things: organize, promote, and
ensure the software is running smoothly.
You can work with event planning companies
or start your own company by teaming up
with other creatives. It depends on the type of
event you're planning. You can probably use
a virtual reality builder for private parties,
seminars, and concerts. You will need some
coding skills, however, if you want to take
your events to the next level.
Think of Star Trek’s famous Holodeck. On
the starship Enterprise, everyone's favorite
part is the Holodeck. No surprise there. It's a
blank 3D environment and you can run
whatever program you want. You can
become Sherlock Holmes, travel in time to
discuss mathematics with Einstein, and visit
different planets. Basically, you can use your
imagination to the fullest. If you're looking
for this kind of customized event planning,
you will need some serious software to back
you up. It is precisely for this reason that
giants like Google seek engineers to work on
their augmented reality projects. Augmented
reality will be the future of event planning in
Web 3.0.

Consulting

Being a consultant is a perfect fit if you have

a deep understanding of the metaverse. The
consulting industry in the digital era has
evolved in an interesting way. As we
discussed before, when Web 1.0 hit, the big
names were unaware of just how important it
would become. Just ask Yahoo, who had to
spend $5.7 billion to acquire Marc Cuban’s
broadcasting website. They could certainly
have done better if they had a competent
consultant in their corner.
Start preparing now if you are interested in
becoming a consultant for the metaverse.
Make sure you stay on top of the latest
developments and learn how to analyze data
if you haven't already. Network as much as
you can and work on your cold pitches.
Assume the role of a metaverse consultant
through blogging, social media, or as a guest
author.
Right now, many business owners are feeling
nervous about Web 3.0. They do not want to
repeat the Web 2.0 mistakes and you can
make a huge difference for businesses. There
is no need to wait for the widespread
adoption of virtual worlds and blockchains.
The use of smart contracts, cryptocurrencies,
NFTs, and virtual land is already available
and can be incorporated into any business.
Start an NFT agency for artists who are
looking to protect their digital copyrights.
Provide affordable smart contract
programming services. Contact investment
networks and offer to be the link between
them and metaverse start-ups. Hold seminars
on investing in cryptocurrency. Finding
something you enjoy, understand, and believe
in about the metaverse is the key. The
business idea will follow.
Virtual Real Estate

Since the dawn of time, real estate has been a

lucrative career and investment opportunity.
The logic behind real estate investment is
simple. The earth is not going anywhere. A
valuable piece of land will always hold its
value and provide opportunities to build on it.
A similar approach is true for the metaverse
virtual lands. What makes these lands even
more exciting is that they are limitless. As
long as users build virtual worlds, there will
be virtual lands to buy, sell, and build on.
You can choose to specialize in virtual land
and real estate in a number of ways. One of
the more obvious ways is to become a virtual
land agent. You can act as an intermediary
between landowners and those who are
looking to invest in the virtual world. At the
beginning of the metaverse, users will likely
feel compelled and anxious at the same time.
After all, virtual land is different from what
they already know. If you possess
communication skills and financial literacy,
you can become an invaluable asset. Virtual
land is very valuable.
A different approach would be to become a
contractor. A metaverse engineer would have
different capabilities. The Golden Gate
Bridge is an outstanding example of modern
engineering, but in a virtual reality where the
laws of physics can be altered to mimic
whatever you want. The possibilities are truly
endless. Just look at Minecraft! The business
model is already in place. Through SimLab's
virtual reality creation software Composer,
users can already create environments
tailored to their needs. Their customers
include impressive names like NASA, Tesla,
Nike, Sony, and Volvo.
Lastly, we can’t forget about land flipping.
Flipping land successfully requires getting
used to the virtual world first. Once you
know the land, and where people are likely to
spend their time, you can invest in virtual
land. This will require some capital, but if
you are able to add value to your land, it will
pay off nicely. Establishing a business on
your land will increase its value and make it a
popular location to display advertisements.
The key is to be creative. When the land
value has reached its maximum potential, you
can sell it and invest in larger land to begin
the process all over again. Another alternative
is to rent the property or hire a contractor to
do the work for you.

Virtual Business

Using the data available, we can assess the

small business potential of the metaverse. In
its prime, Second Life had a blossoming
economy of small businesses. People have
taken advantage of this by creating side
hustles, and some have even been able to turn
them into full-time jobs.
In most virtual worlds, people enter the
digital environment with an avatar. As our
avatars, they can do everything that we can in
reality, and more. In addition to eating,
sleeping, and seeking entertainment, they go
on vacation, work, socialize, and form
romantic relationships. Luckily, you will be
right there to meet those needs.
Your metaverse business doesn’t have to be
intricate. Even something as simple as
opening a coffee shop on a busy street can be
very successful. One of the biggest benefits
of operating a business in the metaverse is
that you will earn in-game currency. The
money can be kept as a cryptocurrency or
cashed out into fiat money. You can generate
additional income by hosting events like
stand-up comedy and live music jams. Coffee
shops also make great meeting places. You
can offer other businesses and users a job
board at your coffee shop or rent out space
for advertising.
If you want, you can always go the Second
World route and customize high-end items.
There is no reason why you can’t be the
Gucci of the metaverse. The interesting thing
about virtual worlds is that users build
emotional ties with their avatars. They
perceive them as a better reflection of
themselves. Popmundo, a popular virtual
roleplaying community that allowed users to
become rockstars, was a great example of
this. In spite of not making any actual music,
you could manage your bands' artistic and
financial affairs. People were willing to pay
for VIP services just to have better avatars.
Users spending irresponsible money on/as
their avatar is a relatively rare occurrence and
one you shouldn't exploit. For the average
user, buying some items for your avatar here
and there is quite common. Most people will
want items that not every other user has. You
can play this angle and make a decent amount
of money.
The coffee shop and the custom item
boutique are just two examples of small
businesses that could thrive in a virtual world.
You are only limited by your own
imagination. Nevertheless, you may be
compelled by the metaverse businesses
without wanting to hold an entire operation.
The good news is that you don't have to start
a business, you can just invest in one.
Towards that end, we will explore the
business side of the metaverse.
Chapter 4: The Business of

Metaverse
Often, the most exciting part of new
technology is the investment and business
opportunities that come along with it. Web
2.0 presented many opportunities for people
like Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg and
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, making them some
of the richest people in the world. A similar
set of benefits will be available from Web 3.0
and the metaverse. Let’s take a look at some
of the ways you can invest in the metaverse.

Angel Investment

The term angel investor refers to an

individual who invests in a business in the
very early stages of a startup. You might hear
angel investors referred to as seed investors
or seed partners as well. An angel investor
can be anyone from family members to high-
net-worth individuals who believe that the
startup has the potential to become the next
big thing. Angel investors receive equity in
exchange for their investment. Without this
initial push, most start-ups get stuck on the
idea and never reach actualization. That’s
why angel investment is essential in most
small businesses.
The tech industry is especially popular with
angel investors. That’s because most tech
start-ups don’t need a whole lot of start-up
money. It only takes a few computers and a
wireless connection to launch websites, apps,
and software. If the idea is successful, the
investment pays off better than any altcoin
ever can. The business model is scalable and
lucrative, making angel investment a popular
happy hour topic in places like Silicon
Valley.
You can enter the business side of the
metaverse through angel investment.
Although you should be aware that this kind
of investment is extremely risky, as most
startups fail in their first few years. On the
other hand, when they do take off, they can
make you a multi-millionaire in a matter of a
few years. So if you have your heart set on
playing big, angel investment is one to
consider.
Finding the start-up to invest in might be
challenging. There are a few options you can
follow. First, you can join angel investment
networks. These networks are investment
groups that specialize in seed funding.
Through it, you can connect with like-minded
people and successful investors who have
built their fortunes picking the right startups.
Many start-ups pitch to these networks
regularly. You can also attend events hosted
by these networks to meet fascinating
entrepreneurs.
Your second option is to window shop at
incubation centers. Incubation centers are
appropriately named since they offer the
same services to startups that a regular
incubator does for a chicken. They provide
office space, supplies, computers, free WiFi,
consulting, and more. They also arrange
meetings between entrepreneurs and
investors. In that regard, the incubation center
provides these benefits in exchange for equity
in the start-up, so they are their own angel
investors. Although, they do so on a large
scale and are more hands-on in the
development of startups.
When selecting a start-up, always look at the
team before the idea. A good team will be
able to evolve and scale their ideas. Ask the
team about their background and learn about
them as much as you can. This will ensure
mutual trust and a solid foundation for your
business deal. Consider asking your potential
business partners what their vision is for the
metaverse since you're looking to invest in it.
Ask about the team's experience with
machine learning, artificial intelligence, and
augmented reality. All of these will allow you
to better understand your business partner's
vision and whether it matches your own.

Venture Capital

A venture capitalist is similar to an angel

investor but they look for start-ups that are
already making a profit. It's like watching
Shark Tank. The key difference between
angel investment and venture capital is its
focus. Angel investors focus on the idea and
creating a product. While these aspects are
important for the venture capitalist as well,
their main focus is the growth potential and
return on investment (ROI). To put it another
way, the purpose of an angel investor is to
grow a startup and sell its shares for a huge
profit once it reaches a certain point. A
venture capitalist is in it for a longer ride.
If you have the funds to become a venture
capitalist, you might already know a thing or
two about investing. However, if you made
your money investing in compound interest,
cryptocurrencies, and other instruments, you
might be unfamiliar with venture capital. In
that case, you would be wise to seek
professional help. Entrepreneurs are brilliant
at what they do, which is creating their own
products. Calculating reasonable ROI
predictions, and projecting the market,
however, is not every entrepreneur’s forte. In
fact, that’s exactly why they need your help.
It is perfectly normal for businesses to hit
some barriers when they grow. Often,
successful businesses will take a hit if they
grow too quickly and can’t supply the market
demand. For example, they may struggle to
make new hires or provide customer support.
In that case, they bring a venture capitalist on
board to help grow their business. With your
capital investment, you will get a good share
of an already successful company. The
company and your wealth will only grow
from there.
It is hard to predict the role of venture
capitalists in the metaverse era. For now, tech
giants who are building the metaverse have
more than enough profit to fund their own
efforts. In the future, however, metaverse
startups will start growing and will be eligible
to receive venture capital.
Keep in mind that both angel investing and
venture capital are high-risk investment
options. The advice of professional
investment advisors is to build a diversified
portfolio, which is another way of saying not
to put all your money in the same place. If
being a venture capitalist in the metaverse era
is a goal you have, consider having a
different saving account solely dedicated to
becoming venture capital in the future. Make
small contributions each month, and
compound interest will take care of the rest.

Stock Market

The stock market is fascinating to both those

who understand it and those who don't. When
it comes to investing in stocks, there is no
perfect formula. In fact, stock market
investing is a book in itself. Big companies
with a vision return stable yet low-income
margins. New companies that are just going
public are riskier but usually yield greater
profits. It all depends on what type of
investor you are, your previous experience in
the stock market, and what you want from the
stock market.
Before we get on with what to look for in
stock, let’s be responsible and have a brief
conversation about the stock market. The
more lucrative an investment opportunity is,
the riskier it is. In terms of unpredictability
and risk, the stock market tops the list.
Otherwise, competent financial advisors with
college degrees would all be billionaires.
Instead, they recommend you always
diversify your portfolio. Furthermore, they
recommend diversifying stocks within a stock
portfolio to keep the risk to a minimum. This
is not to discourage you from the stock
market. Quite the opposite! You can, in fact,
make millions of dollars, but only if you’re
patient and make smart decisions.
People who lose all their savings in the stock
market do so due to one common mistake:
impatience. Impatience is the bane of all
investing and even great investors like
Warren Buffet aren’t immune to this. He
famously said he'd be a much richer man if he
never sold a stock in his life. This goes on to
show that timing and patience are key
elements in the stock market. Since the
metaverse is such a new concept, patience
and timing are especially important. Don’t
follow the hype and avoid falling into “get
rich quick” schemes. Many people become
entangled in Ponzi schemes because of their
impatience. Instead, learn about the
metaverse as much as you can, analyze data,
and make educated guesses. Stay in it for the
long haul.
Before investing in metaverse stocks, you
should also consider the aftermath of the
dotcom bubble. You should definitely take
the time to learn about the Dotcom crash and
look at people who survived it successfully.
Consider which companies are more likely to
be stable and which have the potential to
burst. Calculate the risk and your personal
preference. What is your risk tolerance? If
you are prone to anxiety, safer companies are
the way to go. If you are willing to lose a
portion of your money, feel free to make
riskier choices. When in doubt, paying a
professional advisor will save you much more
than their consulting fee.
What you should be looking for in a stock
varies according to the industry. In regards to
the tech industry, company history, public
relations, quarterly and annual reports,
infrastructure, CEO, innovation, and
management should be considered. You can
do so by following companies on the news
and by reading their statements. Below are
some stocks that present exciting investment
opportunities for the metaverse. They are by
no means the most lucrative because no one
can really predict what the stock market will
do. The aim here is to show you the logic
behind examining a metaverse company to
give you insight into your future endeavors.

Unity Software

Currently, Unity is the leading game

development engine with a market value of
over $50 billion . Most game development
studios seek out software engineers who
know the ins and outs of the engine. One of
the great things about Unity is its revenue
model. Either they charge a large license fee
or they charge a monthly fee, which is the
choice of most studios. They will continue to
have a steady revenue stream, which makes
Unity a good investment option.
As far as competition goes, Unity’s biggest
rival is Unreal Engine. Nonetheless, Unity is
preferred by mobile developers, while Unreal
Engine is preferred by large titles. Unity will
continue to be the industry standard for most
gaming applications unless Unreal Engine
caters to small studios as well. Unity
integrated Oculus into their build system a
long time ago. In addition, they acquired
Weta Digital, which is responsible for CGI
effects in productions like Avatar and The
Lord of the Rings. It is safe to say they are
well-prepared for the metaverse.

Snapchat

It might seem as though Snapchat's craze is

over and the social media medium is dead.
What most people do not realize is that
Snapchat is one of the most innovative
companies out there. For example, their face
filters, which made them a popular social
media app in the first place, were exceptional
examples of augmented reality
implementation. They certainly did not stop
there. Snapchat is constantly introducing new
augmented reality features into its app. These
features point to an infrastructure that
outpaces those who generate buzz. Snapchat
is moving fast yet silent, and its future is
definitely brighter than the average internet
user imagines.
One of the great things about Snapchat is that
they still accommodate more than 200 million
users in their app. Snapchat users are usually
between 15 and 25 years old. This is the
perfect demographic for introducing
metaverse elements as young people tend to
be more open-minded about new
technologies. Facebook invests much more in
the metaverse, but their older demographic
will be reserved about the metaverse longer
than Snapchat users. All in all, Snapchat
stocks are definitely one to consider.

Meta

When Mark Zuckerberg changed Facebook’s

name to Meta, he did three things. First, he
said he established himself as the lead and
authority in the metaverse. Second, he
rebranded his acquisitions. Considering that
Facebook acquired Instagram and Whatsapp,
which were huge brands on their own, it was
a smart move on his part to portray them as
one family. Thirdly, he took an exit from
which he will be unable to return.
There are now billions of users on Meta, and
the number is growing every day. Because of
this, Meta has a reach that other platforms
can only dream of. As a social media
company, they are able to quickly get people
using a feature, making their return on
investment ratios extremely high. This is the
power of low customer acquisition costs.
Meta will be able to monetize the metaverse
unlike any other.
There is only one problem with Meta stocks:
the founder. There is no doubt Zuckerberg is
a great visionary that shaped Web 2.0.
However, he receives a lot of criticism when
it comes to his public relations and
nonchalant image. In the tech start-up culture,
CEOs tend to be the face of the company, a
tradition passed down from the late Steve
Jobs. Luckily, Zuckerberg is humble enough
to be aware of his shortcomings. He is
constantly working on improving public
relations to ensure investors and users alike.
All things considered, Meta stocks should be
a part of any tech portfolio.

Microsoft

In terms of a trustworthy and personable

image for a company, you won’t do better
than Bill Gates. He is revered for his
philanthropic endeavors all over the world.
The Windows operating system he
envisioned decades ago remains the most
popular today. One of Microsoft's greatest
strengths is innovation and branching out,
and Xbox is an excellent example. The results
speak for themselves. For decades, they
returned stable and profitable returns for their
shareholders. Microsoft is, therefore, a safe
haven for investment.
By jumping on the Metaverse bandwagon,
Microsoft established itself as a figure of
Web 3.0. A Microsoft Mesh for Teams
investment is in the works for 2022, with the
capital and experience to back it up. You can
certainly wait to see if Microsoft’s enterprise
will work. We all know they have yet to
make a popular browser despite trying so
hard for so long. It's a coin toss for Mesh for
Teams. However, stocks are about a
company's entire image, and Microsoft is as
solid as they come. If Mesh for Teams is
successful, then profits will increase, so that's
a good bet. If not, Microsoft will still be a
great company.

NVIDIA

It doesn't matter how great the metaverse is if

you can't access it. 3D rendering, augmented
reality, and artificial intelligence require
considerable computing power. Making high-
performance processors affordable and
accessible is essential to building the
metaverse. That’s where NVIDIA comes in.
The company produces graphics and video
processing chips for high-end computing and
artificial intelligence, making it a powerful
stock in the metaverse. It is well on its way to
providing the enormous amount of processing
power the metaverse will require. NVIDIA,
therefore, is a powerful stock market player
that you should consider investing in.
However, that isn't even the most remarkable
thing about NVIDIA; It’s the NVIDIAv
Omniverse. Think about it this way: Let’s say
there are four virtual worlds that you like.
You use one for your job, one for traveling,
one for entertainment, and one to spend time
with your family. When the metaverse gains
popularity, there will be thousands of these
metaverses around the globe. The NVIDIA
Omniverse will provide a platform for
connecting 3D worlds into an integrated
virtual universe. Currently, connectivity is
one of the most important problems the
metaverse faces. If NVIDIA can fix it, the
rewards will be immense both for the
company and the stockholders.
InfiniteWorld

InfiniteWorld is a company that generates

NFT metaverses for its clients. You heard
that right! Think about how lucrative the NFT
market is. Now picture metaverses that are
non-fungible. The potential is mind-blowing.
That's why Aries I Acquisition Corporation
lost no time in acquiring the idea. The deal
includes $171 million in funds, with $93
million of it being a cryptocurrency. This
enterprise will not run out of liquid capital
anytime soon.
The merger is expected to take place in the
second half of 2022. After the merger,
InfiniteWorld will trade on Nasdaq. Profits
can be maximized by investing in a company
right after they go public. Obviously, there is
risk associated with that approach, but if you
find more stable stocks to be expensive, you
should certainly consider this one.

Matterport
Another stock that trades on Nasdaq is
Matterport. Perhaps you haven't heard of this
company, but they're one to watch on the
stock market. Matterport is a significant
company because they specialize in digitizing
the existing world. Creating unique and awe-
inspiring 3D worlds is great. Nevertheless,
there will always be demand for digitizing the
real world, especially in the early stages of
the Metaverse. What’s remarkable about
Matterport is they have both the hardware
and software infrastructure in place. You can
simply use their camera to scan any
environment and Matterport will do the rest
for you.
Matterport's potential is only enhanced by its
partnership with Meta. Announcing their
collaboration with Meta in July 2021, the
company revealed they will create the largest
3D environments yet. Needless to say, the
company's stock value rose dramatically. We
can learn from the Matterport example. If you
are on the hunt for the next big thing, you
might consider looking for companies that
have the potential to be acquired by industry
leaders.

Disney

The last item on the metaverse stocks is

Disney. You might think Disney is irrelevant
to metaverse technology, and you wouldn’t
be wrong. What you would be missing,
though, is that a company doesn't need to be
tech-savvy to matter in the metaverse.
Intellectual property is just as important, and
Disney is very smart when it comes to
royalties. Not only do they own copyrights to
all your favorite princesses, but they also
acquired global sensations like the Marvel
movies and Star Wars. When the time comes
for the metaverse to utilize the world's most
popular franchises, it will be up to Disney to
name the price. As a bonus, let's not overlook
a virtual place people will want to build the
most, which is Disneyland.
Disney's stocks are a good investment with or
without the metaverse since they return stable
profits to investors. However, Disney stocks,
when purchased now and held long term,
have the potential to skyrocket. Do not wait
until movie theatres undergo major changes
to purchase Disney stocks. The movie
industry is one of the fastest to adapt to new
technology, and 3D movies are becoming
increasingly popular. It is only a matter of
time before movie theatres offer a more
engaging experience by making use of
augmented and virtual reality.
Chapter 5: What Will the

Metaverse Change?
The metaverse is not only bound to change
the world as we know it but the way we view
it. With the implementation of 3D worlds, we
will have infinite possibilities for work,
travel, entertainment, and more. Let’s have a
look at some of the ways we will use the
metaverse in the future.

Travel

The metaverse will play an important role in

travel in the future. Putting on our glasses
will allow us to see anywhere on earth
without having to travel. The world of 3D
modeling and rendering has changed
drastically over the past decade. In the past,
rendering and shading realistic 3D models
was extremely resource-intensive, and the
results were heavy graphics. Nowadays, not
only do we have better 3D production
methods, but our graphic cards and internet
connection also process them much more
quickly and efficiently.
Leading companies like Unity and NVIDIA
are already developing cutting-edge 3D
graphic technologies that look extremely
realistic. These graphics are currently used
mainly in video games, but they are gradually
making their way to the movie industry.
Eventually, we will have video services that
will allow us to travel anywhere in the world.
Better yet, we won't have to deal with
crowded landmarks and may choose any
weather we like.
There will be more than just real-time travel
in the metaverse. One of the most exciting
features of the metaverse will be time travel.
Though technically we will only travel to the
past we know, it is a start. Imagine traveling
to the "Seven Wonders of the Ancient World"
or interacting with prehistoric hunter-
gatherers. The possibilities are endless.
Metaverse travel will be perfect for those
who love travel but can’t due to certain
limitations. Professionals who work full-time
and have limited time off, parents who cannot
travel with young children, elderly people
who have physical limitations, and people
with disabilities are examples of lives the
metaverse travel will change.

Entertainment

The entertainment industry is about to

undergo one of the greatest changes with the
upcoming metaverse. We can expect the
entertainment industry to become much more
interactive and accessible.
For example, the metaverse can change the
way we listen to music. Artists can create
music videos in the metaverse and sell tickets
to their studio sessions. In addition, the size
of the venue won't matter for ticket sales. The
metaverse can take live concerts to the next
level. We won't be restricted to a specific
time or place to watch our favorite artists, and
we certainly won't have to wait for our
favorite bands to go on tour.
This is also true for the movie industry. Our
favorite movies and television series can
easily be metaverses on their own. You could
ride a dragon beside Daenerys Targaryen in
the Game of Thrones metaverse or enter the
Matrix for the ultimate metaverseception. We
might see a scenario like this in the latter
stages of the metaverse, but interactive movie
experiences are likely to be available in the
initial stages. Companies like Disney and
Lucas Arts already own the intellectual
property rights to their universes, so they are
in a good position to create a metaverse based
on their franchises.
Adult entertainment is another example that
is expected to benefit from the metaverse.
Some experts claim that the adult industry is
expected to reach $122 billion in 2026. The
introduction of new internet technologies to
adult entertainment is nothing new. There are
many websites offering video clips and
webcam interactions to their customers. The
adult entertainment industry has proven to be
crisis-proof, and the metaverse is sure to add
its own twist to it.
Another industry that is enthusiastic about the
metaverse is the gambling industry. In 2021,
online gambling generated $230 billion and
remained one of the most lucrative markets
for online enterprises. Decentral Games, for
example, offers virtual gambling using NFTs
and their DG coin. We can anticipate this
trend becoming more popular as the
metaverse expands.

Military

The military is one of the few low-profile

investors in the metaverse. Keeping up with
the latest technology is a necessity for the
armed forces to stay in top shape. In addition,
armed forces around the world rely on
simulations to train their personnel. Because
the metaverse will create realistic
simulations, it is only natural for the military
industry to take advantage of it.
Optimus System was one of the first
companies to jump on board. Their company
develops and supplies military training
simulators. DEIMOS, their new metaverse
technology, is preparing to enter the global
market. Their system creates military training
environments like precision shooting, tactical
behavior training, and observation training.
Optimus System CEO Nam-Hyuk Kim said:
“We plan to expand the development of
scientific products to implement more
effective, real war-like training systems based
on the technologies of the fourth industrial
revolution. Our company will lead the global
Metaverse market with new ideas and
differentiated technologies.”
Military war games and training cost
organizations like NATO billions of dollars
every year. With the help of metaverse
technologies, not only would they be able to
reduce their budget, but they could also create
highly realistic training scenarios without
endangering personnel.
E-commerce

Web 2.0 has made e-commerce a part of our

everyday lives. Numerous business owners
transitioned to digital, and countless others
developed lucrative side businesses via e-
commerce stores. Online deliveries have
become the norm and kept the world going
during the Covid-19 pandemic.
We can expect our online shopping habits to
evolve with the arrival of the metaverse. The
stores can create their own metaverses or
come together to create virtual shopping
malls. We can walk into these stores and
check out the real size, color, and fit before
we make the purchase.
On the other side of the metaverse, shopping
will take place in the virtual reality
economies themselves. Virtual land, tokens,
and other goods unique to each metaverse
will be available to us with cryptocurrencies.
Currency for a metaverse can be Bitcoin,
altcoins, or a completely original token.
Whatever the case may be, the metaverse will
have a business opportunity in e-commerce.
By deciding on the type of products you want
to sell early on, you will have the opportunity
to be among the first to enter the market. So,
if you have an original idea or product, you
should consider patenting it.

Workplace

Several tech giants like Microsoft have been

working on creating a metaverse for the
workplace. The initial plan is to create virtual
conference rooms where colleagues could
meet using virtual reality. During the
pandemic, online meetings have already
become commonplace in the workplace using
apps like Zoom and Google Hangouts.
Employees have felt the effects of what's
called "Zoom fatigue," and companies are
looking for better ways to engage employees
online.
Through the metaverse, an online conference
room will become much more realistic. The
presentations will be more compelling,
communication will feel more genuine, and
the audience will be more engaged.
As metaverse workplaces prove to be useful,
they could greatly increase the number of
international teams. Furthermore, companies
can hold their international meetings online
and reduce their business travel expenses.
Although the metaverse cannot completely
replace human interaction, it can certainly
speed it up. You can create a business that
offers an international working hour
scheduling service or create a translation
plugin for international meetings. That is two
excellent business models for the metaverse
right there.

Gaming

Gaming will be one of the industries to cross

the frontier into the metaverse. Virtual reality
glasses caught the attention of the gaming
industry when they were introduced. These
days, popular game engines like Unity 3D
offer developers to export their games for
virtual reality. Moreover, 3D art and
environments have been used in the industry
for decades. We can expect game developers
to be among the first to adapt to the
upcoming metaverse.
They will be able to adapt quickly beyond the
technical aspects of game development.
Games with large followings, such as
MMORPGs and MOBAs, have utilized their
own currencies for in-game purchases for a
long time. A few developers are now
accepting cryptocurrency payments too.
The gaming industry has all these advantages
over other industries, making it one of the
poster children for Web 3.0. You can invest
in the metaverse early on by investing in
game studios that are shifting towards it. If
you are a high-risk investor, look for angel
investment opportunities in small startups. To
be on the safe side, look for established game
studios that are showing signs of making the
shift. Collect stocks early and follow them
regularly to ensure they are progressing.
Dating and Relationships

Online dating has changed the way we meet

people many years ago. Nowadays, meeting
someone is as simple as logging onto a
website or downloading an app on your
phone. We can only anticipate the metaverse
to shake things up even more.
Remember that artificial intelligence and
machine learning are crucial parts of Web
3.0. Dating applications like Tinder and
OkCupid are wildly popular because they
match us with people we're already interested
in. This not only saves us time but increases
the chances of a first date going well.
We can expect to see this on a larger scale
once the metaverse starts influencing the
dating world. Artificial intelligence will make
smart guesses about our preferences.
Whenever we express a liking or disliking for
a specific trait, our choices will create a
compound pool of characteristics we will be
interested in.
We will be able to meet these people right
away in the metaverse, which is even more
exciting. Using this technology, we will be
able to interact with people deeper without
having to share personal information like
phone numbers and addresses. This should
make online dating a safer experience in the
future.
Another group that will benefit from
metaverse dating is long-distance couples.
Some couples start off long-distance, and
some evolve into long-distance relationships
due to work like army officers. The
metaverse era will give these people a chance
to skip the Skype call and spend meaningful
time with their loved ones.
Do you have a Christmas tradition of
watching a certain holiday movie? Even
when you are thousands of miles away from
your loved ones, you can join the metaverse
and watch the movie together. It doesn’t end
there. You can teach your children how to
play chess, take your spouse on a two-hour
date to Paris, and catch up with your friends
on a virtual pick-up game. In the metaverse,
you can do all of this and much more.

Media

Previously, we discussed the impact of

information decentralization. One of the
biggest industries to be affected by
information decentralization was,
undoubtedly, the mainstream media.
Newspapers and news channels initially
viewed the internet as a way to spread their
accessibility. However, they took one of the
biggest hits in the process.
Information democracy brought by the
internet allows users to both generate and
consume the information they want. Among
the biggest reflections of this statement are
the social media apps we use every day.
Furthermore, the internet gives alternative
media a fair chance to compete with mass
media. As a result, the press no longer has a
monopoly. A similar situation applies to big
TV networks that have lost market share and
influence to streaming services like Netflix.
It is hard to predict what Web 3.0 will bring
to the table as far as the media is concerned.
Web 3.0 is about us being able to see our
input reflected back to us. Media outlets on
the entertainment side might find it easier to
adapt to Web 3.0. However, it remains
unclear how the 24-hour news cycle will
interact with Web 3.0. Governments will no
doubt take action against the complete
decentralization of news, as they do today.
However, it can be speculated that self-
journalism and social media will become
more prominent. We will likely have more
access to personal news stories that artificial
intelligence thinks we will be interested in. In
addition, there could be ways to set trigger
alerts or mental health precautions based on
what we consume. To date, Time has taken
the boldest step into the metaverse from a
media outlet. They are launching a weekly
newsletter solely dedicated to the metaverse.

Education
The Covid-19 pandemic has proven that face-
to-face education is not the only way to learn.
While online education has its own
challenges and setbacks, the metaverse can
offer solutions. Using the metaverse, teachers
can interact with children in virtual reality,
which is a far cry from a Zoom call. Even
more impressive, a teacher can instruct any
student in any part of the world by means of
machine learning techniques and translation
technologies.
The metaverse has the potential to
revolutionize education. Imagine yourself
sitting in your Seattle home and taking a
leisurely stroll in front of the Eiffel Tower
with your favorite French teacher. Taking a
school trip to Germany to learn about World
War II without getting on a plane. Learn
painting from Leonardo Da Vinci himself.
Observing the human body from inside.
These are a few examples of what virtual
reality and artificial intelligence can do for
the education system.
We can expect schools throughout the world
to have metaverse campuses in the future. A
few examples are already underway. A
virtual campus will be created, for instance,
at the Kenya-KAIST campus, which is
expected to open by September 2023 in the
Konza Technopolis. The University of
Nicosia is preparing to open the first
permanent university gallery for NFTs. They
will also start offering a six-week course
“Introduction to NFTs and the Metaverse,”
which starts in February 2022 as a part of
their UNIC Open Metaverse Initiative. Over
time, these examples will multiply and
become more complex, resulting in student
exchange programs being a daily occurrence.
Another group that will benefit from the
educational implementation of the metaverse
is students with disabilities. As a means of
bridging the education gap between able-
bodied and disabled students, augmented
reality will be invaluable. It will be easier for
teachers to design personalized activities for
disabled students, and long-term
hospitalization will not hinder academic
success as much.
There is no doubt the metaverse will impact
all industries one way or the other. What
matters is how we respond to it. By
embracing the metaverse early on and
exploring its potential, we can take advantage
of this wonderful technology and not let it
pass us by as it changes the world.
Chapter 6: The Future of the

Metaverse
So far in our metaverse journey, we have a lot
of "can be," "would," and "expected." This is
because the technology is still being
developed and more news is coming out
every single day. As more companies jump
on the bandwagon and bombard us with
information, our minds become hazy.
However, the metaverse does have a tangible
side that is grounded in reality. In this
chapter, we discuss what the future holds for
the metaverse, and what we can expect to see
in the near future. Here are some metaverse
projects to keep an eye on that already exist
or are in development.

Decentraland

Among the earliest attempts at a metaverse,

Decentraland has also proven to be very
popular. It is a gaming platform where the
user experience is comparable to Second Life
and Minecraft, which makes it feel familiar.
The exciting thing about Decentraland is that
it makes use of NFTs and smart contracts.
Decentraland, aptly named after
decentralization, is built on the Ethereum
blockchain and makes extensive use of
Virtual Reality.
You can try your luck at a metaverse and
NFTs with Decentraland's stable
infrastructure. Investors are already reaping
the benefits of the metaverse, and you are not
late to get in. If you are looking for a stable
metaverse to invest in, Decentraland is a good
choice.

AxielInfinity

If you are looking to invest in a metaverse

project, AxielInfinity is a fantastic choice for
several reasons. First of all, it's based on a
proven concept. The game is similar to
Pokemon Go, a game that successfully
implemented augmented reality and became a
global phenomenon. AxielInfinity allows you
to customize cute pets as NFTs. You then
teach your pets how to fight, which is always
a crowd-pleaser concept in the gaming world.
The pets you breed become digital tokens,
making it a complete metaverse package.
Another advantage of the metaverse is its
financial aspect. In addition to Pangea
Blockchain Fund, AxielInfinity is backed by
legendary venture capitalists Marc Cuban and
Andressan Horrowitz. As a result, the
metaverse is well-funded and liquidity will
not be an issue. Additionally, users from
third-world countries report making a good
income on the platform, so there is side hustle
hype as well. The Philippines, where more
than half of the players are from, is one of its
biggest markets. All things considered,
AxielInfinity is definitely one of the lower-
risk metaverses you can invest in.

Horizon Home
Horizon Home was recently announced by
Meta, so it is definitely a technology to keep
an eye on. Currently, Horizon Home has just
a few basic features: It allows you to invite
other players to your home for a chat and to
watch a few videos. It's an interactive way of
socializing with your friends online,
showcasing Meta's vision for their metaverse.
Meta wants to offer users their own virtual
environments that can be customized to their
hearts' content. So it's not surprising that
incoming features will include the ability to
customize your own Horizon Home.
Facebook Messenger will soon be available
in your home, which further proves that Meta
will build its metaverse on existing
infrastructure.
Horizon Home isn’t the only project Meta is
working on. They keep continuing to build
and innovate their Oculus acquisition. Oculus
Quest 2 is expected to gain more momentum
with 2D apps. Multitasking in 2D apps is
currently supported by the headset, and this
feature may expand as time goes on,
eventually making its way to 3D apps as well.
In other words, Facebook wants to move this
from social media into the workplace as well.
The company plans to add additional apps in
the future, including Dropbox and Slack,
which are two essential tools for remote
employees, and it will be interesting to see
how Meta promotes this for the average
office.

Bloktopia

Bloktopia is a metaverse with a virtual

skyscraper standing 21 stories tall. If you've
been paying attention, you can figure out why
they used 21. It’s an homage to Bitcoin,
which has a maximum limit of 21 million.
The members of Bloktopia can do pretty
much everything a metaverse is expected to
offer. They can create and customize avatars,
learn cryptocurrency skills, attend social
activities, buy virtual land, and more. The
exciting feature within Bloktopia is its builder
tool. The residents of this Virtual Reality
skyscraper can create game elements like
obstacles and artwork using this tool.
Unlike many others, Bloktopia has its roots in
the Polygon blockchain. Some users prefer
this blockchain over more prominent ones
like Ethereum, claiming it is faster and
cheaper. As of right now, Bloktopia is
reasonably priced, and if you are looking for
a metaverse you can jump into early,
Bloktopia is definitely worth a look.

The Sandbox

The Sandbox metaverse is catching many

people's attention, and for good reason. It is
one of the most compelling metaverse
experiences the technology has yet to offer.
The virtual environment is located on the
Ethereum blockchain. In spite of some
criticism, the Ethereum blockchain remains
one of the most reputable and dependable
blockchains available. Moreover, Ethereum
can be used to create digital goods, which is
what the Sandbox metaverse is all about.
The decentralization aspect of Sandbox is
another proof of the value of concepts that
preceded the invention of the internet.
Sandbox’s Decentralized Governance, NFT-
based economy, and in-game token showcase
how regulations and community management
will operate in the metaverse.
As far as user interaction is concerned, the
Sandbox is very similar to Decentraland. In
Sandbox, players can buy digital plots of land
and then share their experiences on top of
them with other players. The mix of
decentralization, social engagement, and
gameplay provide the perfect environment for
a fun and lucrative metaverse. Sandbox has a
market cap of $5.8 billion so you still have a
chance to invest some money before the
prices truly skyrocket.

Meta Hero

The logic behind Meta Hero is unique and

therefore intriguing. The company has come
up with a great vision for the metaverse. This
is the kind of thinking you need if you want
to start your own metaverse business. Meta
Hero is basically an NFT bank. Say, you
wanted to lend your NFT to Sandbox or
Decentraland. All you have to do is enter the
Everdome. This dome is equipped with a
number of cameras that capture images of
anything that stands inside, whether it's an
individual or an asset. Your product can then
be turned into an NFT that can be rented out
to other metaverses as you see fit.
It is one of those multi-billion dollar ideas.
Robert Gryn, the founder of the company, is
the youngest self-made entrepreneur to make
the Forbes 100 Richest list in Poland. A key
focus of the company is the mass adoption of
blockchains and cryptocurrencies. With an
entrepreneurial CEO with a vision on board,
Meta Hero is a company to consider investing
in.

Yield Guild Games

The Yield Guild Games follows a similar

approach to other metaverses when it comes
to their key concepts. What sets them apart,
though, is their governing system and wealth
distribution.
The idea is simple yet compelling. The guild
establishes itself as a decentralized
autonomous organization that invests in
NFTs in a virtual world. The goal? They want
to build the world's greatest virtual economy,
which is ambitious, to say the least. They take
a cue from the free market economy. They
want to manage assets for maximum gain and
then share the income with stockholders. In
other words, they are trying to create a hedge
fund on metaverse steroids.
Users seem to be on board with it. They have
already created a community of players,
investors, and developers who create
decentralized games. They did also by taking
another cue from the free market. Turning a
crisis into an opportunity. They gained
popularity during the pandemic when people
had more time and had a greater desire for
pay-to-play games. It is definitely worth
keeping an eye on this ambitious guild.
Enjin

The Enjin software enables developers to

create and manage virtual goods on the
Ethereum blockchain. This idea is nothing
new. What is new is using blockchains to
manage in-game items across many different
properties. Their vision aligns with
NVIDIA’s, who are developing a system to
combine metaverses as we discussed earlier.
In addition, Enjin intends to reduce the high
fees associated with digital transactions,
which many people complain about.
Another aspect of Enjin that sets it apart from
others is its work on fraud issues. It is no
secret that the transfer of in-game items and
collectibles has been fraught with fraud. To
this end, Enjin has released software
development kits that make it possible for
users to create digital assets on Ethereum and
integrate them into games and applications.
The idea is to ensure that every asset is
customized to fit the desired platform and
recorded as a smart contract. In this way,
speed, cost, and security are on par with
cryptocurrencies. The company is very active
on their website and blog, should you wish to
investigate them further for a possible
investment.

Star Atlas

The Solana blockchain is home to a

remarkable game called Star Atlas with a
space theme. The game is built with Unreal
Engine, which makes it possible to create
highly realistic games. The goal of the game
is space exploration. You do so by siding
with a faction, creating civilizations, and, of
course, intergalactic economies. The
economy is supported by the in-game
ATLAS token, as well as by the POLIS
token, which is required to manipulate crypto
game parameters.
There's nothing new about the theme or the
gameplay. However, by incorporating
blockchain technology and in-game tokens
that control economic parameters, they do
offer quite the experience. Realistic graphics
further enhance the feel. Once entering
virtual worlds becomes commonplace, Star
Atlas will be one step ahead thanks to its
Unreal Engine infrastructure.
Chapter 7: Questions

Surrounding the Metaverse

At this point in our journey, you might be
wondering, “Isn't there anything negative
about the metaverse?” That is a wise
question. Successful investors are aware of
risks and manage them efficiently. To
achieve success in the upcoming metaverse
era, we, too, should be aware of the questions
that surround metaverse and plan
accordingly.
Due to our limited knowledge of what the
metaverse will really look like, our risk
assessments are also limited. In any case, we
can learn from other advancements and
technologies. In addition, knowledgeable
people and organizations are already asking
questions.

Dot-com Bubble 2.0

We mentioned the dot-com bubble a few
times throughout the book. In case you are
unfamiliar with the dot-com bubble, it
basically refers to the market crash in the
‘90s. When the internet became popular,
internet-based companies rose very quickly in
revenue. This led to the unrealistic evolution
of company values, eventually creating a
crisis so big that people lost billions of
dollars.
What created the dot-com crash is debated.
Some blame the lack of know-how in tech
company evaluation. Others blame brokers
for becoming too greedy. Choosing a side in
that debate is a decision you have to make
personally after doing research. For our
purposes, we need to examine whether a
situation similar to the dot-com bubble could
hold true for the metaverse era as well.
Some internet users claim the metaverse will
be the dot-com bubble of this generation.
Their argument is that metaverse companies
are such a novelty that people are overvaluing
them just like they did with tech companies in
the 1990s. They are not wrong in the sense
that the metaverse remains a novelty for the
time being. However, they miss an important
aspect of it.
During the dot-com bubble, information was
decentralized, not the currency. Metaverses
use decentralized blockchains,
cryptocurrencies, and tokens. Therefore,
although their economy is tied to fiat money,
the value is completely independent of it.
What could create a dot-com burst 2.0 is the
stock market itself. Companies like Meta and
NVIDIA are on the officially regulated stock
market. Therefore, if you are worried about a
stock market crash, you can choose to remain
on the blockchain. But in reality, there is no
real need for that at all. During the dot-com
bubble, people who lost money did so out of
misinformation and greed. They followed the
hype and let speculation get the best of them.
The stock market is not a place to get rich
quick. In fact, those who offer a “get rich
quick” business model often end up being
Ponzi schemes. By paying new investors with
the money they acquire from old ones, they
create an unsustainable loop until they are no
longer able to manage it. Yet another scheme
involves creating speculation. Speculators
collect large amounts of stocks and increase
their value to create hype around them. When
enough people buy-in, they sell their own
stock, leaving others with unprofitable stocks.
Metaverse businesses continue to grow
rapidly in users, making them a perfect
platform for similar schemes. Do not be
fooled by promises that are too good to be
true. Never take tips from anyone and always
use your own judgment to make educated
guesses. Metaverse can be a great way to
make money much quicker than other
investment instruments. These are available
to people who create businesses or can
correctly predict the future of
cryptocurrencies, which is difficult to do in a
volatile decentralized economy.
If the dot-com bubble taught anything, it is to
work hard and not be greedy. Jeff Bezos
survived the crash because he was able to
keep producing and creating value for
Amazon. The dot-com crash did not destroy
Marc Cuban because he left early when his
profit margin was reached. Bottom line: Even
if a metaverse bubble occurs, smart users will
survive just fine.

Metaverse Is Overhyped

A common criticism of the metaverse is that

it's overhyped. There are a few approaches to
this criticism. The first group argues that
technologies like virtual reality and
augmented reality are already here.
Therefore, what people like Mark Zuckerberg
claim will come is actually already here.
According to them, people like him are
merely trying to rebrand an existing situation
to profit from it.
It is true that key concepts of the metaverse
are already in use. We have Snapchat filters,
military simulations, cryptocurrency markets,
and more. What we do not have is a
combined virtual capability of multiverses.
This is what the metaverse is about. We
already talked about the world transitioning
from Web 2.0 to Web 3.0. During this
transition, it is perfectly normal for the key
elements of the metaverse to be incorporated
into various applications. The vision for the
metaverse will continue to evolve with the
outcome of these applications. To say that the
metaverse is already here is like saying an
apple has reached its full potential because a
single pie has already been baked. It is simply
short-sighted.
According to the second approach,
metaverses are unrealistic. Those who believe
in this view see the metaverse as Sci-Fi hype
rather than something revolutionary. It is
obvious how outdated this statement is. Two
hundred years ago, there were unexplored
parts of the world. A hundred years ago, it
took weeks to reach a remote part of the
world. Fifty years ago, it took hours to reach
someone on the telephone. Twenty years ago,
the internet speed wasn’t enough to sustain a
video call. Now, we carry the world with us
on our phones. Technology grows at an
exponential rate. There is no reason why the
metaverse cannot be as common as a
smartphone in the following years.
Laws and Regulations

The problem of laws and regulations is a

more realistic criticism of the metaverse. The
need for laws and regulations in society is
unquestionable. There is, however, the
problem of governments being notoriously
slow and critical towards technological
developments. Companies like Meta and
Google are constantly hit with fees, forced to
explain their trade secret algorithms in court,
and struggle with authority in general.
In a perfect world, bureaucracy would
recognize technology as a tool that helps
them too. To an extent, they do. The last
decade has seen institutional digitalization all
over the world. Still, they have difficulty
addressing web-based technologies from a
legislative perspective. Many countries have
yet to enact comprehensive laws around the
internet, while others ban web applications
outright.
Metaverse users, especially those involved in
crypto markets, should be worried about this
issue. It is one thing to decentralize
information, but a completely different thing
to decentralize currency. Some countries have
already banned Bitcoin. Most countries are
likely to pass some kind of regulation
regarding cryptocurrencies. If you are
invested in cryptocurrencies, watching the
news regularly is a thing you should be
doing.
On the other hand, we live in a world where
people use VPNs just to access Netflix in
another country. It is safe to say that if you
want to join the metaverse, there will be a
way to do so. Banks are already starting to
explore blockchains and smart contracts. As
far as cryptocurrencies are concerned, they
are still a relatively new thing for the
mainstream, so it is normal for centralized
economies to adapt. You should be able to
take proper action to protect yourself as long
as you stay informed.
Other regulations might be trickier.
Currently, metaverses operate according to
their own rules. Governments have yet to
decide whether and to what extent they will
impose rules on them. Public officials have a
duty to protect society's well-being. As
metaverses become more popular and side
effects occur, they will want to take
appropriate action. This is an issue for the
distant future, so any discussion would be
pure speculation. Keeping up with the latest
developments is the only action to take.

Privacy and Safety

Perhaps you have heard the terms “data

mining” and “big data” before. As we enter
Web 3.0, those terms will be more important
than ever. With the invention of the internet,
data gathering is easier than ever. However,
that data creates an ocean of information, and
selecting the right dataset from that ocean is
akin to hunting the Moby Dick. That is where
data mining comes in. A data miner uses
artificial intelligence and statistics to analyze
data and uncover information that is useful to
them or to their customers.
Let's say you own a boutique that specializes
in prom dresses. The prom season is coming
and you want to sell as many dresses as
possible. As a smart business owner, you
decide that your target market is active on
social media, so that is where you should
advertise. The platform offers you a few
choices for your ad. The site lets you choose
female as the gender, 15 to 25 as the age
group, and your city as the geographic area
where your ad will appear. The reason social
media platforms are able to do this is because
we willingly give them our information.
When we accept their “terms of agreement,”
we allow them to use our data to be used in
advertisements. This is how they make
money, and we get to use their platform for
free. We actually sell our personal
information rather than pay a subscription fee
to use social media.
This is one of the reasons why Mark
Zuckerberg had to testify in Congress. The
CEO was accused of sharing Facebook’s user
data with others. The fact that several
whistleblowers came forward later, saying the
company was negligent if it did not benefit
them directly, did not help him either.
Therefore, Zuckerberg made sure that his
metaverse initiative began working with
NGOs right away to prevent future incidents
like this. He claims that safety and privacy
are top priorities in his metaverse efforts, but
not everyone is biting. Some people are
concerned about Facebook’s tainted privacy
policy finding its way into the metaverse.
When two parties are in disagreement,
everyone usually bears some of the blame.
Without a doubt, companies with huge
amounts of money behind them need to take
proper care of user privacy and safety.
However, the users themselves should also
take responsibility. Rather than scrolling
through terms of use pages as fast as we can,
we should educate ourselves about the
products we are using. The truth is, we have
no control over what tech giants do with our
data. What we do have control over is
choosing what information we share with
them. Everyone has a different view of what
is considered personal information. As a
metaverse user, think about your personal
boundaries and use your best judgment. As a
metaverse investor, however, more steps are
required.
It is crucial to be aware of these topics, since
Web 3.0 will revolve around machine
learning. Our data will be shared with
machines so that they can adapt to us.
Therefore, the subject of data mining will
remain relevant, particularly in relation to
government regulations. If you are
considering investing in the metaverse, make
sure you carefully review the terms of service
of the company first. What is their policy
regarding data gathering and third parties?
What does their blockchain look like? What
kind of protection does the metaverse have
against attacks? Do your homework before
investing in a company since these factors
can severely impact its stock value.

Dystopian Nightmare

A deeper philosophical root lies behind this

question about the metaverse. The topic is not
necessarily connected to business or
investment, but it is relevant for anyone who
wants to embrace Web 3.0. Some people and
organizations are worried about the
metaverse's potential to create a dystopian
future.
There is some science behind their argument.
You see, our perception of time works
differently in virtual environments. For
instance, it is very easy to lose track of time
when we are gaming, especially in virtual
worlds like World of Warcraft. Social media
has a similar effect on us. As such, there is a
concern that we will lose track of time in a
metaverse, which can lead to addiction and
mental illness. People have even suggested
that the world will descend into chaos, like in
the movie Ready Player One.
We should not let this unfounded fear of
science and technology get the better of us.
First of all, the metaverse pushing the world
into chaos is unrealistic considering 40% of
the world population is not even online yet
(Johnson, 2021). We also will not embrace
this technology overnight. Rather, we will
adopt it gradually, like we have in Web 2.0.
Secondly, data suggest that people are
already aware of this danger. Participants in a
Loup Funds survey were asked about the
repercussions of leaving reality behind. In the
survey, 88.1% of the participants expressed
positive initial feelings toward the metaverse,
and 69% said they would prefer to spend
large parts of their day in a virtual world if it
would provide a better experience than the
real world. Finally, when asked if the
metaverse scared them, 71.4% answered no
(Munster & Bocchicchio, 2019).
The interesting part is that, when asked what
scared them about the metaverse, participants
expressed concern about not being able to
distinguish virtual from reality. There was
also concern that people would lose touch
with real interpersonal relationships, making
them less resilient to real-life problems.
Looks like users are excited about the
metaverse while being aware of the risks.
This goes on to show that the metaverse is in
fact the next big thing, and humanity is ready
for it.
Conclusion
Research, development, and news in the
metaverse are growing at an exponential rate.
We are learning more and more every day. In
order to be a part of the metaverse, you must
follow these developments closely, preferably
on a daily basis. Those who stop learning, get
left behind. Here are some tips for getting up
to speed quickly and easily.
Metaverse coverage is starting to make its
way into mainstream media, but they have
focused mainly on ethical and hypothetical
topics. However, the mainstream media still
has a lot of influence over investors and big
business names. If you plan on investing in
stocks, it is in your best interest to follow
traditional media. Check technology columns
and finance pages regularly to see how the
traditional media is reacting to all of this. It
won't take long for you to find a few
columnists who resonate with you, and you
can start reading them frequently. You can
find these publications by typing ‘metaverse’
into the Google search bar and then clicking
on the news tab.
With regard to the technology side of the
metaverse, technology blogs will be our most
relevant source of news in the near future.
Many well-established tech blogs already
publish content about the metaverse. Find a
few that you like and follow them regularly.
One disadvantage of the blogosphere is that
its searchability is limited by the Google
algorithm. In order to reach some of the well-
written yet small blogs, you can subscribe to
RSS feeds or use tools like the BlogCatalog
or Blogging Buddy Networks.
Make sure you follow social media, as that is
where the conversation really happens. One
of the best places to see this is Facebook
groups. There are many small Facebook
groups where you can exchange tips and
thoughts on a variety of topics. Pick a few
that discuss the metaverse and Web 3.0, and
configure your notifications so that you
receive updates. Twitter is another way to
join the conversation, which continues to be a
hotspot for tech-savvy people. You can
maximize Twitter efficiency by creating lists
and following hashtags such as ‘metaverse’
and ‘web3.0’ regularly. Last but not least,
LinkedIn is an underrated platform that will
greatly assist you in your journey through the
metaverse. Build a network of people who
work in areas related to the metaverse, such
as gaming, finance, virtual reality, and social
media. Get a sense of where the market is
going by looking at what they are writing and
who they are following. Professional
interactions like these can lead to new
business opportunities in the future.
Keeping up with the news and following
developments is crucial. Your efforts will,
however, be in vain if you don't gain insight
from your research. As a result of reading this
book, you have already laid a solid
foundation. Don't let it end there; stay
informed about the foundation blocks we
discussed earlier. There are two reasons for
this: First of all, if you just follow the news,
you will get early-bird opportunities, but you
will never be the one creating them. Whether
you are trying to make your mark or achieve
financial success in the metaverse, you will
need to be at the forefront of the business
aspects discussed earlier. Second, if you have
no working knowledge of the technologies
associated with the metaverse, you will be
caught by surprise when things go wrong.
Consequently, your enterprise might be
overwhelmed, your stock market prospects
could be adversely affected, and your hard
work wasted.
Remember that people like Bill Gates, Jeff
Bezos, and Mark Zuckerberg came up with
innovative ideas because of their background
in technology. That is not to say it is
necessary to have prior experience or
education in tech; the key is to educate
yourself. Reading more books, listening to
podcasts, attending online seminars, and
purchasing e-courses that go in-depth about
each element of the metaverse are all great
options to help you.
Finally, keep in mind that the metaverse is
coming sooner rather than later. In order to be
successful in the metaverse, you need to jump
on the bandwagon earlier than most people.
Get a feel for which part of the metaverse
interests you the most, and plan accordingly.
As part of its preparations to enter the
metaverse, Nike has filed seven trademark
applications. You can follow their example. If
you already own a brand or company, getting
into the metaverse can be as simple as filing
trademark applications yourself. The same
applies to patenting your ideas. Incorporate
your metaverse business or finance idea into
a patent to create the ultimate passive income
stream.
When it comes to investing, get stocks early
on. Right now is the perfect time to buy
cheap stocks both in niche companies and in
tech giants. As the metaverse begins to take
shape, its value will only increase. Small
technology companies specializing in
artificial intelligence are a great bet if you're a
high-risk trader. If you want to stay safe,
invest in established companies and diversify
your portfolio instead.
Once the metaverse hits, content creation will
be king, just like it was in Web 2.0.
Becoming one of the first creators when there
is a limited choice will automatically put you
on the map. Nowadays, every company has a
digital marketing team that manages its blogs
and social media. In the early days of Web
2.0, however, big companies were quite
confused. Some dismissed Web 2.0 as a fad
among the youth, and some were simply too
large to make the switch quickly. They will
be better prepared to handle Web 3.0.
Nevertheless, individuals and small groups
have a great deal more flexibility when it
comes to adapting to new technologies. One
such individual can certainly be you.
We have now reached the end of our journey
together. You deserve a round of applause for
taking the initiative to learn more about the
metaverse. Wishing you good luck and
looking forward to meeting you one day in
the metaverse!
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