Meet the metaverse

Have you experienced the metaverse? It’s being hyped as yet another next big thing. Supposedly all the forward-looking companies are gravitating toward metaverses. Is yours? Should it?

IBM files a patent for metaverse

Along with the metaverse comes the Metaverse Continuum. According to those supposedly in the know, it describes a spectrum of digitally enhanced worlds and business models that are poised to revolutionize life and the enterprise in the next decade. I’ve been following this most, but admittedly they lost me when they started referencing realities. Haven’t a clue what they might mean by realities.  

Maybe this can clarify things. “It applies to all aspects of business, from consumer to worker and across the enterprise; from reality to virtual and back; from 2D to 3D; and from cloud and artificial intelligence to extended reality, blockchain, digital twins, edge technologies, and beyond. Sort of includes everything but the kitchen sink. Wait, maybe that’s included too. What they really are saying is that metaverse can be whatever marketers want to imagine it to be and can sell.

But one thing is clear simply by the hazy hype: A large company, probably a recognized industry leader, is going to offer you a compelling pitch for whatever it calls a metavarse and then ask you for a lot of money to participate. That should be your cue to steer them to the door.

More recently  Metaverse Continuum has appeared. According to its link: the metaverse is a spectrum of digitally enhanced worlds and business models. As they explain it, metaverses will revolutionize nearly all aspects of business in the next decade, allowing collaboration in virtual spaces, augmented physical places, and a blend of both. And it will enable new lines of business while transforming interactions between customers and companies. If you believe this there is a famous statue of a lady standing in New York harbor that I would be happy to sell you for a fraction of what they will be asking

In the technology industry change is a given. So in reviewing all the metaverse baloney out there I found only one statement that smacked as containing  kernel of truth: businesses are aiming toward a future different from the one they were designed to operate in. OK, look back on your career. How many times could you have said something similar. As noted earlier: tech change happens all the time.

You and your business will be facing changes different from those you were expecting to face 10 years ago, 5 years ago, 2 years ago, or maybe just 2 weeks ago. Change happens quickly and relentlessly. You have to decide which changes  seem worth pursuing and which are worth skipping. My gut: most are worth skipping.  

Soon, every company will find itself at the intersection of many new worlds as it has done many times before, from building new physical and virtual realities to buying into metaverse environments created by others. Of course you can always not opt for any of them. If you don’t hear a compelling case at an attractive price, skip it. With technology change there will always be the next thing coming along. 

To grow and thrive in this new and fast-changing world the strategies organizations develop now must have key capabilities at their core: ownership of data, broad inclusion, diversity, sustainability, security and personal safety.

Tomorrow we might see these initiatives grow into smart neighborhoods, cities, and countries, or not. Major companies will have their own internal metaverses to let employees work and interact from anywhere. Hmm, I thought they could do that now without metaverses.

We are only in the earliest days of the metaverse. Those who shy away from the uncertainties of the metaverses will soon be operating in worlds defined by others. Of course, you could cobble one to your liking on your own or with a couple selected like-minded partners. Or just wait until better possibilities come along at better prices. Remember, technology change happens constantly.

So what are you going to do about metaverses? DancingDinosaur is instinctively conservative and skeptical at first. I would suggest you do nothing other than read whatever you can about metaverses that interests you. Watch how things develop, compare notes with companies you consider peers, and resi

st being rushed into anything. There will always be another opportunity.

Alan Radding is DancingDinosaur, a veteran information technology analyst, writer, and ghostwriter. Follow DancingDinosaur on Twitter, @mainframeblog.