For a long time, the metaverse has been the stuff of science fiction. But leaders of big tech corporations say not anymore. "Since the late 1970s and early 1980s, many of those in the technology community have imagined a future state of, if not quasi-successor to, the Internet – called the Metaverse," venture capitalist Matthew Ball wrote in his highly influential piece on this subject. But what is this metaverse, what sort of experiences does it provide, and when will it be ready are some of the questions many have. "The Metaverse has become the newest macro-goal for many of the world’s tech giants," Ball wrote in his January 2020 piece. Since then a lot has happened in this space. Most recently, Mark Zuckerberg told The Verge in an interview that the future of Facebook is building the metaverse, and a few days later the social media giant set up a separate project group for this endeavor. The metaverse is no longer the stuff of science fiction, it is real and it is happening. Hence, it's time we start learning what it's all about. What is the metaverse? The metaverse is many things, but one thing it is not: easy to explain. But, by the end of this post, you will walk away with a much better idea of what the metaverse is, even though you might not be able to explain the same to someone else. History of the term: The term metaverse was first coined in Neal Stephenson's 1992…
