Economy of [XR] What if the act of buying an item at a store automatically added a digital twin for your virtual avatar to use? Creating a digital twin of your assets you bought in the real world to then trade or use within the metaverse. Would this be a one way street that wouldn’t allow for the virtual items you purchase to appear on your door step? If we have to start purchasing items in our physical world and virtual worlds. What kind of social shift would this mean. Would only the wealthy be able to afford to enjoy the metaverse? How can someone afford to live a virtual life? If it is already difficult to maintain a physical existence, how would it be possible to afford the necessities to maintain a virtual presence? Our social classes are pretty evident within our daily lives. The type of job you have, the types of clothes you can afford, the car you drive if you can afford one. Even the food you can afford to eat or shop for can be used as a social signifier of your economic stability. One might assume that this would be different and not be able to be seen on line. However, as we begin to see the emerging market of NFT’s record sail prices on news headlines. Its clear there is already a shift in who is able to purchase and afford to participate and create. In the world of XR celebrities, artist, and the wealthy have everything to gain and are already buying up as many assets as they can in hopes it would gain value over time. Building their virtual portfolios and treasure troves. Where does that put those who are un able to buy even a small portion of virtual land? Metaverse: The origins. The word “metaverse” describes a fully realized digital world that exists beyond the one in which we live. It was coined by Neal Stephenson in his 1992 novel “Snow Crash,” and the concept was further explored by Ernest Cline in his 2011 novel “Ready Player One.” Within snow crash the author does a fairly accurate job in describing the functional aspects of metaverse and setting up the rules for how one would navigate the virtual landscape. For a time before cellphones were as light as they are or as able to navigate the internet from anywhere. Neal’s depictions guidelines/limits of avatars and the design of the metaverse can be seen in how we are currently showing and think of the metaverse. Though programers are the builders of the metaverse in this book there is an interesting display of equity amongst the avatars. There are base avatars that are fairly affordable generic models that users can use to enter the metaverse. If you have enough money or if you can write code then you can customize or upgrade to a better quality avatar.
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