I am annoyed that most people think of the metaverse within defined platforms like Facebook Meta, or for that matter any competing software, when in reality it is supposed to be a ubiquitous digital ecosystem.

Pick your poison the red pill or the blue, this is a nice way to demonstrate that different platforms or options enable access to what is being described as the metaverse.

Think of it like this, in the early to mid 90’s we had CompuServe and AOL among others to access the internet, how long did these unique platforms last before it just became the internet? Perhaps around 5 years at least up until Microsoft’s Internet Explorer, Netscape Navigator etc. provided an alternate means to access the internet and basically changed the way we used it, and around the same time search engines also gained traction, thereby giving birth to companies like Google.

CompuServe and AOL etc. in the 90’s were like what Facebook Meta is today, and its fair to say that most other platforms from other companies competing in this emerging technology space are just all variants of the same type of thing, accessible by different computing platforms whether it is AR/VR/MR or Mobile.

A lot of the marketing hype and the folks talking about the metaverse at the moment are simply drinking from the Kool-Aid…

In previous years we have heard XR Industry, among other catch phrases thrown around, and these were the alternatives and now the clique of influencers has settled upon metaverse.

Influencers in this space are just a whole bunch of bandwagoners who frankly need to keep rebranding just to hide the general lack of results that the emerging tech industry has experienced since the hype train started off about a decade ago. These folks should not be considered ‘thought leaders’ they have not accomplished much in the way of creating transformational change to humanity as a whole, if anything the very best title you could give them is perhaps educators of new tech since that is what they are attempting to do, but seldom does anyone ask how success is measured for the delivery of that education.

Before someone complains about why I say lack of results, let me be clear right now as it stands in AR/VR/MR etc. what we have to work with is a number of different devices working on a number of different software architectures to essentially access the same type of content.

Most of the books written by multiple different ‘so called celebrity influencers’ within this space are simply reworded copies of every other bit of literature out there lacking any real uniqueness. An understanding of the superficial rather than the transformational intelligence which is required to create a true metaverse and be a catalyst for change.

A small percentage of folks like to make noise in the emerging tech industry and seem to think their special, talking on panels at big shows.

A larger percentage of actual industry experts who frankly have no time for these shows are actually trying to solve problems, build solutions using the emerging technologies that are being engineered.

Companies that are correctly investing into Industry 4.0 initiatives and have a deep understanding of how many emerging technologies work together also understand that it will take time for the majority of businesses to adopt these changes and make the required investments. It is one challenge to get business to transform and this process does take time, it is another challenge to get entire industries to transform and adopt new tech, and only after that do we see some kind of impact on society as a whole.

The sad thing is that emerging technology industries are a wash with marketing propaganda, terms come and go as quickly as seasons. While folks are currently stuck on the idea that the terminology of metaverse will account for all the different types of emerging tech.

I will emphasize yet again that the goal here is not to measure superficial interactions using numerous devices and software to access a content rich internet on steroids which is currently described as the metaverse, but instead it is to seamlessly integrate the data which transforms and improves the way we as humanity live adding value to every aspect of our lives naturally not intrusively and this is best described not as the metaverse but instead as ubiquitous computing.

Metaverse, just another buzz word! was originally published in AR/VR Journey: Augmented & Virtual Reality Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.