Steemit Crypto Academy Contest / S3W1 - The Metaverse by @temitopef
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Hello Steemians. I am very happy that season 3 of the engagement challenge is here and having the opportunity to write in the crypto academy again is a great joy for me. The topic that was given to us in this contest is something I have heard about before but I haven't studied it very well, this contest has helped me to research more and I will be writing on the topic.
Define your understanding of the Metaverse. What has the Metaverse aimed to achieve? Is Metaverse here fully with us yet?
Metaverse simply means the connection between the physical world and the virtual space that gives an individual the opportunity to own resources or properties in the virtual world just like in the real world to perform their day-to-day activities. Metaverse was said to have been an idea first developed in a science-fiction novel titled Snow Crash by Neil Stephenson.
Furthermore, it can be likened to the internet that allows everyone to surf different websites they wish to, and the gateway to do this is the browser, in the case of Metaverse, it's made known that users in the real world can have their avatars in the virtual world and carry out different activities like leaving the house for their offices, attending meetings, having lunch, managing their investments, getting back home to perform other activities like gaming and many others.
Wikimedia Commons
The beauty of the activities in the Metaverse I have listed above is that they can be performed in a place without using different browsers, you know in real life to get to your physical office, you have to transport yourself from the house which takes you away for some time but these activities in the Metaverse is carried out from a unique place. Going to the office in the Metaverse, investing, going for lunch, attending business meetings and many others takes place from a single Metaverse platform.
Furthermore, a lot of companies have been investing to bring Metaverse into reality among which we have, Google, Shopify, Roblox, Tinder, Meta, and many others. Meta, formally known as Facebook is a very important one to note as many people believed the company changed its name to Meta being one of the powerful companies pushing for the success of Metaverse.
What has the Metaverse aimed to achieve?
I pretty well understand that there are a lot of things that brought about the development of Metaverse and I will list the aims of the Metaverse as the question asked us to do.
Is Metaverse here fully with us yet?
My answer to this question is NO, even though we have many 3D platforms that exhibit some of the features expected in the Metaverse yet they haven't been able to make it a complete Metaverse. For this reason, we have only been seeing some features of Metaverse in many 3D platforms, the Metaverse is not fully here for now, some research studies believed we may have it around fully in the year 2040.
State the technologies that can be utilized to achieve Security, Ownership, and others in the Metaverse. In your own words, how are the technologies going to be utilized to achieve security and ownership? (Include any components of the technologies that would be of great advantage to the development of Metaverse)
The development of the Metaverse will require many resources and technologies put together to achieve the perfect aim of the Metaverse. Security and ownership are great things to consider to help everyone the sole owner of their properties in the Metaverse and guarantee their security. Let me list some of the technologies I expect to be of good contribution to the Metaverse.
Other Technologies that would be useful in the Metaverse are IoT (Internet of things), Augmented Reality, Virtual Reality, and many others.
IoT: The Internet of Things is a technology that has been around for some time now which helps an individual to remotely control home or office accessories without physical contact, an example of this is when one can be able to switch on or off the lights in a house by just clapping, that's IoT. This technology will be very useful in the Metaverse, I can easily say "to the office" in the Metaverse, and the next thing is to find myself at the office or en route office (transportation by car or others).
Augmented Reality: Augmented reality is a technology that helps to present the virtual world as real, many people believe using this in the Metaverse will make it more like the actual world and make the development more reasonable and successful.
Virtual Reality: Through virtual reality devices, individuals can connect with other users in the Metaverse to attend business meetings, events, dates, and many others, with their avatars interacting with the avatars of other people in the Metaverse. It will be a good technology for the development of the Metaverse.
How are the technologies going to be utilized to achieve security and ownership?
I have listed two technologies that I believe will be useful to achieve security and ownership in the Metaverse and they are Blockchain and Cryptography. It's not easy to differentiate between these two technologies most times because they are mostly used together and that case is in cryptocurrency.
Blockchain: Blockchain is a technology that has helped in the decentralized storage of data in a way that it is hard or nearly impossible for hackers to change the data stored on it. It has also promoted transparency in a way that users' transaction history can be seen and it improves traceability.
Pixahive
The use of blockchain in Metaverse will ensure that data of users on Metaverse is stored securely in a way that no one can edit them and users can check the blocks anytime to see the details of their transactions with other people in the Metaverse.
Cryptography: Cryptography is the technology that is used for secure communication and making transactions between users using different types of keys (like the private keys) in a way that only the one that has the key of an account can authorize a transaction or decode information, this technology is well used in cryptocurrency.
Wikimedia Commons
Cryptography will be very useful in the Metaverse for the security of properties of users as no one would have access to them if they don't have the keys to an empire in the Metaverse, in the same way only users that own a property in the Metaverse can sign transactions with other business partners. Cryptography will go a long way to achieve security and proof of ownership in the Metaverse.
Components of Blockchain and Cryptography for Security and Ownership in Metaverse
Private Keys: Private keys will be useful in Metaverse for secure communication and adding digital signatures among parties that are involved in a transaction. It will also keep owners of properties in total control of their assets as no one can access them without their authorization.
Cryptocurrency: Cryptocurrency will be a useful asset for trading in the Metaverse, you know this is a virtual world where fiat currencies may not be considered, cryptocurrency is a virtual currency and it will go a long way for exchange (buying or selling or paying for services) between traders in the Metaverse.
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs): These are other standards of tokens which is tokenized on the blockchain to maintain a unique identity to only one owner, this has helped many users to protect their works and it will be useful on the Metaverse where properties belonging to a user is tokenized and has his or her identity, secured by cryptography as no one can steal it away unless the user gave his or her access (private keys) away.
Do we have any Gamification developments that look like the Metaverse? Discuss any two protocols and how they work
First of all, gamification can be defined as one of the ways gaming elements are improvised to encourage more participation through improved gameplay, appearance, incentivization, and many others. There have been many gamification developments in the game industry in recent years that are built on top of the blockchain and reward people for their gaming activities. Let me list some of the platforms below.
The developments in gamification that resembles the Metaverse are more than the list I have given above and out of the ones above, I will talk about Upland and Axie Infinity.
Upland
Upland is a gaming platform that is built on top of the EOS blockchain and released in the year 2018. It's a real estate game that allows users on the platform to buy and sell virtual properties (lands, streets and many others) mapped to a real address in the real world. The properties are NFTs that have been tokenized on the blockchain to have a unique identity.
On Upland, the players are called uplanders who can buy properties using fiat or cryptocurrency. The properties can be worked on to improve its worth and sold out to other uplanders when the user wants to make a profit while playing the game on the blockchain. This is related to what the Metaverse is aimed at, managing properties in the virtual world and monetizing them later but Upland is not a Metaverse per se.
Furthermore, Upland supports PayPal for withdrawal of profits made by users on the platform, and Upland is often called 'real economy' on the blockchain because it allows people to make real money through virtual investments.
How Upland Works
Uplanders can buy and sell, in other words trade properties (land) in the game environment, these properties are NFTs that have been tokenized and owned by a person alone. The native token of Upland is UPX. There are color codes of parcels for different types of properties on Upland and I will explain them below.
Aforementioned color codes for parcels guide an uplander that is willing to buy a property showing the type of asset and its availability for sale.
How to Create an Account on Upland
To create an account on the upland, one will visit play.upland.me/signup and choose to sign up.
Sign up Screenshot from Upland
I entered my username, email address, and password. I clicked sign up and verified that I am not a robot, a verification mail was sent to me and I confirmed my sign-up.
Sign up Screenshot from Upland
On a street, I clicked on a property owned by an uplander, and by clicking on offer, I can make my intention of buying known to the user.
Screenshot of an Uplander on Upland
Screenshot of an Uplander's property details on Upland
Axie Infinity
Axie Infinity is another NFT-based video game that is built on the Ronin network which is a side-chain Ethereum network, the game was developed by Sky Mavis. Axie Infinity is a pet based game, each pet is an NFT and that makes them unique to a game player, the pets battle and competes against each other and come back with different collectibles.
The collectibles obtained by these creatures from the battles become the property of the player that owns the pets and they can easily be sold to other game players later. This is related to the Metaverse, where players can breed pets in the virtual world and use them to make money in battles. In real life, people from my country use rams to fight against each other and earn money, this has just been taken to the virtual world.
Furthermore, for players to buy Axies on the platform, they may have to consider some things like Axie stats, Axie classes, Axie genes, Smooth love potion, Axie body types, and many others. These features aim to make sure a player has the best Axie that can compete against others to earn rewards. This is one of the ways gamification has presented an opportunity for people to make money in games, we should be expecting things like this in the Metaverse.
What are the Pros and Cons of Metaverse? Do you believe in the future of the Metaverse? Discuss
Pros of Metaverse
More Earning Opportunities: Metaverse will increase the different means users can leverage to earn extra income for themselves. The virtual economy will be a great benefit as many users would use it and as time goes on not many would care about unemployment in the real world.
Cutting down Barriers: Metaverse will cut down international barriers that may tend to hinder people from connecting with each other and with this like-minds can connect through the Metaverse without any limitation and that could mean a friendship that would change the world.
Trigger Crypto Adoption: Many people in the world are not sure about the future of cryptocurrency at this moment, and they believe cryptocurrency is a scam. When the Metaverse arrives fully, people will get to understand better the power of cryptocurrency and this will increase its adoption.
Promote Remote Work: Many people in the world have been working remotely before but the Metaverse that has different virtual activities people can go into will help more to understand that it's possible to work from home effectively and have increased overall efficiency.
Cons of Metaverse
Addiction: Metaverse will produce many addicts that would lose interest in the real world and focus on the virtual world, this will affect many relationships and if care is not taken, it will lead to separations among families and relatives.
Mental Health Issues: There might be a loss of connection between an individual and the real world because they have been immersed in the virtual space, we can then see many mental issues due to less sleeping time and addiction might cause one to behave extremely different to the rest of the physical world.
Loss of Morals: Being involved too much in the virtual world will lead to a loss of morals among individuals as they are liable to find the practices of the real world unfit for them any longer and in this way they might choose to do things their way which may cause a serious loss of morals that would affect those that are closer to them.
Online Crime Surge: When the Metaverse fully arrives, it would lead to more scams online as cyber criminals would leverage the people's focus on the Metaverse to attack unsuspecting individuals that may tend to fall for their tricks. Those years would be a time to be very careful online.
Do you believe in the future of the Metaverse? Discuss
Oh Yes, I believe in the future of Metaverse. I have many reasons for believing in its future, considering the number of funds the companies I mentioned at the beginning of my post has pumped into the project shows how serious and willing the world is about Metaverse in bringing it fully to us.
Furthermore, we have seen a lot of models in recent years like Play-to-Earn, Move-to-Earn, Listen-to-Earn, and many others where people can virtually manage pets, breed them and make money, jogging/running and make money with their steps. All these are some of the things the Metaverse wants to achieve. Example of a Move-to-Earn model can be seen in STEPN where users walk with virtual NFTs sneakers and earn GMT or GST tokens for exercising.
So, the Metaverse is here with us but not fully yet. I can't see all of these things and do not agree that Metaverse has a future. I am so sure of the future of Metaverse and I believe in it.
Conclusion
Metaverse wants the real world to be engaged in the virtual world to leverage technology for a better economy by performing all activities of the real world in the Metaverse. Blockchain and cryptography will play a huge role in the development of the Metaverse alongside other technologies.
Metaverse is inevitable, it's coming and would become the new trend in some years' time. Thank you to @crypto-academy for this topic that has allowed me to research more seriously about Metaverse. This is where I will be stopping for now.
Well deserving score line, love how you illustrated the uplander metaverse, quite a good project description.
Thank you for reading and appreciating my post on the Metaverse.
What a great post! I love it so much that I gave it to my hubby to read. Thank you for sharing and the great effort you have put in!
I could not help to wonder how many words you have written. 😊
Thank you for the invite. It was not easy but I can say, I did it! 💪🏻
https://steemit.com/hive-108451/@patjewell/steemit-crypto-academy-contest-s3w1-the-metaverse-by-patjewell
Aww 💕. I'm very much happy that you love my post on this contest and I hope your husband love the post too. Your words are enough to encourage me to do more research in the next contests that will be organized here. Thank you for stopping by.
He did! (•ิ‿•ิ)
Good to know that 😊
Wow !!!
This is a wonderful write up.
Learnt a whole lot , pardon me had to take screenshots so i could research later on.
Thank you for stopping by. You can take the screenshots to learn more, we all learn together from the web and within ourselves.
Thank you
You have done a well detail work here, wow. Great job my friend. We might be very comfortable with coming of metaverse, I not ooooh. This technology still play around with the aspect of personal data, most of the uers information are in the hands of the cooperations. If this aspect can be worked on, then it will be a plus to it.
I also read about it that privacy would be one of the cons of the Metaverse but I hope they will find the right technology to use to prevent the risk of users' personal data misuse before the Metaverse is fully developed. Thanks for stopping by on my post today.
wow. i'm impressed with you work. i am so happy to have a tech lady like you. i never knew much about meterverse but you have killed it. thank you. ur work is great.
I'm very happy that you love my post about the Metaverse, I don't know much about it before until this contest helped me to research further about it. Thank you for stopping by.
You have done a great job here. I wonder the energy you've put in to write. Welldone.
Thank you for your sweet comment on my post. This contest allows me to research and learn more about this topic. It took me two days to complete researching and writing on Metaverse.
I know. It's very technical and deep. I know nothing about tech, but im thinking about how to come up with something nice. It's worth a huge reward if the contest holder want to really appreciate the energy put in and the hard work involved. More blessing.
Hello friend I most say that you are a good writer and lover of Technology from the way you have discussed about metaverse it show that you so much love Technology thank you for sharing.
Awww 💕. Thank you for loving my post in the contest, it takes days of research but I'm very happy that I can come up with this. Thanks for stopping by.
You are right but the issue with these companies is that they are going to monopolise the metaverse which is not good for Meta .
Besides mental health , we are likely to compromise our physical health also . Sitting too long , eating less , lesser sleep will promote a sedentary life style which is deleterious for health .
Nice to go through your informative post .
Physical health is also one of the cons truly, addiction would lead to most of the points you listed, sitting too long, eating less and many others. I agree with you this is one of the disadvantages we should be expecting in Metaverse. Thanks for stopping by.
Honestly, metaverse is going to bring so much changes in the aspect of Communication. Thank you so much for sharing.
Metaverse will truly bring many changes. Thanks for stopping by.