The metaverse represents a digital revolution
A digital revolution is upon us and so many new jobs and virtual industries are in the process of being formed.
“Virtual architect / Metaverse city planner / Blockchain developer / NFT heritage consultant / AI advertising / digital engineer. These jobs could all exist sooner than we think.”
Last week Mark Zuckerberg announced #Facebook would be rebranding as #META. Think what you want about the idea of an omnipresent #Metaverse, but it’s coming and with Facebook going all in, it shows the massive investment in the idea of a digital world.
Years ago, I remember thinking that no one could make a living off a video sharing website and then #YouTube showed this wasn’t just possible but is now a totally viable career path, the same with #Instagram & #facebook.
You go back even further and the idea that a website only company could exist seemed crazy, and then #Netflix and #Amazon have become some of the most recognisable brands in the world and dominate their respective industries.
“#blockchain, #NFT, #cryptocurrency. To some these are relative new ideas, but they have been growing and evolving for years and they form the foundations of a totally digital eco system.”
So how can we take advantage of this?
Well soon this could be an opportunity to help promote our physical environments. In the same way that cities are currently using social media data to understand where the most popular places are and invest accordingly, cities should look to create virtual counterparts that people in the Metaverse can explore. A sort of digital twin 2.0
But looking even further, there is going to be a much wider digital revolution. One that will combine modern game design, with virtual city design all overlapped with the next Generation of young talented designers who want to work anywhere in the virtual and physical world.
“It’s not a crazy idea, but a real alternative career path to create and sell completely digital assets from anywhere in the world.”
Can architects take advantage of this and transform our digital worlds in the same way we create physical worlds? Can developers and investors own parts of a virtual landscape in the same way they do physical environments? Can consultants advise on virtual cities in the same way they do real ones? Will all this take place in a metaverse?
It really feels that the convergence of remote working, cloud storage, digital currencies and virtual worlds are all coming together to create a wild west that will shape the way we work and live over the next 10 years and beyond.