Wikipedia states that the Metaverse is a network of 3D virtual worlds; but that definition fails to yield a dominate, much less de facto example of one. The term itself was first popularized in the book Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson to represent the mass connectivity between people through wearable computers; an evolution of the Internet.
Related words, such as “metadata” were common terms used for decades on the Internet to refer to the creation of “information about information”, along with the controversies of who harvests it, uses it, controls it, sells it, and most importantly owns it. Enter a plethora of additional terms such as virtual reality, augmented reality, NFTs, cryptocurrency, decentralization, and it all gets more convoluted from there. It would simply be a mistake to say that the Metaverse is only about one of the aforementioned.
The Metaverse is not about buying virtual land in some obscure proprietary game or app.
Neither is it correct to say it is a particular game, application, or website. The Metaverse is not about buying virtual land in some obscure proprietary game or app. The Metaverse rhymes with universe for a reason; it implies something larger. The Metaverse shouldn’t cast aside all the of the current Internet and associated metadata with it or render it inaccessible.
Consequently, it is best to think of the Metaverse as being synonymous with the Internet and already here; to cast a solid foundation for a future and more useful Metaverse that can serve everyone. Representing all of that in an open, connected, 3D virtual world, is just the beginning of the true definition of the Metaverse.