In Trend #5: How to use virtual spaces and the metaverse in your business, the final segment of her six-part series on The 5 Social Media Trends That Will Shape the Industry in 2023, Zoetica Media founder Kami Huyse talks about the metaverse and why she believes it holds great promise for businesses.
The metaverse goes back quite a ways, when Second Life first entered the scene in 2003. “Second Life is where I started to get involved with the metaverse,” says Kami. “I would hold meetups there… and we would talk about social media and marketing and the juxtaposition between that and PR and all those different communications fields.”
The Meta-verse is a Multi-verse
Today “there is no one set metaverse, but rather a variety, spanning multiple platforms,” reports Wired. XR Today explains that virtual reality and augmented reality are both “technologies that overlay or replace physical environments with virtual content… AR enhances surroundings by incorporating digital components into live view, VR is an experience that replaces the actual world with a computer-generated simulation.”
Kami believes that despite all the rumblings that “the metaverse is over,” it’s here to stay. She argues that for businesses, there are solid benefits to using this technology.
“Some people are using virtual environments to meet together,” she explains. “You can feel like you’re in the room with somebody but not feel like they’re looking over your shoulder” like you might with video conferencing platforms like Zoom.
Some teams are also conducting sales presentations for their prospective clients. “It’s kind of like going to a booth at a trade show,” she says. Even medical professionals are taking advantage of this technology. “I know of a plastic surgeon who is using a virtual environment to meet with potential clients [before they] fly in to get their procedures from all over the world.”
The More You Know… Before You Go
Even tasks that have traditionally required in-person attention can benefit. Inspections are one such example. Rather than requiring a technical specialist to travel from location to location to conduct equipment or site inspections, immersive environments now offer the opportunity to do this remotely. “Maybe you have to go out there later if you see a problem, but you don’t have to go every single time you have an inspection or [have to] look at something. Industry is using it to save a lot of money and to bring subject matter experts right into the field right from their desks,” Kami explains.
Watch Kami’s livestream to see her walk through use examples featuring:
• Spatial
• Kiber
“There’s just an entire spectrum [of uses ranging from] healthcare, industry, sales, co-working, virtual meetings, advertising. I do not think it’s going away,” she says.
Virtual and augmented reality are “going to be a part of what we have in our future, so when we talk about trends, we need to think about this as marketers, as communicators – how can we put this into our toolkit of what we use for clients and for our customers and for our employers,” Kami urges.
Six-part Series on The 5 Social Media Trends That Will Shape the Industry in 2023
• Overview: The 5 Social Media Trends
• Trend 1: Creative Professionals, Get Ready For the Artificial Intelligence Takeover
• Trend 2: Which Social Media Platforms to Use for Business in 2023
• Trend 3: Tips for Creating Attention-Grabbing Short-Form Videos the Easy Way
• Trend 4: Why You Should Offer Virtual Shopping For Your Business, Even If You’re in the Services Business
• Trend 5: Virtual Spaces Are Taking Business to a New Level