Metaverse and Web3: Digital Ownership and Immersive Experiences

Metaverse and web3: digital ownership and immersive experiences

Overview

Where is the internet heading as we step to the “other side of the screen”? In this MERGE Madrid talk, Numen Games walks through the history of the internet (web1, web2 and web3) and explains what the metaverse is, why digital ownership was the missing piece, and how augmented, virtual and mixed reality and gamification are shaping the 3D internet.

What you'll learn

• From web1 to web3: from the mouse and hyperlinks to touch, video and immersive experiences
• Digital ownership: why almost everything today is a service and how to know something is really yours
• Custody vs. non-custody: the difference between owning a digital asset and depending on a platform
• AR, VR and mixed reality: devices, use cases and why mixed reality is gaining ground
• Adoption cycles: the “winters” of the metaverse and AI and how to read the curve
• Gamification and community: tribes, brands and experiences in virtual worlds

Session summary

A still-early revolution: it argues that the digital revolution is still “in black and white and without sound”, in its first steps, and invites us to view it with informed optimism, learning from earlier revolutions such as the second industrial revolution.

The history of the internet: it reviews the origin of the web (the protocols created with European public funding and released into the public domain), the leap to the web2 of social media and video, and the arrival of web3 as a step “to the other side of the screen” toward immersive experiences.

Digital ownership: it argues that in the digital world almost everything is a service (software, films and music you do not own) and that the missing piece was digital ownership; you know something is yours if you can sell, rent, give away, lose it or have it stolen, which is what blockchain enables.

Custody and digital assets: it distinguishes between holding your own assets and delegating their custody (for example, to a bank), and prefers the terms “digital goods” or “digital assets” over NFT, with examples such as verifiable certificates on the blockchain.

Immersive technologies: it explains augmented reality (adding information over the real world), virtual reality (a fully immersive environment) and mixed reality (the user decides how much immersion), reviewing devices and use cases in medicine or aeronautics.

Cycles, tribes and gamification: it describes the adoption curve and the “winters” of the metaverse and AI, the communities or “tribes” that build their virtual spaces, and the role of gamification and brands, with a warning: much of the space is noise and it pays to research calmly and be wary of anonymity.

Watch the full talk

Watch the full recording on MERGE's YouTube channel, with Numen Games on the metaverse, digital ownership and immersive experiences.

FAQs

What is the metaverse or 3D internet?
According to the talk, it is the evolution of the internet toward immersive experiences “on the other side of the screen”, with features such as immersion, interoperability, persistence and digital assets.

What is digital ownership and why does it matter?
It is the ability to truly own a digital asset (to sell, give away or lose it), the piece that, according to the talk, was missing in an internet dominated by services.

What is the difference between augmented, virtual and mixed reality?
Augmented reality adds information over the real world, virtual reality is fully immersive, and mixed reality lets the user decide how much immersion they want.

Is this investment advice?
No. This content is informational and summarizes what was presented in the talk; it does not constitute investment advice. The talk itself recommends researching calmly and carefully.