A Women in CX Guide to Customer Experience and the Metaverse
Guide to Web3 and Metaverse Terms
By Anna Noakes Schulze, Digital Experience Strategist.
This guide is a companion piece to the Inspiring Women in CX podcast episode, The Future of Web3, CX and the Metaverse.
Below you’ll find the most important keywords and terms to help you make sense of the next-generation internet and the immersive virtual worlds that we call the metaverse.
The metaverse was first mentioned by name in the 1992 sci-fi novel Snow Crash, by Neal Stephenson. Snow Crash describes a computer-generated, networked 3D virtual world where characters can escape from their dystopian reality. The metaverse of Snow Crash is more than just a game, though. It’s also a place where the characters seek resources, empowerment and connection that they frequently leverage in the offline world as well.
Three decades later, the metaverse is inching closer to becoming reality thanks to a convergence of technologies, behaviours and uses driving the development of comprehensive virtual worlds.
Matthew Ball, author of the Metaverse Primer offers this detailed description of the metaverse as:
“an expansive network of persistent, real-time rendered 3D worlds and simulations that support continuity of identity, objects, history, payments, and entitlements, and can be experienced synchronously by an effectively unlimited number of users, each with an individual sense of presence.”
The metaverse is sometimes confused with Web3 but they are not the same. Web3 is a decentralized, blockchain-enabled iteration of the Internet. It’s the infrastructure that will enable the virtual worlds that comprise the metaverse. This next evolution of the Internet involves multiple converging technologies including 5G, blockchains, crypto and extended reality tools.
Read on to find out more about the need-to-know technologies and standards that will make up the world of Web3 and the metaverse.
Blockchain and Crypto Technologies
Altcoin is a portmanteau or umbrella term combining the words “alternative” and “coin” that originally meant any new cryptocurrency providing an alternative to Bitcoin. Speculative altcoins with little value or reason for existing are also known as Shitcoins.
Blockchain is a nifty concept that is key to the decentralised nature of Web3. In contrast to centralised databases which can be hacked, the blockchain is a kind of shared, distributed, immutable public ledger. How it works is that transactions are recorded as a block of data. Each block is securely linked to the blocks before and after it via cryptography. This creates an irreversible chain that certifies the exact timing and sequence of transactions. Each successive block confirms the prior block’s verification and therefore the entire blockchain from inception up to the present. It’s almost impossible to tamper with the blockchain. Once the data has been entered it can’t be changed. That’s immutability.
Bitcoin was the first cryptocurrency to appear in 2009. Now there are as many as 2,000 others, notably Ethereum, which gave rise to hugely popular innovations like NFTS, DAOs and smart contracts.
Crypto is short for cryptocurrency, a blockchain-based digital currency that doesn’t rely on governance by any central authority such as a government or central bank. Crypto is also known as digital tokens or coins.
DAO is a Decentralized Autonomous Organization governed by smart contracts on the blockchain. They are groups of people with common goals who pool their money to achieve these goals in a non-hierarchical way. In a DAO, no one is authorised to spend money without the group's approval. All payments have to be approved by vote before being executed by the smart contract. Members of the DAO acquire proposal rights and voting privileges when they buy the DAO’s native token. Decisions are made collectively by the token holders rather than a CEO or board. DAOs allow communities to be owned by their members and incentivize them to make the DAO successful.
Dapp is a decentralized application constructed on the blockchain. They can operate autonomously, according to the terms of smart contracts. Dapps are designed to provide various kinds of function or utility.
Decentralised refers to a system (like the blockchain) that is not controlled by any central authority such as an individual, corporation, government or other entity.
DeFi or decentralised finance, means a fully distributed financial system built on the blockchain that is not governed by any centralized authority, such as a central bank or government.
Fungible Tokens, like Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, are non-unique and interchangeable units of value. Each Bitcoin has the same value as every other Bitcoin. (Compare with Non-Fungible Tokens below.)
Minting is the process of creating an NFT by registering a digital asset on the blockchain.
Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) are unique digital assets that can hold value, like photography, art, music, videos or even memes. In gaming environments, NFTs can be avatars, skins, clothes, tools, weapons, etc. In every case, the NFT is the digital item plus verifiable proof of ownership stored on the blockchain. In contrast to fungible tokens, like Bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies, each NFT has a unique value as agreed between buyer and seller.
On-Chain can mean either data that exists on the blockchain or digital transactions taking place on the blockchain.
Private key is the alphanumeric code used to access a crypto wallet and authorize transactions of the wallet holdings, whether blockchain-based assets or cryptocurrency. Private keys must be kept secure to prevent fraud or theft of assets in the wallet.
Public key is the alphanumeric code that identifies a particular wallet and works just like a bank account number. The public key allows other users to send crypto assets directly to your wallet.
Smart Contracts are basically if-then programs that run automatically on the blockchain when certain defined pre-conditions are met. This saves time and the need for intermediaries to process transactions. For example, a smart contract could be programmed to release the door code for your new apartment as soon as you’ve paid your security deposit. They can also be used to trigger automatic workflows in enterprise settings. This improves speed and efficiency while providing complete transparency of the completed transactions.
Tokenomics is a portmanteau or umbrella term combining the words “token” and “economics.” Tokenomics refers to the many aspects of a virtual currency that can cause its market value to fluctuate.
Wallet is an application that stores and protects the keys to blockchain-based assets, currencies and accounts. There are two main categories of wallet, custodial (held by a third party such as a crypto exchange) and non-custodial (held by the owner).
Immersive Technologies
Digital Twin is a dynamic, virtual representation of a real-world physical object or system used for simulations, modelling, testing, monitoring and maintenance purposes.
Extended Reality (XR) is an umbrella term that covers all possible combinations and uses of real and virtual environments. It helps us to share experiences, collaborate and create intentional experiences for customers.
Augmented Reality (AR) contrasts with VR in the sense that it is not immersive. Rather, it adds a digital layer to a live view from a smartphone or tablet camera. Some familiar examples of this include Pokemon Go or Snapchat filters and lenses. Retailers could use AR to offer additional, dynamic brand content, stage product demonstrations and give consumers a chance to experience a product before purchase.
Avatar is a digital representation of your virtual self in the metaverse, virtual worlds, VR applications, video games, etc. Avatars can be realistic representations of the user or incorporate fantasy elements as desired.
Mixed Reality (MR) blends elements of both AR and VR so that physical and digital objects are able to co-exist in real time. This allows users to interact with virtual and real objects in combination.
Virtual Reality (VR) is what we normally associate with our idea of the metaverse. It means an immersive 3D computer-generated environment that you can explore and interact with. With today’s technology, this requires some kind of head-mounted device like the Oculus Rift. VR has gotten extremely popular through gaming but it has a huge impact in other sectors as well. VR can be used for teaching and learning, rehearsing skills, demonstrating products and services, virtual tours and even recruitment.
Internet Iterations
Web 1.0 (1990-2003) was the first iteration of the internet connecting us to information. Also known as the World Wide Web or the Information Superhighway, Web 1.0 featured primarily one-way communication, little interaction, and brochure websites. The Web 1.0 era established the information economy.
Web 2.0 (2004-2020) was the second iteration of the internet connecting us to information and people in a two-way flow of communication. Web 2.0 gave rise to social media platforms (the social web), user-generated content, influencer marketing, and creating and driving conversations. Major problems include the exploitation of user data and major privacy violations by most of the big social media platforms. Tech companies became incredibly powerful by leveraging network effects to dominate their markets. Web. 2.0 established the platform economy.
Web3 (2021- ) is the third iteration of the internet which will connect us with communities, places, things, activities and events. It will be the foundation for building the metaverse. The basic idea is increasing reliance on blockchain-enabled decentralized applications that will support a token economy of crypto assets, user-controlled data, play-to-earn and collaborative co-creation.
Mobile Standards
5G is the fifth generation of wireless communication that you’ve probably been hearing a lot about in the press or through your mobile service provider. Just to summarize what 5G can do compared to previous generations:
1G analogue voice
2G digital voice and texting
3G basic wireless internet and low-definition video
4G mobile web access, gaming, high-definition video and video conferencing
5G enables much higher data rates, reduced latency, higher system capacity and numerous device connectivity
So 5G is exactly what the metaverse needs to be accessible over mobile and wireless devices and become globally ubiquitous.
Stay tuned for more insight on this emerging subject from the voices of the Women in CX community!
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