The Next Big Thing

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The Next Big Thing

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Bibliographic details

• Authors: POOJA SINGH
• Published: June 1, 2023

Book overview and thesis

• Title reviewed: The Metaverse: And How It Will Revolutionize Everything by Matthew Ball.
• Reviewer: POOJA SINGH, senior financial sector expert in the IMF’s Monetary and Capital Markets Department.
• Publication context: F&D Magazine, June 2023.
• Central claim: A scalable, interoperable metaverse is coming and will be transformative; the book intersperses pre-Internet anecdotes with contemporary evidence to support this claim.
• Key framing: “Uncertainty and confusion are the features of disruption.”

Definition and technical components of the metaverse

• The book breaks down the metaverse “concept by concept,” explaining:
  • Networking
  • Computing
  • Virtual world engines (game engines)
  • Interoperability
  • Hardware
  • Payment rails
  • Blockchain
• Web3 and NFTs (non-fungible tokens) are examined; the author concludes they are “mired in technical, legal, and cultural barriers.”
• Accessibility point: The metaverse will be browser based and accessible via gaming consoles, PCs, and smartphones, providing “an individual sense of presence” (a digital twin alias/avatar) without requiring a VR headset.

Economics, scale, and market dynamics

• Gaming industry economics highlighted:
  • Gaming initially categorized as a “$180 billion leisure industry.”
  • The metaverse has potential to alter the “$95 trillion world economy.”
• Demographic and market statistics cited:
  • “Some 75 percent of American children now playing on a single gaming platform.”
  • “140 million potential gamers born each year.”
• Market structure concern: Ball identifies a smartphone duopoly (Google and Apple) that constrains margins of virtual world platforms and impedes interoperability and integration, hindering metaverse-focused technology development.

Interoperability, competition, and policy implications

• Interoperability argument: Economic logic supports virtual worlds sharing data and interoperating.
• Competitive barrier: Smartphone app store and payment system control by Google and Apple is described as a constraint on metaverse progress.
• Policy recommendation emphasis:
  • Regulatory action to loosen the grip of Google and Apple on payment systems and app stores is called for to promote interoperability and platform development.

Governance, standards, and future uncertainties

• Governance recommendation: The author calls for governance and standards for the metaverse, analogous to the internet’s common protocols for visual presentation, file loading, graphics, and data.
• Cautionary note: Technology “frequently produces surprises that no one predicts,” underscoring uncertainty about how the metaverse will evolve.
• Reviewer conclusion: The book reinforces the need to act on regulations and standards for the emerging virtual economy “sooner rather than later.”

F&D Magazine — POOJA SINGH, June 2023.

Content in this bundle

• The Next Big Thing?
  • The Next Big Thing? (Markdown version)
  • The Next Big Thing? (PDF)