Right Now, Metaverse is an Idea, as Was the Browser in 1992

The character-based internet evolved in the mid-1990s with the advent of the web browser https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mosaic_(web_browser) and the subsequent development of the World Wide Web, an audio and video capable internet. The web also enabled new revenue models, especially advertising and e-commerce, with new payment models. 

Many would also say the web also ushered in an era of user-generated content (social media). It is the difference between a read-only internet and a read-write internet. 

source: internethistory.org 

In other words, the history of the internet suggests an evolution towards higher realism, greater enhancement of the “real world” and higher amounts of user-created content, with revenue models developing accordingly. 

Basically, those are also changes many believe will happen in the next iteration of the internet, the shift to more-immersive experiences collectively known as the “metaverse.” Keep in mind that the term was first used about three decades ago, about the time that the first browser was created. 

The point is that it might take decades for this next iteration of the internet to be commercially used on a wide basis. As always, the gestation time is far greater than many hope for or expect. 

source: McKinsey 

Key innovations such as packet switching, transmission control protocol/internet protocol, the domain name system, hypertext markup language (HTML) and the uniform resource locator (URL) were among the innovations that propelled the character-based and then visually-based internet. 

Most observers believe artificial intelligence, virtual and enhanced reality, blockchain and cryptocurrencies are important enablers for the coming transformation of experience, along with digital infrastructure changes such as edge computing, lower latency and higher-performance networks. 

The possibility exists that the “metaverse” will have less impact than many expect, in the nearer term. It might, for example, succeed in gaming without changing much existing e-commerce, education, communications or advertising. 

We are about at the place in the past when the idea of a browser was reality. We really could not foresee how the browser would lead to the range of activities, experiences and business models of the web.