The metaverse explained in 14 minutes | Matthew Ball

Why should anyone care about the metaverse? Expert Matthew Ball explains what it is, what it isn’t, and why it matters.

By the end of the decade, the Metaverse could be worth between $6 trillion and $13 trillion. But what is it?

The Metaverse is not simply immersive virtual reality or a really cool video game. It's a combination of technologies that allows an unlimited number of users to experience real-time rendered, 3D virtual worlds synchronously and persistently.

It is difficult to predict how the Metaverse will evolve, just as it was nearly impossible to predict the emergence of Facebook during the era of Windows 95. The Metaverse will not replace the internet, but will build upon and extend it.

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Chapters
00:00 - Intro
01:22 - What the Metaverse is not
02:30 - 10-part definition of the Metaverse
02:56 - Part 1: Massively-scaled
03:23 - Part 2: Virtual worlds
03:51 - Part 3: 3D
04:26 - Part 4: Interoperable network
05:41 - Part 5: Real-time rendering
06:14 - Part 6: Synchronous
06:45 - Part 7: Persistent
08:00 - Parts 8 & 9: Unlimited users with individual sense of presence
08:22 - Part 10: Continuity of data
08:55 - Technological eras are bundles
09:17 - 7 subcategories of the Metaverse
09:27 - Subcategory 1: Hardware
09:45 - Subcategory 2: Networking
09:57 - Subcategory 3: Computer powers
10:13 - Subcategory 4: Virtual platforms
10:45 - Subcategory 5: Interoperability standards
11:05 - Subcategory 6: Payment rails
11:18 - Subcategory 7: CAIS
11:46 - 5 stunning Metaverse examples
13:08 - Why do we need to learn about it now?

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About Matthew Ball:
Matthew Ball is the CEO of Epyllion, a diversified holding company which makes angel investments, provides advisory services, and produces television, films, and video games.

Ball is also a Venture Partner at Makers Fund, Senior Advisor to KKR, Senior Advisor to McKinsey & Company, and sits on the board of numerous start-ups. His first book, “The Metaverse and How it Will Revolutionize Everything”, was published in July 2022 and became an instant national and international bestseller. Ball is also an “Occasional Contributor” to The Economist, holds bylines at Bloomberg, The New York Times, the Wall Street Journal, and wrote the August 8, 2022 cover story for Time Magazine.

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Read more of our stories on the metaverse:
Is a lack of creativity already ruining the metaverse?
Why the metaverse can’t exist without a blockchain
There are two kinds of Metaverse. Only one will inherit the Earth

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[SeanMog]

I feel like I’m being convinced of something rather than informed about something.

[GreyCrowe]

I need *More Reality* and *Less Technology* ... Because, so far, all technology has done for me is change a 40 hour work week into a 24/7 work week... And my identity being stolen twice.

[almiratlic]

According to this guy, there is a bright future for psychiatrists

[madeline]

"The metaverse is comming. There is no turning back. We're going to go there." This ideia of inevitability that they're trying to force on us is what makes me the most angry... It's like we're powerless when it comes to our future.

[bismarknyarko]

With the massive resources that is been committed by world renowned companies like Meta to Metaverse makes one wonder whether it's a hype. And projects like StepApp, XANA & Decentraland just to mention few already in the system, The Metaverse is really something to look out for.

[Falcon]

It almost seems like videos talking about the inception and early days of the Metaverse make a point of not mentioning Second Life. Second life has been around for over 19 years. If you want a start point, that is it, NOT The Zuck's Meta. Many of the things described in this video are already present and working within Second Life. It is missing crucial points, like interoperability with other platforms, but it still has a lot of the points this guy made.

[perrious]

I wonder a little if the people excited by this are being disengenuous in any way. Because the explanations for what they think this will add to the human experience don't sound as ground breaking as they present them to be.

[mannymistry]

This guy has a vested interest in convincing people that the metaverse is inevitable and that it will be a multi-trillion dollar industry. He has a book to plug and Epillyon is an angel investor in meta verse-invested companies. That doesn't make him an expert in the metaverse with any experience in predicting how much it will be adopted over time. He is financially invested in convincing us that we all should embrace the metaverse so his investments can grow and his books can sell. Virtual worlds and environments have been around for a long time and the engagement data doesn't extrapolate to the "inevitability" that he speaks of. Lives are immeasurably better when they remain disconnected for the majority of their waking lives from social media and the internet and when they spend the majority of their time in the real world, creating meaningful experiences with real people and places.

[paulmajewski]

So i still dont know what metaverse is and how it can be used. The guy is pretty much explaining what real life is.

[DaJan]

Yeah, well, you know... that's just, like, your opinion, man.

[Patralgan]

Here's my decade long experience with A metaverse of sorts: Second Life. When I'm not there, I'm doing better mentally. Why? What Second Life enables is a more social setting in a virtual world. It's not just a chatroom or collection of chatrooms, but it's approaching a real social setting with audio/visual gestures, positioning and activity. It's like attempting to bring forth the best of both worlds and it does, but you know what it also does? Bring forth the worst of both worlds. You can be much more toxic because the engagement is on another level (compared to a simple chat room) and it's not always so easy to escape it. It still allows the griefer to be toxic with virtually no consequences to them personally, so they might just as well be more bold about it.

On paper I still love the concept of a metaverse, but it's just a shame that we humans are still pretty trash in the sense that even if a very small percentage can ruin the whole thing, they can and they will. In real life at least they're much more restrained because there's a real fear of retaliation and accountability and in a simple chatroom it's much easier to avoid such griefers or just not get affected by them. This doesn't mean I shun the new ideas of metaverse. I'm pretty excited about them, but it's not without the sense of dread which should be addressed to avoid really, really bad user experiences. In Second Life there's basically no moderation by the Linden Labs themselves, there has to be. There has to be accountability for bad behavior and it has to be effective.

[dogtownewok]

The metaverse was already implemented and has been operating for a couple of years now. It's a kids' game called Roblox. Also, have you ever heard of Runescape, Playstation Home or World of Warcraft? It seems like metaverse evangelists are forcefully trying to turn virtual world concepts into an abstract conception. Repackage and resell basically.

[lenneavy]

I'm still highly sceptical to this idea. It feels like someone is annoyed with me that I'm not already there, not even explaining me why I would want to be there and the harder the push, the less convincing the explanations are. To me, this was a high-level definition of an imaginary system that might be created one day, when big tech companies will work together to, feels like, concentrate even more power and create even bigger data lakes.

[aarontalksculture]

So why exactly do we need the metaverse??? Oh we don't. OK 👌🏾

[PsychonunBO]

What commercials look like… feels biased af.

[mpv]

A third of the way in, decided to go walk through the 'metaverse' aka the forest, nature.

[purposefulconnectivity]

This is the best explanation of Metaverse I've ever heard on the internet. I am a non-techie and believe me, it was easy to understand the description given by Matthew Ball. Congrats and thank you so much, Matthew.

[Colorcrayons]

I feel like my IQ dropped by 12 points taking this video premise seriously by watching it and wasting my time.

[RtmB]

Based on this, Metaverse is still very much a concept and still a long way in building itself into a reality. Everything those companies are doing now in "the metaverse" is marketing and branding.

[Abcflc]

I think we have limitations to our tolerance of the virtual. We will turn to the other direction and disconnect from social media. I don’t think these last 15 years have been particularly healthy for anyone.