Skip to main content

The Metaverse Era: The Fourth Transformation in the Age of Internet Communication

  • Chapter
  • First Online:
Value Realization in the Phygital Reality Market

Abstract

We discuss the issues of the virtual realm. As virtual worlds conceptualized by humans using digital technology, the metaverse that can map, transcend, and interact with the real world, but it cannot be separated from the physical realm. The development of metaverse-related technologies has reached a critical point of large-scale application, but the metaverse is still in in the “social + gaming” stage. 2021 became a crossroad for the virtualization of human society, which has led to a wide range of business possibilities. Users of the metaverse can act in both physical and virtual realms. User behaviors in the phygital reality environment, such as online communities or online games, are common with user behavior in the metaverse. In the future, the metaverse, matured as a virtual realm, will provide a new world for human communication and marketing. In this chapter, we describe in detail about Second Life, Horizon Worlds, Roblox, Mesh for Teams, and HoloBoard as cases of communication in the metaverse era. The logic of communication in the virtual realm and its potentiality are is also described.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Chapter
USD 29.95
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
USD 119.00
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Hardcover Book
USD 159.99
Price excludes VAT (USA)
  • Durable hardcover edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

Institutional subscriptions

References

  1. Arstechnica.com. Robles, whose debut was cold: what is missing from Roblox may be more than content. [EB/OL]. Retrieved July 19, 2021, from https://arstechnica.com/.

  2. About.meta.com. [EB/OL]. Retrieved January 10, 2023, from https://about.meta.com.

  3. Ball, M. The metaverse: What it is, where to find it, who will build it, and fortnite. [EB/OL]. Retrieved August 10, 2022, from https://www.matthewball.vc/all/themetaverse.

  4. BINGO CLASS. [EB/OL]. Retrieved January 10, 2023, from http://www.xunfeivr.com/ProductsStd_217.html.

  5. Chen, Y. Second life: The rise and fall of an early metauniverse [EB/OL]. Retrieved November 29, 2021, from https://m.thepaper.cn/baijiahao_15951912.

  6. Cieply, M. (2022, March 15). Metaverse Office is a glimpse into the future of remote work. Yahoo Finance. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/metaverse-office-glimpse-future-remote-150014036.html.

  7. Cnterm.cn, China News Network, National Commission for the Examination and Approval of Scientific and Technological Terms “Metaverse”. [EB/OL]. Retrieved September 13, 2022, from http://www.cnterm.cn/xwdt/mtgz/202209/t20220915_715284.html.

  8. Decentraland.org. [EB/OL]. Retrieved January 10, 2023, from https://decentraland.org.

  9. Deng, X., & Li, X. (2008). Analysis of user information behavior under network environment. Information Science, 12, 4.

    Google Scholar 

  10. Duan, Z. Robles, whose debut was cold: what is missing from Roblox may be more than content. [EB/OL]. Retrieved July 9, 2021, from https://www.thepaper.cn/newsDetail_forward_13633170?ivk_sa=1023197a.

  11. Expeditions. [EB/OL]. Retrieved January 10, 2023, from http://www.google.com.

  12. Fang, L., & Shen, H. (2022). Changes in technology and civilization: a conceptual study of the metaverse Industrial Economic Review.

    Google Scholar 

  13. Geekpark.net. [EB/OL]. Retrieved January 10, 2023, from https://www.geekpark.net/news/297560.

  14. Girvan, C. (2018). What is a virtual world? Definition and classification. Educational Technology Research and Development, 66(5), 1087–1100.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Guo, Q. (2022). The origin, current situation, and future of the metaverse. News Lovers, 2022(1), 26–31.

    Google Scholar 

  16. High School Anatomy for Quest. [EB/OL]. Retrieved January 10, 2023, from https://zhuangshi.hui-chao.com/lian/metaquest.

  17. Horizon Workrooms. Horizon Workrooms-the beginning of Facebook towards the metauniverse. [EB/OL]. Retrieved January 10, 2023, from https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1711658551772264737&wfr=spider&for=pc.

  18. IEEE. What Can the Metaverse Learn From Second Life? [EB/OL]. Retrieved November 29, 2021, from https://spectrum.ieee.org/metaverse-second-life.

  19. Kelly, K. Mesh for Teams will be launched soon. What kind of metauniverse does Microsoft want to build? [EB/OL]. Retrieved October 10, 2022, from https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1725431766681125777&wfr=spider&for=pc.

  20. Lenovo Research Institute. Holoboard knocks on the door of the smart education metaverse. [EB/OL]. Retrieved January 9, 2023, from https://t.cj.sina.com.cn/articles/view/2183473425/v82252911019010m7v.

  21. Mcluhan, M. (1964). Understanding media: The extensions of man. MIT Press.

    Google Scholar 

  22. Microsoft.com. [EB/OL]. Retrieved January 9, 2023, from https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/mesh.

  23. Mondly: Learn Languages in VR. [EB/OL]. Retrieved January 10, 2023, from https://zhuangshi.hui-chao.com/lian/metaquest.

  24. Nadella., S. [EB/OL]. Retrieved December 10, 2022, from https://m.thepaper.cn/baijiahao_16624873.

  25. Osaki, Y. Decentraland: Will it be a “second life” in the blockchain era? [EB/OL]. Retrieved March 2, 2020, from https://www.ccvalue.cn/article/212984.html.

  26. Ren, J., Cao, W., & Liu, L. (2017). Analysis of the development trend of smart media based on the perspective of technology and market. Modern Communication: Journal of the Communication University of China, 10, 5.

    Google Scholar 

  27. Research.lenovo.com. [EB/OL]. Retrieved January 10, 2023, from https://research.lenovo.com/webapp/view/index.html.

  28. Roblox.com. [EB/OL]. Retrieved December 6, 2022, from https://www.roblox.com/.

  29. Secondlife.com. [EB/OL]. Retrieved December 9, 2022, from https://secondlife.com/.

  30. Shen, Y. Exploration, development and controversy in the metaverse. School of Journalism, Tsinghua University. [EB/OL]. Retrieved June 8, 2022, from https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1735059112915638740&wfr=spider&for=pc.

  31. Stephenson, N. (1992). Snow crash: A novel. Bantam.

    Google Scholar 

  32. Turkle, S. (2007). Authenticity in the age of digital companions. Interaction Studies, 8(3), 501–517.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  33. View.inews.qq.com. [EB/OL]. Retrieved January 10, 2023, from https://view.inews.qq.com/k/20220428A08DWA00?web_channel=wap&openApp=false.

  34. VR New York Story. [EB/OL]. Retrieved January 10, 2023, from https://zhuangshi.hui-chao.com/lian/metaquest.

  35. Weforum.org. [EB/OL]. Retrieved October 10, 2021, from https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2021/10/facebook-is-set-to-become-a-metaverse-company-what-could-that-mean-for-society/.

  36. Wilson, T. D. (2000). Human information behavior. Informing Science, 3(2), 49–56.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  37. Wu, G., & Yang, F. (2022). The “material turn” of the metauniverse and educational activities: old stories and new realities. Nanjing Social Sciences, 04, 135–142+160.

    Google Scholar 

  38. Xu, M. (2022). Mesh for Teams is coming soon. What kind of metaverse does Microsoft want to build? [EB/OL]. Retrieved February 22, 2022, from https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1725431766681125777&wfr=spider&for=pc.

  39. Xue, Y., Zhu, F., & Wang, K. (2022). Metaverse: The next generation of learning space Basic Education, 02, 23–32.

    Google Scholar 

  40. Yu, G. (2021). The evolutionary logic of the future media: Iteration, reorganization and dimension upgrading of “Human Connection”—From the “Scene Age” to the “Metaverse” and then to the future of the “Heart World.” The Press, 10, 54–60.

    Google Scholar 

  41. Yu, G., & Chen, X. (2022). Metauniverse: the integrated mode of future media Friends of the editor, 2, 8.

    Google Scholar 

  42. Zhang, Z. The New Media Research Center of Tsinghua University. The Research Report on the Development of the 2020–2021 Metauniverse. [EB/OL]. Retrieved September 16, 2022, from https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1714658282730354191.

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.

About this chapter

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this chapter

Huang, L., Gao, B., Gao, M. (2023). The Metaverse Era: The Fourth Transformation in the Age of Internet Communication. In: Value Realization in the Phygital Reality Market. Kobe University Monograph Series in Social Science Research. Springer, Singapore. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-99-4129-2_6

Download citation

Publish with us

Policies and ethics