[Hyeon-Young Kwon's Data Innovation] Metaverse Success Depends on Data 'Selection and Focus'

The Metaverse First Mentioned in a Novel 30 Years Ago
Surging Interest After the COVID-19 Pandemic
Samsung and Facebook Also Focus on the Metaverse

The metaverse craze is in full swing. The metaverse playground discovered by teenagers who can no longer go outside to meet friends due to COVID-19 is exciting Koreans. Those uninterested might casually hear this as if there’s a new bus online, but it has become the hottest keyword in the information technology field these days. The metaverse is not a bus; it is a compound word combining "meta" and "universe." It can be understood roughly as a "virtual world" or "virtual universe." Although it may be a familiar concept, the term metaverse has actually been around for 30 years. It originated from Neal Stephenson’s 1992 novel Snow Crash.

"By showing slightly different images to each eye, three-dimensional images were created. And by changing those images 72 times per second, they could be represented as moving pictures... Moreover, by inserting digital stereo sound through small earphones... Hiro was not physically present here. He was entering a virtual world created by a computer and continuously supplied to his goggles and earphones. In computer terms, this world was called the ‘metaverse.’"

In 1992, the internet was not yet commercialized in Korea. The novel was depicting scenes that were only imagined at the time. The term "metaverse," representing the virtual world imagined 30 years ago, seems to easily capture people’s hearts.

In 2021, people’s interest is focused on whether the metaverse can actually generate money. Those who are lukewarm about the metaverse often talk about "Cyworld," which has faded into Korean memories. They say the craze for a virtual space where one could befriend the president and use acorns as currency looks no different from today’s metaverse. Although people are indifferent, if a new platform like Cyworld is formed, it could be considered a success in its own right. It would be recognized as having value as another platform. Some who ask more fundamental questions criticize that there is nothing conceptually new. Since it is no different from existing concepts like cyberspace or virtual reality, they argue there is no need to pay much attention.

Those who predict that the metaverse will be a new phenomenon that changes the landscape of the internet world emphasize two main points. One is that while Cyworld had about 10 million users, the metaverse, still in its early stages, has already surpassed 100 million users, indicating a market value more than ten times greater.

The other is that the world’s top platform company, Facebook, has announced its transformation into a metaverse company, and the world’s leading innovative IT manufacturer, Samsung Electronics, is showing interest in the metaverse. Compared to the Cyworld era, a clear difference is that interest in this platform and technology is happening not at the periphery of the economy but at its core. This contrasts with blockchain technology, which, despite its technical value and socio-economic potential, shows signs of fading as a peripheral revolution through virtual currencies.

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Many Restrictions on Real-Time Data Integration
Limited to Small Neighborhoods and Communities
Data Selection is Key to Platform Success

To understand the metaverse phenomenon, there are several points to consider. First is technology. The technologies enabling the metaverse can be broadly categorized as augmented reality, lifelogging, mirror worlds, and virtual worlds. As described in the novel, wearable computer terminals such as goggles and earphones, digital chips implanted in the body, cutting-edge cars, robots, and various other technologies and industries are connected. Unlike Cyworld, the virtual world is not separately created but is made exactly like the real world, and changes in the real world are reflected in the virtual world.

Technologies like digital twins can even control the real world through changes in the virtual world. Technologically, this is the realization of information technology that has only been dreamed of until now. The Internet of Things, artificial intelligence, robotics, 6G communication, and big data technologies all need to be implemented at the highest level for this to be possible.

Second is people. The older generation who have experienced current metaverse services complain about the lack of realism. They are not long-term customers. However, teenagers are different. They accept imperfect characters, imperfect virtual reality, and imperfect robots from the start. Because they have been familiar with these experiences online from a very young age, they use and cherish the metaverse services currently offered. This is a point difficult for generations who have never bought acorns with real money or secretly used their mother’s card for game characters to understand. The key is that the metaverse customer base is being solidly reinforced.

The last issue is data. Experts say that even fully autonomous cars or AI robots are very difficult to fully realize, at least in part. To implement all objects perceived by humans in the virtual world, data on all objects must be reflected in real time in the virtual world. Unlike what is conceptually or theoretically possible, implementation is a real challenge. Google Glass also failed to overcome these limitations. Currently, the metaverse can only be based on avatars representing users, classrooms that do not require much data, or small neighborhoods and communities based on highly condensed real-time data.

The success of the metaverse depends on which data it is based on. Choosing and giving up certain data for a metaverse that moves in real time linked to the real world determines the platform’s success. Currently, due to COVID-19, event-based platforms such as classrooms, companies, presidential candidate promotional events, and academic conferences are thriving, but that is not enough. To become a platform, the metaverse needs insight that penetrates its essence. We should pay attention to Facebook and Samsung.