Despite widespread coverage, the Metaverse can still be a complicated notion to define, particularly regarding its value proposition. Recently, we came across the work of author and game designer Jon Radoff. He describes the Metaverse as a seven-layered ecosystem that constitutes the Metaverse value chain.
It’s an interesting concept and one that cleverly distinguishes the various entry points and industries the Metaverse will support. In this article, we’ll run through those seven layers to give you another perspective on the potential benefits the Metaverse could offer your business.
Experience
This list works from the outside in. The experience layer is the ultimate output of the Metaverse, and within it sits perhaps the most lucrative investment opportunities. Radoff anchors this layer in the idea of gamification, where traditional live performances, sports, shopping, and more get a Web 3.0 makeover.
Beyond this, the lines between consumer and creator blur, and users become content creators, content amplifiers, and even the content itself. Any brand can potentially benefit from this layer by providing immersive experiences on Metaverse platforms.
Discovery
The discovery layer introduces new users to the Metaverse and provides existing users with the tools to broaden their experiences. At this layer, Radoff describes inbound and outbound discovery systems.
Ultimately, it’s Metaverse marketing. Inbound Metaverse marketing covers search engines, app stores, user-driven content, and other related areas. Outbound Metaverse marketing is potentially more lucrative. It covers social media, display ads, Metaverse ad agents, and more.
Creator Economy
The creator economy is already booming, yet the Metaverse could blow it out of the water. Radoff focuses on the integral technology that supports the creator economy in the Metaverse because, as well as many more creators, the technologies required to support them will be in equally high demand.
This layer is described as personifying the creator era, where creators want out-of-the-box solutions and Metaverse development tools. The winners here are the creators, design tool platforms, e-commerce sites, and asset markets.
Spatial Computing
Technology companies, manufacturers, and raw materials suppliers are set to gain the most in this layer. As Radoff describes it, spatial computing is about eroding “the barriers between the physical and the ideal worlds.”
To achieve this, a new generation of software and hardware is required. It includes 3D engines, geospatial mapping, voice and gesture recognition, data integration, biometrics, VR, AR, and XR interfaces.
Decentralization
Decentralization is the cornerstone of Web 3.0 and the Metaverse. In Radoff’s model, it is the fifth layer of the Metaverse. He highlights a series of decentralized systems that will dominate the Metaverse, and they include edge computing, DeFi, microservices, blockchain, and AI agents.
Human Interface
This sixth layer burgeons on science fiction, yet, as we have seen so many times with Metaverse innovations, demand pushes the development of increasingly fantastical tech. At a base level, the human interface layer includes common devices such as smart glasses and VR headsets.
However, the potential for innovation is enormous. Organizations across the medical and technical device industries could support the creation of biosensors, 3D-printed wearables, and even neural-connected interfaces.
Infrastructure
Finally, at the seventh layer of the Metaverse is the infrastructure that enables it. Not only does it support the platforms themselves, but the devices that connect to them. Most prominent are telecommunications technologies, including 5G and eventually 6G for mobile connection speeds that support the vast swathes of data created by Metaverse users.
Beyond this, there are innovations that will enable the next wave of mobile devices. Advanced cloud services and infrastructure, GPUs, semiconductors, microelectromechanical systems, and super long-lasting batteries will all be required to power and enable devices if the mobile Metaverse is to become a reality.
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