What Is a Content Metaverse? What Makes a Metaverse Be Content-Centric?
We are at the dawn of a new IT networking age, the emerging web 3.0. As with any novelty technology, this is a time rife with speculation and varying degrees of uncertainty, as lots of people don’t yet understand what the metaverse is, let alone the sub-niches of it. If you’re active in the content creation or marketing space, you’ll hear a lot of talk about content metaverses. But what is a content metaverse and why should we care?
In the following post, we’ll shed light on what makes a given metaverse be content-centric, what counts as a content metaverse and the functionalities that make content metaverses relevant to the new tech age of web 3.0.
Don’t All Metaverses Have Content? Why Are Only Some of Them Definable As Content Metaverses?
The first point of confusion for many readers may stem from the very idea of content. As professionals across many industry verticals can gather, content is pretty much present everywhere online, since the age of web 1.0 and moving forward. Omnipresent in the age of media and especially since the internet became a mass phenomenon, content is anything transmitted over the internet, regardless of the form it takes.
To put it more clearly, digital content can be defined as any information directed at an end-user or an audience, that is transmitted online or offline at the core of a communication message, through various forms ranging from text, image, audio, video or digital renditions of physical art or objects. Some people in the content industry argue that the original definition of content refers only to digital goods that can be downloaded (such as iTunes tracks, movies, pictures and so on), but recent ways of defining and understanding content go beyond this narrow view and see everything online (like social media posts or the narrative in a video game) as content.
Judging things through this lens, all metaverses, present and future, need content to run and to provide their users with an experience. If all metaverses have content, are all of them content metaverses?
No, not every metaverse is a content metaverse just because it has content powering it up. Just like the internet has content-centric corners that focus on the production, distribution and leveraging of content (such as social media platforms, design platforms or dedicated spaces for creators), the web 3.0 will have content-centric spaces as well.
What Is a Content Metaverse? Content Metaverse Definition
Therefore, we can conclude that only those metaverses which make content their driving force are classifiable as content metaverses.
The content metaverse definition can be this: A content metaverse is any web 3.0 space that focuses on enabling users to create, distribute, consume, monetize and exchange digital content, through an array of tools meant to assist both content creators and the people or institutions that benefit from the digital content being produced.
Basically, what major social media platforms (Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Reddit) or spaces for content creation (Fiverr, Patreon, Upwork) were for web 2.0, this is what content metaverses will be for the web 3.0 ecosystem. Any web3-enabled space where content creators can produce their content, display it for view, sell it or where individuals and brands can buy, use or leverage content for their goals — that’s a content metaverse.
Examples of Content Metaverse Attributes
What counts as a content metaverse? What is closer to the idea of a content metaverse, a web 3.0 space where you can create content or one where you can buy and sell content? Or a metaverse where content creators can hang out and network with each other?
The answer is yes to all the above. All of these attributes can define a content metaverse and it’s enough for a web3 space to boast at least one of them to be able to claim itself as a content metaverse. Ideally, of course, content metaverses should have as many of these functionalities as possible to give digital content a central spot in their space.
Here is a recap of the essential attributes of a content metaverse:
· A place where content creators can create content
· A place where content can be displayed and highlighted
· A place where you can buy and sell content
· A place where you can build a portfolio for all forms of content
· A place where you can build a brand with all forms of content creation
· A place where you can identify and temp hire content creators that can help your brand or project
· A place where you can meet content creators and network
· A place where edtech is leveraged to improve the community of content creators with knowledge exchange about industry best practices
· A place where content can be distributed to the best audiences
· …and much more as the metaverse will develop and take on new functionalities!
What Is There for Creators in a Content Metaverse?
A content metaverse isn’t just like any old web 2.0 space for creators, just with a 3D / AR / VR flavor. The transformations from the web 2.0 infrastructure to the web 3.0 ones are deeper and more meaningful that that, and content creators are probably the group that can benefit the most from the metaverse revolution.
This is what will make a metaverse for creators relevant and disruptive:
· Bigger earnings — right now, content creation platforms are taking the lion’s share of the value of content created. This can and will change in the metaverse, where content creators can retain the full earnings from their content.
· Decentralization — metaverses based on blockchain technology will mostly be decentralized, putting an end to Big Tech’s dominion over content creation. Read our in-depth article on why a decentralized metaverse can be a good thing for more details.
· User empowerment and autonomy — no more platforms deciding the rules of use for their users, in the metaverse the user will be king (or queen!)
· Better engagement for content creators AND content consumers — few things will have the seductive power of a fully immersive space like the metaverse will be. That’s great news for content’s appeal, from its storytelling to visuals and so on.
· Ownership — right now, in the web 2.0, platforms are the ones who ultimately own the content distributed through them. In the decentralized web 3.0, users will retain full copyright of the content they created.
· More creative freedom — as with any tech innovation, the web 3.0 will bring new possibilities that will boost creativity across all mediums. Here’s a more detailed look into what you can create in a metaverse.
The Blue Business Opportunity of a Content Metaverse
At Meta Studio, we are designing a business metaverse for creators that will disrupt all existing content creation platforms and empower content creators to build a living income in a fun way. While big brands and even content creation platforms (like Meta) are scrambling to claim their space in the coming metaverse, none are designing a decentralized business metaverse for content creators, like we are.
If you’re an investor looking for the next big break, this is the bluest ocean opportunity you’ll come across in a long time. Here is a brief pitch deck of all you need to know about the business metaverse for content creators.
If you’re a content creator, join our whitelist and be among the first who can find out when our metaverse is ready to launch, get a limited number of tokens for the new metaverse for the lowest price possible and many other digital goodies! Together, we are taking content to the new era. Join us!
