metaverse

A metaverse is a virtual online representation of reality. As opposed to the internet, the metaverse is a 3-D immersive environment shared by multiple users, where you can interact with others via avatars.

In other words, some people are not only communicating through technology, but many are in a very real sense, living parts of their lives in the virtual world, like in SL (Second Life). A few other metaverses are: Ertha, Wizardia, Illuvium, Star Atlas, and Moon Metaverse.

Historical perspective: This term was coined by Neal Stephenson in his 1992 novel Snow Crash. 

In 2015, Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg and other tech moguls and Silicon Valley investors began calling for a more immersive online experience and see the metaverse as the distant evolution of Web3. In its complete form, it will be a series of decentralized, interconnected virtual worlds with a fully functioning economy where people can do almost anything they can do in the real world. On October 28, 2021, Facebook changed its parent name to Meta.