The metaverse is quite possibly the future of the internet. To help our readers learn more about it, we've started this metaverse interview series. These are the questions we've compiled to ask experts in blockchain, DAOs, NFTs, and game development, within the HackerNoon community. The series is intended for tech professionals to contribute their insights about the current state and the future of the metaverse. If you too would like to start contributing to Hacker Noon, you can do so here. If you also want to publish your thoughts about the metaverse, answer the template here. HackerNoon Prompt: So let’s start! First, tell us a bit about yourself. For example, name, profession, and personal interests. My name is Alvin Wong and I’m a software engineer at mobile game company switching focus to blockchain games. I love learning about new technologies and fitness. Please sum up what the metaverse is in 1 to two paragraphs. The metaverse is the persistent online digital identity that will be likely on various platforms. What makes this different from now is that there will be more ownership, control and benefit to the user. Are you currently, directly or indirectly, working on building a metaverse? I’m currently working on a blockchain game that will bring the fun and engagement from modern games to play to earn. In your opinion, is the metaverse inevitable, or is it just another passing trending tech topic that'll lose hype? The metaverse is inevitable because it bridges and merges the gap between our digital and real lifestyles through multiple facets such as work, finance, social, and more. Why is the metaverse such a revolutionary concept? Similar to my answer above, because the metaverse touches so many parts of our life, it revolutionizes everything we do. This can be the way you interact with friends and all the way to how you pay your bills. What can people build in the metaverse that we can't build on the Internet, or in virtual reality today? What limitations of our current technology does the metaverse free us from? Developers can build products with lasting ownership in the metaverse. Potentially the digital goods you purchase on a platform have value outside of it as well. They can also build services that allow you to create digital goods that can monetize and reach more customers. How are the metaverse and blockchain related? Can we build a metaverse without blockchain technology? Blockchain technology is crucial to the metaverse because it allows real ownership of digital products. This breaks free from any central control of the product and the metaverse to flourish with products from all over. How quickly do you think the metaverse will be developed? How much can we expect metaverse tech to grow in the next 5 to 10 years? The metaverse is developing so rapidly that every day you hear new and exciting things being created. The physical aspects of our lives will slowly blur into the digital quickly but gradually. Mass adoption may slowly lag behind since it will take a lot of education and learning to create more user-friendly experiences. Similarly, mobile payments technology was functional but took a while for mass adoption and sometimes takes a new generation of users to be comfortable with the technology. What is your hope for the metaverse? Do you have any worries or does the concept pose any threats? My hope for the metaverse is that companies can prioritize creating a safe experience for users so that it is more easily and quickly adopted. There will be a lot of exploitation and justified mistrust with so many things being created. Government regulation will have a role to protect people's responsibility without too much hindrance on the development community. Technology is adopted faster if users can feel safe. Thanks for your time! Any final words? There is such a strong transformative potential for the metaverse! While we can look forward to how it can change our lives, we should also reflect on how WE want it to change our lives. Because of the decentralized nature of the metaverse, the community has more power to dictate how we want to steer the ship instead of simply letting it steer us.
