When the internet was first born and we were using it to browse the first few sites that were out there, it seemed pretty barren… pretty empty… but it was still so fascinating because you could browse to a web page made by someone who could be anywhere around the world. You would find whatever the creator intended you to find. You could even make your own creation on the internet if you just knew how to host it somewhere. If not, you just browsed other people’s creations. It was fascinating to see those dozens or so pages lingering out there full of all sorts of varied information and just marvel at them.
Now just after 30 years or so after it all went mainstream, it seems so normal. There are websites everywhere and all sorts of experiences exist on those sites. Nothing new and nothing to marvel at. All good old stuff of course, but things that we have all come to expect. Especially for the generation that was born in the 2000s, they don’t know the world any other way.
The next wave
I’ve been messing around with all sorts of experiences in the virtual world recently using the Oculus Quest 2. Taking part in VR experiences like playing golf & table tennis, wandering around earth using the Wander application (very much like Google Earth, but truly immersive putting you at the center of the experience), virtually teleporting to events and gatherings where you can be together with others from around the world (at least their avatars) without physically being together.
All of this feels eerily similar to the early days of the internet boom. The early 1990s when the internet almost felt like a playground. The virtual reality world feels like that right now where you can actually browse to all of the limited VR experiences out there. It’s not so vast yet that it’s hard to comprehend.
It’s all happening again. And I can bet that that the pace will be even faster this time around. In about 15 years or so, this virtual reality world will all start feeling normal and easily accessible to most.
One day in not so distant future, we will put on some form of lightweight glasses 🕶️ and have some capacitive material for our skin that will truly immerse our total being into a different reality.
We will “log on” to this reality just like we currently go on the internet. We will visit this new reality to get entertained and will even start doing business together there. A decentralized world where you just go to have fun, consume info or can set up your own shop at a virtual address and pitch your products and services to others virtually.
It’s an exciting time to be living in right now. Many of us saw the internet go mainstream in front of us and hopefully will now see the spawn of virtual worlds as well. That’s two major revolutions in one lifetime!
The question for us will be: will we be bystanders watching it all happen or will we actively participate in it?
I hope it’s the latter. Best wishes to us all!