Missing This Trend Could Be Devastating

At LikeFolio, we track hundreds of consumer trends. 600 at the time of this report creation, to be precise.

In the last month, one trend has been impossible for us to ignore: the metaverse.

Consumer mentions referencing the “metaverse” have increased by nearly +1,600% YoY… making it one of the fastest-growing trends we track.

And we’re already seeing this trend bleed into the missions of companies we cover.

For example, the term “metaverse” appeared in Facebook’s last earnings call 20 times and was summarized as being “the next generation of the Internet.”

Okay. We’re listening. What is the metaverse?

The metaverse is the decentralized sum of our virtual experience.

This isn’t a single space owned or operated by any single entity.

It’s a shared “experiential reality” lacking traditional walls and anchored on a user’s identity.

This is the step beyond the internet (“meta” means beyond). This experience is powered by social connections and seamless transactions… both monetary and data-based.

This universe allows users to maintain a consistent identity and ownership while traveling from place to place.

No walls. Next level.

Here are the three key technologies that will get us there.

1. Decentralized Technology — user-powered innovation independent of a single, centralized entity. This requires a new way to approach the traditional buying and selling of goods, and the “spaces” where these transactions take place.

   Without a central authority, how will transactions be secured, be accurate, and support true ownership?

   A reliable, transparent system of tracking ownership and exchange is a key driver of the metaverse, and is where decentralized ledgers and smart contract platforms — aka blockchains — come into play.

   Building on this, technology that standardizes the user experience across different spaces and devices increases accessibility for creators and users alike.

   These technologies are the foundation of the metaverse economy.

2. Virtual Spaces — creating an “alternate reality” free from physical world constraints.

   Think “concerts” with 1 million attendees, world-class experts teaching the highest-level concepts to students thousands of miles away, or business meetings that are more productive than an office environment, while everyone is in their pajamas.

   Sound familiar? With recent pandemic fears and lockdowns, “virtual spaces” have boomed in popularity and functionality.

   Now imagine you can switch from that concert immediately to a hangout room with your friends — seamlessly. No walls. We’re just getting started.

3. Socially Connected — allowing people to blend the physical and virtual worlds together.

   The shared-space component of the metaverse assumes real, individual identities interacting with other real identities (avatars) across all types of shared spaces, instantaneously.

   It also facilitates the blending of the real and physical worlds, creating a truly immersive experience.

   This requires technology, but also relationship connections and the identification of shared interests.

I know it all sounds so crazy.

But so did the idea of buying books online in 1997.

To be clear, we’re in the very early stages of metaverse creation, but potential winners are already beginning to show themselves.

In the MegaTrends report later this week, we will be uncovering five incredible stocks that are set to benefit in a huge way from the Metaverse MegaTrend, which could turn success in the “virtual universe” into cold, hard profits here on Earth.

Andy Swan,
Founder, LikeFolio