The tech you need for the metaverse

The concept of the metaverse is making big waves in mainstream media since Facebook’s rebranding. While the retail and gaming sector are coming together to create this new frontier, charities are not to miss out. For the sector as a whole, it’s an opportunity to birth a new world.

 

To get started, we take a look at what tech charities will need, and things to consider.

 

 

Get the basics

 

The metaverse goes beyond social media. It is an intersection between social and complex 3-D virtual effects. Vice magazine says: “Experts look at the metaverse as a 3D model of the internet. Basically, a place parallel to the physical world, where you spend your digital life.”

 

In order to extend oneself beyond physical life and social media, charities should prepare to upgrade their digital toolkits. To tap into the new world, participants need to have high-speed internet. But to really engage, charities will also need gear to interact in the virtual 3-D sphere.

 

Here are the in-demand tools for metaverse enthusiasts:

• VR headset: headsets can track movement and include visual interfaces
• Tactile gloves: the gloves give users tactile sensation
• AR / VR spectacles: glasses give an illusion of 3-D depth and perception

The in-demand tools give individuals the sensation of interacting in a new, digital reality.

 

 

You’ll need to be able to accept payments

 

One of the most pressing issues in the metaverse is how they will be able to fundraise. Cash, debit and credit cards don’t exist yet in the metaverse, but non-fungible tokens (NFTs) do.

 

NFTs exist in the metaverse in two main forms – as currency and unique digital assets.  NFTs aren’t geographically tied a country so they are perfect for the metaverse. As a form of currency, NFTs are already being quantified and used to purchase virtual assets.

 

There’s an argument for charities to adopt NFTs as a form of currency. Forbes Magazine says that NFTs can serve as coin in the virtual market place. Buyers and sellers agree to exchange NFT tokens instead of currency.

 

 

Charities can create value in the metaverse

 

NFTs are also emerging as a new way of fundraising. This includes collaborating with NFT creators and creating new assets. Covid:aid, the UK-based charity focusing on supporting those affecting by the pandemic auctioned off its logo as an NFT to raise funds. The event demonstrated how charities are forging new ground in digital.

 

Forbes summarises the situation: “If you choose to embrace the metaverse and NFTs in your business, it could be a great chance to break away from competitors and paint your business as a future-oriented one.”

 

 

You’ll need to decide what to wear

 

How you appear in the metaverse is growing in importance. For charities preparing their 3-D image, skins are a serious requirement.

 

Skins are digital representations of ‘what you look like’. Gamers are most familiar with this concept – it’s the avatar that they use to appear in the game.

 

Existing gaming and metaverse platforms have different skin formats. Fortnite, the gaming platform, includes free and premium ones. These outfits can be purchased using the in-game currency and customised with add-ons.

 

Other platforms take a different approach. The Sandbox, a gaming community, sells skins (i.e. avatars). These avatars range in price from a few, to tens of thousands of pounds.

 

Once purchased, avatars, or objects can be added to your Sandbox turf. That is, charities can accumulate assets and land within the Sandbox, similar to real life.

 

For charities embarking on the metaverse journey, consider how you want to appear to others. Using the same concept as on the regular internet, you may want to choose avatars and skins that give off a feeling of benevolence, kindness, respect, and other positive attributes.

 

 

Decide on ways to collaborate

 

Clearly, there’s space in the metaverse for charities to collaborate. The ideas may be endless – from cooperating in the creation process to fundraising, the metaverse has an infinite number of possibilities.

 

Giant Digital is dreaming up some ideas. They suggest that CharityLand might make sense. The concept is what the agency imagines as a world with multiple charities working together with digital volunteers.

 

“[Metaverse] would be a space for those people working in the charities to collaborate, not only with colleagues but people from other charities too. Training could be delivered across multiple teams from multiple charities; ideas for joint campaigns could be formed and worked on together.”

 

Ultimately, the metaverse can be a place where charities can have a ‘do-over’ and create a space without any real life baggage or limitations.