Metaverse vs. Multiverse, What’s the Difference?

With the release of the new Marvel Studios’ Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness movie, I think it’s appropriate to discuss two of the most significant “M” named worlds. The multiverse and the metaverse are two of the most exciting and futuristic concepts lately. Some people know a little bit about them, others have barely heard the words. To most, they sound and seem similar. Well, they are not. What’s the difference? Glad you asked! Let’s explore the differences between the metaverse vs. multiverse.

Reading time: 5 mins | Published on: 5/17/2022

The Metaverse

The metaverse is a virtual environment where you can connect seamlessly with people from all over the world. In these worlds, you can express yourself by creating your own avatar and other customizations you get to choose. Plus, there are environments for everyone to join. There is a metaverse for you if you like real estate, gaming, business, or remotely any type of environment. These virtual worlds combine physical aspects to make it feel like you are in the real world, even though you are immersed in technology. This is just a bit of what the metaverse has to offer. Find out more about them in this article by Simply Flows.

Tangra - Virtual Workspace

The Multiverse

Now the multiverse has multiple definitions. In technical terms, it is the ideology that there is more than one universe. This means that different parallel universes exist. There can be other versions of yourself in these worlds and different storylines. If you join a multiverse virtual world, they are very chaotic and unique environments with no sense of order or ownership. Each universe is different, so you would have to leave one to join the other and perform various functions. From a more fun point of view, the multiverse is an ecosystem of parallel realities in the Marvel Universe. There are many dimensions, each with different outcomes for different situations. The Marvel multiverse is boundless, showing how there is chaos and a multitude of worlds to be explored. The multiverse overall, whether Marvel-based or technical, makes up a multitude of different worlds that a person can be involved within.

Metaverse vs. Multiverse: The Differences

metaverse vs. multiverse
The metaverse vs. multiverse debate tries to determine where the differences between the two lie. Although both are known for being virtual ecosystems, they’re very different.
1. Virtual World vs. Multiple Worlds

As established, the metaverse is a singular virtual world, whereas the multiverse is multiple for one platform. If you were to enter the Tangra by Simply Flows metaverse, it is one seamlessly connected environment where people can interact, collaborate, and be creative. The multiverse is different virtual environments in one. Rather than being able to deal with NFTs and play games in the same location, the multiverse would make you switch to another world to deal with these different interactions. The metaverse would let you do this all in the same world. Although hundreds of different metaverses exist, you can do nearly anything you want in that singular world once you are in a specific one you choose. With the multiverse, there are multiple areas in one environment, and to do different tasks, you have to switch between unique domains.

2. Different Personas
metaverse vs. multiverse

When entering the virtual world, you can choose how you want to portray yourself. In the metaverse, you can create an avatar personalized based on how you want others to see you. You get to express who you are and how you are unique. With the multiverse, you can have various different personas. Take the movie Spiderman: No Way Home, for example. When Ned opened the portal, Tobey McGuire came out of one portal and Andrew Garfield out of the other. These two other people were Spiderman in earlier movies. By opening the multiverse portal, you could meet and see these other Spidermen and learn briefly about their parallel universes and different storylines. You can do this online in the multiverse as well and create different people for each unique world, whereas with the metaverse, you have your solo avatar.

3. Ownership

There is no ownership of assets in the multiverse in other virtual worlds. If you were to attain something of value in one ecosystem, it means nothing in another. That asset would have to remain in that environment since that would be the only place where your ownership of it holds value. The metaverse is the opposite. NFTs and other collectibles are always valuable in the shared space. Since the metaverse only comprises one specific world for each program, your ownership of an item will hold value. For example, if one were to buy and collect different Axie’s in Axie Infinity, they would hold a lot of value in that domain. Ownership of assets is a heavy influencer in what makes the metaverse vs. multiverse vary.

The metaverse is a vast singular virtual ecosystem with ownership and avatars specific to you. The multiverse is many worlds in one platform where there is only ownership in each world with varying avatars. Plus, the multiverse is a heavy influencer in the Marvel ecosystem. These two worlds, although vastly different, are both unique to other people. Now that the distinction has been made, which world would you want to join?

Web2 vs Web3: The Major Differences

The World Wide Web (WWW) is something that we are all familiar with in this day and age. People use the Internet every day to look up information, play games, go shopping, and more. However, did you know that this technology is not old? The first development of the WWW began in 1989 by Time Berners-Lee. A little over 30 years later, the WWW has surpassed expectations. Within these 30 years, the WWW has become a vast space for tons of information, gaming, and other entertainment, all thanks to the evolution of Web2 (also Web 2.0) technology. As we continue to advance in the coming years, the WWW will offer even more. Web3 (also Web 3.0) technology is slowly developing and moving to the forefront. Soon enough, it will become the leading technology we use when online. To prepare for this change, let’s see what the significant differences in Web2 vs Web3 technology are and what you can expect in the coming years.

Reading time: 7 mins | Published on: 3/28/2022

Web2 Evolution

In 2004, Web2 became a large and growing name. The world was moving away from Web1, which only promoted content viewing. Web2 completely changed this by now promoting a more user-generated WWW. Users were encouraged to post their own content. We’ve been posting all sorts of things such as pictures, videos, comments, ratings, and so on. Web2 enabled people to create billions of blog posts (much like I am doing right now). Plus, having different accounts for different websites grew in that period. Web2 brought a social aspect of the technology by empowering us to post whatever we desire. Today, we use Web2 technology nearly every day. Also, we have completely changed the way we receive information.

Here comes Web3

As we know, evolution is inevitable. As we moved away from Web 1.0 to 2.0, we are now moving towards Web3. This new internet technology is the future, and we are slowly beginning to develop and adopt it. So, what exactly is Web3? Web3 is built upon blockchains. It utilizes artificial intelligence, virtual, augmented, and mixed reality, and more. It was conceived around the notion of decentralization and crypto tokens. Now, you may be asking, what does all this mean? Basically, Web3 is the evolution of the WWW with a much more clear purpose. On the surface, it creates a space for real-world human communication online. On a deeper level, it advocates a decentralized, thus transparent, data store, eliminating the need of many a middlemen. There are many proponents of paying people for their user data, unlike in Web2. You may have heard of ‘play-to-earn’ or ‘use-to-earn’ concepts. What is that? Glad you asked! If you give information for something that matches what a person is looking for, you get compensated. This new, open way of using the Internet opens everyone to endless possibilities. Now people can interact with others online in metaverses and also earn money as they do.

Curious about what metaverse projects are currently available?

Check out the metaverse catalog created by Simply Flows.

Web2 vs Web3

If you couldn’t already tell, the World Wide Web will never stop evolving. As we become more technologically advanced, we begin the transition to Web3. Let’s explore the key differences between the two.

web2 vs web3
1. Interaction vs Decentralizaion

In Web2, the application focuses on users and their interactions on the Internet. It wants them to create and share their own unique content. With Web3, the Internet is decentralized. Rather than empowering everyone, it focuses more on single users and getting them what they want in a timely and efficient manner. Their target is to make each individual user happy through their efficient AI network. In this matchup for Web2 vs Web3, Web3 gives more effort towards one person, whereas Web2 wants the greater good for the community.

2. Technologies

Web2 is all about dynamic content, responsive layout, with a huge focus on UI/UX. Web technologies like AJAX, HTML5, CSS3, and surprisingly JavaScript rule. Features like tagging, ratings, community forums are basically the norm. Web applications are designed as API-first, in order to connect with other applications. That was a huge improvement from the mostly static website pages in Web1. Web3, based on the advancements in AI and NLP, promises much better search, analysis, and interpretation of information. Additionally, to deliver the immersive experience, the metaverse, for example, will rely on virtual and augmented reality, 3D modeling, and gesture computing. All in all, Web3 is a massive improvement over Web2, bringing in new depth, dimensions, and opportunities to users, developers, and the business.

3. Data Ownership

You do not own what you post in Web2. In fact, everything that you post is owned by the platform. People do not get any compensation for the work that they publish. In comes Web3 to save the day. Users have ownership over what they post due to data decentralization. That is called ‘shared data ownership.’ This means that your data belong to you, no matter what platform you’ve shared it on. The decentralized data is more secure due to the underlying blockchain technology. Additionally, you can make money for providing information or otherwise contributing to the community. With Web3, data is utilized more fairly and can benefit its owners. 

4. Graphics
web2 vs web3

From 2D to 3D, in the Web2 vs Web3 discussion, it is interesting to see how graphics can change. We are used to the 2D space with video or pictures, but they don’t pop out at you. Even as a kid, I was used to playing games and seeing pictures that relied solely on 2D technology. Web3 changes everything we know about the experience. Now, not only can graphics be 3D, but also interactive. If you’ve ever heard of the metaverse or used some gaming platforms before, you can see how these changes come to life. With different avatars, buildings, and other remarkable landscapes, you can see just how well these 3D graphics come to life in Web3.

5. Social vs. Semantics

With Web2 technology came lots of social media platforms, blogs, vlogs, podcasts, and so on. These allowed for communication and social interaction between people via content-creating techniques. People usually find content through keywords that the network asks you to apply. Now with Web3, this semantic web completely changes the game. Instead of using keywords to find these social media and Internet postings, searches are based more on your writing content. This will help filter results more efficiently and precisely towards what you are trying to target. Web3 is much more efficient than Web2’s search algorithms.

As you can see, Web2 vs Web3 uncovers some of the differences between these two WWW evolutions. Web3 brings tons of new technologies to the table – VR, AR, blockchain, crypto tokens, and more. These new developments are paving the way for Web3 and helping it get fully functional. Of course, we won’t adopt Web3 overnight. But we will be much faster than with Web2. Because we’ve been there and we’ve learned a ton. Therefore, we are more ready than before for a big technology leap. Allowing people to interact as though they are actually together has made tons of people excited about this technology. We already see new metaverse projects started daily. Certainly, there are still quite a few things to be improved. But there are many people from small and big companies working on solving the issues. Once we realize the full potential and the endless opportunities of Web3, well, Web2 will be a thing of the past. It will take a few more years until we get there. But the direction is clear.

Artificial Intelligence: Can it be trusted?

Artificial Intelligence is something new and exciting entering the market. The idea of machines doing human work has always been a thought of the future that is now becoming an ever-growing reality. However, can we really trust this process? Complete privacy is a thing of the past, but this has become an even larger concern with the growth of AI. AI-enabled technology is expanding rapidly, but we know very little about the risks and ethical implications it introduces.

Entering into a Zero-Trust World

Companies are adapting to new AI technologies, but this is not without risks. The adoption of AI has led to more security breaches, leaking of information, and the creation of deepfakes. An altered video or image of a person is a deepfake. They are used to get information or for other harmful means. These issues are major ethical problems within the workplace that could cause a rise in distrust and other concerns. For example, AI could easily manufacture people’s images and voices just through hearing or seeing. Someone with malicious intent could enter into their computer systems and steal private information. That could cost companies millions of dollars. Since AI is becoming readily available, ethical people should be using those algorithms. If not, then there could be negative implications. By maintaining the mindset of being in a zero-trust world, people could be more cautious. But sometimes deepfakes are still undetectable. AI is powerful and sometimes we can disregard its content as truthful.

Companies can Fight Back

AI is not all bad. There are ways we can manage risk within the workplace. If a company sets forth proper guidelines and training classes on working with AI properly, this could prevent issues. New technology should be implemented, such as a three-layered security approach and new privacy-preserving techniques. AI can be harmful in the wrong hands, but by itself, it is just a computer code. If people within a company understand the risk of AI and are okay with it, this is a good starting point. No one wants to be caught off guard, so being open and discussing AI can put people at ease, even knowing that there is a risk that comes with its algorithms. Companies can fight back against these AI issues through increased security and understanding within the workplace.

Is it Worth the Risk?

Yes, it surely is. AI may be a new concept, but if organizations adequately train people on how to use it and detect fraud/scams, then why not implement it into a company. Technology is continuously improving, and if you are not moving forward, then you’re going to go out of business. People should still focus on the idea of living in a zero-trust world to remain cautious. However, Artificial Intelligence is not going anywhere and is overall worth the risk.

Learn how Simply Flows utilizes AI in a safe way to help you be more productive.

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