MWC metaverse expert offers real-life tips

Chief metaverse officer and CEO of Future Intelligence Group Cathy Hackl insisted Facebook’s rebrand to Meta Platforms was a watershed moment and opened up the concept to millions, but added the industry must also focus on real-world challenges to ensure it is not overhyped.

Speaking to Mobile World Live, Hackl revealed while she had been working in metaverse-related industries for almost ten-years and presenting on the concept for the last four, it was not until the creation of the Meta Platforms brand that people and businesses really took notice.

“It wasn’t something they were ready to wrap their heads around, and what we see with this rebranding and what this rebranding did was introduce the term metaverse to millions of people in a lot faster way than we could’ve envisioned.”

Moving on to the actual concept, Hackl believes the metaverse is still nascent and conceded that, like many other technologies including VR, it could end up being part of a hype cycle.

To ensure it is not, the industry must look at tackling challenges in the physical world which would impact the creation of the metaverse, such as climate change.

“If we continue to have cataclysmic climate events, if we continue not to realise that in order for us to have the metaverse that many of us envision which includes the physical world, we have to take care of our physical spaces.”