Who runs this metaverse, anyway?

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According to Wikipedia, the "metaverse" is defined as "a hypothetical iteration of the Internet as a single, universal, and immersive virtual world facilitated by the use of virtual reality and augmented reality headsets."

Forgive me if I'm wrong, but hasn't the term "cyberspace" defined the same concept since William Gibson wrote "Burning Chrome" in 1982? Check your Wikis again. With the exception of an esoteric art collective in the 70s having nothing to do with digital spaces, the popular concept of "cyberspace" has always described "pervasive interconnected digital technology...dating back to the first decade of the spread of the Internet" and refers to the online world as "a world apart", separate from everyday reality.

I don't mean to sound obtuse, but isn't the only difference that instead of plugging a stereo plug into the back of our head, we are, for now, using glasses and handsets ?

Perhaps the term "metaverse" would be better used to describe the reality of a digital multiverse where many smaller digital landscapes exist. Why the distinction? Well, mainly because what is needed is not a struggle for brand supremacy, a virtual version of the struggle for market dominance, as evidenced by Apple and Microsoft and which continues until now. What we need now, today, right off the bat, is a way for these separate virtual reality (VR) landscapes – the metaverses – to work together.

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These small digital ecosystems such as The Sandbox, Cryptovoxels and many more along the way will need to be designed with on-board protocols that will allow them to communicate and work with each other, in synchronicity, in the greatest virtual reality of a unique metaverse. Users have to open the door to their virtual office in one metaverse and move through their avatar seamlessly into another, where their favorite game or maybe their bank is located. How will these protocols emerge? How will they be written and who will write them?

With the advent of 5G, a technology that promises to deliver download speeds of up to 10 gigabits per second, there will be multiple ways to access different metaverses. These methods will inevitably be as relevant as the different charging cables that prevent one brand of laptop from connecting to another brand, thus making users dependent on another brand's service, technologically useless. Particular attention must be given to cyberspace interconnectivity protocols now, and more importantly, the development of the associated workforce to implement these protocols. Not five or 10 years later, when 50 focus group-approved branded metaverses will be vying to provide similar services with wildly varying results.

Think of it this way. We live in a world today where Web2 platforms require one-time usernames, passwords, security questions and/or SMS codes to validate that users are authorized. This Web2 world is clearly based on usernames and passwords. But the future - Web3 and the metaverses - will be ideal...