Step into the Metaverse – Available Now!

On October 28, 2021, the digital world stopped when Mark Zuckerberg announced that he was pivoting Facebook from a social network to the metaverse—the future of the internet. At the same time, he claimed the next iteration of the internet and rebranded Facebook to Meta.

Although Zuckerberg said all the right things—we need an open, interoperable metaverse powered by the users—few believe him. In fact, a Forrester survey showed 75 per cent of the 700 respondents not trusting Zuckerberg with building the metaverse. Research by WSJ showed that of the 1,058 US internet users interviewed, 72 per cent do not trust Facebook much/at all. This matches my own simple survey on LinkedIn, where 78 per cent of the 469 people indicated that they do not trust Zuckerberg with building the next iteration of the internet. Time will tell how successful he will be, but if users and content creators can choose between a world owned and controlled by one person or a world owned and controlled by those creating it, I think I know the answer.

In the past months, as a futurist, I went down the rabbit hole of the metaverse, and I came out the other end knowing that the immersive internet is the future of our society. It might not look like it now, but as the late Clay Christensen said:" the next big thing often starts off looking like a toy".

A Community Effort

As part of my research for my new book, I have spoken with almost 100 creators and creatives all involved in building the metaverse, and another 133 completed a lengthy survey about the metaverse. They are the pioneers of this new internet, and they are all creating an open, decentralized, inclusive, and interoperable metaverse.

I hope you will enjoy this journey as much as I did uncovering this magical world where we are only bound by our own creativity. In this book, I will share my vision for the metaverse, what it can become, how it will change our identity and how we play, socialize, shop, and work.

If we manage to develop an open metaverse, the trillions of dollars generated will be shared with all creators and creatives. But beware, dangers are lurking on the road ahead that we need to think carefully about to avoid making the same mistakes as we did when building Web 2.0 or the social internet. I realize that every chapter of this book can be an entire book by itself, as there is so much happening when it comes to the metaverse, and the world is constantly changing. However, I tried to keep it brief while covering as much as possible.

In the coming years, the metaverse will change society and how we work, socialize and play. My new book Step into the Metaverse: How the Immersive Internet Will Unlock a Trillion-Dollar Social Economy will help you prepare for this upcoming paradigm shift.

Praise for Step into the Metaverse

The book has already received praise and recommendations from:

"In Step into the Metaverse, Mark van Rijmenam takes a comprehensive view of the converging forces that will fuse and someday become a future paradigm for human growth, prosperity and existence. That is, unless we f* it up." - John Gaeta.

"A comprehensive tour of vital contemporary metaverse discussions!" – Neil Trevett, President, The Khronos Group

"Dr Mark van Rijmenam does a masterful job sharing a promising vision of the nascent metaverse while also being pragmatic about the challenges and gaps in existing solutions." – Alec Lazarescu.

"The next chapter of human existence is being formed right now, and as you Step into the Metaverse, you'll fully understand the power of the convergence of technology, consumer trends, brands, and reinvention of personal self-expression" - JUSTIN Hochberg.

"[Dr Mark van Rijmenam's] illuminating book on the beginnings of the metaverse is a light in the darkness for the curious and the bold."— Matthew Brewbaker

The hardcopy and eBook are available now in the United States, and you can purchase them on Amazon, Barnes&Noble, or any of the other online bookstores. The audiobook will become available end of July. In addition, the book will be translated into Mandarin, Korean, Vietnamese and Portuguese. In the coming weeks, the book will become across the globe.

If you are interested in a free preview of the book, you can download it here or view it on LinkedIn. Enjoy reading it!