ADMA Global Forum retrospective: the promise of the metaverse

The metaverse is the ultimate combination of human experience and our online services, while also creating new opportunities for data-based marketers. Here Jason Juma-Ross, Director, Technology Industry Strategy at Meta, looks at some of the key considerations for the years ahead.

The metaverse is set to continue expanding and innovating at a rapid rate. In fact, by 2032 it is estimated that just the metaverse alone will have increased our current data usage by a staggering 20 times. 

The sheer scale of this burgeoning digital space will require us to adopt new ways of thinking, believes Meta’s Director of Technology Industry Strategy, Jason Juma-Ross.

“The technologies available around human and computer interaction are super interesting. But when you're in these new environments, you won’t have a mouse and keyboard. So we need to consider how we interact in this environment and what the processes will be,” he says.

For Juma-Ross, two of his favourite principles apply to how to act responsibly when building for the metaverse. 

“Firstly, don't surprise people. People need to understand there are lots of terms and conditions that consumers must be made aware of. Secondly, you must design for everyone,” he explains. 

This inclusivity-based design principle is integral when it comes to connecting with users in the metaverse. We must now think beyond the user experience, and instead to the entire environment we exist in. 

“We’ve got research programs we're running at the moment to figure out how new technology sits within the metaverse. Those principles [of transparency and inclusiveness] are really important to outline first. By having those in the design process from the start, we can create all the acceptable things within our social context,” Juma-Ross says. 

“Accessibility in the metaverse is also very important. We should aim to get as many different perspectives and diverse views into it as we can. This is a much more naturalistic human environment, and so we should be able to bring all of our wonderful kinds of diverse human perspectives into that creation.” 
 

Keeping our data and space safe

For Juma-Ross, developing the technologies that will address data security and consumer privacy in the metaverse is a top priority. 

“It’s essential that everybody feels safe in these environments. No-one is going to get very far if we don't have that as a starting point,” he says.

As Juma-Ross explains, however, we’re still in the early days of building the technologies that will enable consumer safety across the metaverse. 

“We’ve just released personal boundaries in some of our key applications where you have personal space in Web3 environments. It’s space that people can’t encroach on, which means no unwanted interactions. This is just the start, there will be many more technologies that fall around this goal,” he adds. 

Furthermore, the data and insights generated in the metaverse will be immense. Compared to traditional social media, metaverse platforms can gather far more detail on users, due to the immersive nature of the tech, and the length of time people will spend interacting with it.

One such example is a non-invasive technology, which Juma-Ross says is based on surface electromyography. Worn as a wristband, it picks up signals that pass down into your arm and fingers, opening up opportunities for gaming and education with just a flick of the wrist. 

This potential is creating an exciting future for data-based marketers. Many of whom will be able to connect with people that wouldn’t traditionally be able to use regular devices, or those who have started to join in through immersive technology. 

“One thing we noticed recently was that the Oculus app was number one in 14 countries. So it is starting to reach this point of critical mass. If you extrapolate that forward in a 10 year period, where you've got a billion people using these technologies, we're going to see all sorts of opportunities and possibilities in this space,” he says. 

The metaverse, much like its older sibling the internet, is likely to become a place so incredibly targeted in its offering, that it will seem vast and endless. 

“The thing for me is just how varied some of the platforms already are. There's people learning plumbing, building cars and houses. There are people doing fitness, social interaction, gaming, or just having traditional meetings. What we're going to see over the next three years is more niches being introduced into the metaverse across media and entertainment technology,” enthuses Juma-Ross.

But again, he stresses, responsible innovation is absolutely key when it comes to capturing data in a way that meets privacy standards. 

“There will be a time and a place where people will want to use their data and transfer it from one place to another. Say heading from a work meeting into a virtual paintball game with your team afterwards. It’s a complex question we now have to solve, because moving data around requires massive amounts of transparency.” 

ADMA Members can watch the Global Forum Panel: Demystifying the Metaverse with Jason Juma-Ross here.