All the rage these days is talk of the metaverse. Millions of dollars are being spent on everything from real estate, non-fungible tokens or NFTs and virtual reality headsets. Physical real estate companies are buying up land in a variety of online plot sellers. The same plots are being sold to different buyers across different platforms. In the real world, have any two parties owned the same building at the same time? Obviously not, but in the metaverse we first need to see which of these land sellers will remain in business for the long haul. Lots of people are buying the same plots, it's a speculative gamble.
Investing in NFTs has also taken off in a big way. Artists, photographers and celebrities alike have been selling their own pieces of the digital universe. Jack Dorsey CEO of Twitter and Square, now called Block, launched his first tweet as an NFT. Photographers are selling prints in the virtual world linked to the blockchain. Artists are doing the same. Recently the Picasso family launched a series of NFTs all in the metaverse.
A new smartphone app called Octi has taken a different approach. They have partnered with mega brands in the real world bringing them in to their metaverse world in the app. Users can use and buy merchandise from different areas. When a user owns an item and other users use it they make coins. These coins can be later used to purchase real goods in the physical world. This encourages people to buy merchandise in the metaverse to be able to convert their virtual coins into currency to purchase real, shippable goods to their door. It's an interesting concept. It is not yet a mainstream app, but time will tell if it gains a following with a large amount of daily users who are able to sustain its business model. So what does it mean from the metaverse to your universe?
At my company SUITCAFE we wanted to take aspects of the metaverse and virtual reality and bring that into the menswear business. We manufacture real goods and although some may say digital clothing will be around soon, it is not yet happening. We thought, how could we let customers use VR online to design their own products and share those products throughout their social platforms and when ready turn that design into a real physical product, a one of one so to speak. What easier product to start designing than a pair of shoes. With that thinking came about the Virtual Custom Shoe Creator.
The VCSC is an in depth VR design tool with images that can be manipulated by hand on a tablet such as an iPad or phone. It can certainly be used on a desktop, but the experience is exponentially better when the fingers can pinch and turn the objects. The VCSC allows the customer to change any aspect of the shoe they want. Leather, laces, soles, colors and materials can be switched around on different parts of the shoe model. A design can also incorporate different materials in the same shoe. There are billions of combinations that can be had. The Inspire Section has shoes that have already been produced and photographed. These give a designer an idea of what can be accomplished. A physical design can then be chosen and with a click of a button the reverse occurs. Physical designed products transform into the virtual world to be changed, manipulated and redesigned by the user. Probably the most popular part of the Virtual Custom Shoe Creator are the sneakers and short boots. Make these as dressy or sporty as you like using materials such as suede, crocodile, camo flannel and many others. There is nothing like this platform on the internet today. Whether the metaverse will become what its potential may be, no one yet knows, however, by using this new design tool for your next pair of shoes, boots or sneakers you can have the same footwear in the real world and in the metaverse.