Amash Malik is director of performance marketing at Bayut & dubizzle

From the moment Facebook rebranded to Meta, the concept of the ‘metaverse’ has become a Silicon Valley buzzword that continues to fascinate the world. Yet, it is one of those concepts that is hard to visualise.

While the world doesn’t have a concrete representation of what the metaverse will look like, the general consensus appears to be that it is going to be a game-changer, offering unprecedented inter-connected experiences. A mainstream implementation will likely involve a mix of technologies including artificial intelligence, virtual reality as well as augmented reality to grow this universe.

In just a few months, many corporations have started capitalising on this inevitable transition to the virtual world. The very fact that Facebook, a $1 trillion-worth megacorporation, has already rebranded to Meta to affirm its dedication to this buzzword is testament to the mammoth potential of this as yet untapped concept.

Today, brands have the possibility to establish an online company that only exists within the metaverse. Instead of conducting calls through routine video conferencing apps, companies can create entire virtual meeting setups driven by immersive technologies. This presents a unique and hitherto unused potential for virtual real estate. While gamers have been buying and trading virtual real estate for many years now, the metaverse has opened up a whole new dimension for online real estate transactions that have no tangible physical counterparts.

The metaverse is going to be bigger than gaming universe

Technology has redefined the growth of the real estate industry. A decade ago, people used to deal directly with real estate agents to buy, sell or lease properties while today property listing portals such as Bayut & dubizzle have revamped the sector and changed the game. 

Traffic and engagement play an important role for any online business. Therefore, being part of the metaverse, soon enough, won’t be a luxury, but a must for businesses to survive. Yet, the way of driving traffic with the metaverse is still not clear. But we can be fairly confident that virtual real estate will become tradeable in no time. Your virtual property assets in the metaverse could eventually become advertising hotspots and hence highly in demand.

So far, we have been seeing strong ties between metaverse and cryptocurrencies. They have been touted as interdependent concepts built on blockchain technology. Thus, the growing demand to explore and adapt to the metaverse may even push governments and corporations around the world to regulate the usage of cryptocurrencies.

It’s exciting to see Dubai being one of the pioneers in this universe as it has already welcomed the region’s first restaurant and lounge offering the public the opportunity to experience this concept by stepping into alternate worlds.

There is no doubt that virtual real estate within the metaverse will first have to overcome several issues. That said, there is significant potential in this industry. The widespread adoption of these technologies may take some time but the early adopter advantage can prove beneficial in the future.