What is the metaverse?

Good question. “Metaverse” is currently a major buzzword in the world of technology, business, and finance, and like all buzzwords, its definition is confused, contested, and shaped by the ambitions of the people who use it.

Here’s one thing we can say for sure: the term was coined by Neal Stephenson in his 1992 novel snow shock to describe a widely used virtual world in his imagined future, a 21st century dystopia. In snow shockThe metaverse is a virtual reality world depicted as a planet-circling marketplace where virtual real estate can be bought and sold, and where users wearing virtual reality glasses inhabit 3D avatars whose shape they are free to choose.

Bruce Jensen/Bantam…