Metaverse – fad or future ?
CMW INTERNATIONAL REPORTER OLIVER THOMAS SITS DOWN WITH PETER GOULD , CEO OF RENDEZVERSE , A METAVERSE SERVICE PLATFORM USED BY ORGANISERS TO SCOUT EVENT VENUES IN THE VIRTUAL REALM
G ive us a short overview of what the RendezVerse is and how it serves event organisers ? RendezVerse is a metaverse service platform . It brings together venues with event organisers . It serves as a discovery tool for site inspections . If you imagine the history of site inspections , it started with photography in brochures , then the internet came along with flat imagery , which then became 2D videos and you ’ ve now got a bit of 360-degree photography . The final level , which the RendezVerse is offering , is immersive , 3D experiences where you can take your client into the venues .
For instance , you ’ ve got a venue option in Budapest , Barcelona and Prague . You could take the client to all three , show them the setups , and do it all in one day . As an organiser , you could meet the event host there and have all those conversations ( inside the metaverse venue ).
While the metaverse is not replacing face-to-face , it will mean
“ Let ’ s not use the term metaverse . I think the word will fade away . It ’ s really Web 3.0 .” you could do fewer trips and have better information . It also means that when decisions were previously made based on 2D photography , now it can be a lot more sophisticated .
To what extent is the metaverse already being used within the events industry ; and how far do you believe it can develop ? Currently , it ’ s hardly being used . There are some outliers , but the infrastructure is not in place yet . In many ways , it ’ s still conceptual . There aren ’ t many platforms like the RendezVerse . We have ambitions to grow that very rapidly over the next 18 months to 1,000 venues and maybe even 5,000 different spaces in those venues .
Why would you start now ? Well , you have to start somewhere . If I ’ d
48 / CONFERENCE & MEETINGS WORLD / ISSUE 119