The word “Metaverse” is one of three competing to be crowned the Oxford “Word of the Year” (WOTY) in a contest organized by the Oxford University Press (OUP), the publisher of the Oxford English Dictionary.
OUP officially announced the launch of the contest and its three final words for 2022 on November 22, and this year marks the first time the public can participate in voting for WOTY.
“Metaverse” will compete with the terms “#IStandWith” and “Goblin Mode”.
1️⃣ metaverse
Usage increased as we discussed #hybrid working, debated the ethics, and wondered about the feasibility of an entirely online future. pic.twitter.com/Lk0pLfc1mW
— Oxford University Press (@OxUniPress) November 22, 2022
1️⃣ metaverse. Usage increased as we discussed hybrid work, debated its ethics, and wondered about the feasibility of an all-online future.
In OUP’s introduction video for the Metaverse, he describes it as “a hypothetical virtual reality environment in which users interact with each other’s avatars and their surroundings in an immersive way.”
“The term dates back to the 1990s; the first recorded use in the Oxford English Dictionary was in 1992 in Neil Stephenson’s science fiction novel Snow Crash,” the video said.
Oxford noted that “Metaverse” usage has quadrupled in October 2022 compared to October 2021. The video claimed that more lifestyle and work-related activities taking place in virtual reality environments may spark “more discussion about the ethics and feasibility of a fully online future.”
As for the other two WOTY candidates, “#IStandWith” has become an increasingly used phrase for political activism, while “Goblin Mode” emerged as a post-COVID-19 quarantine or lockdown concept in which one refuses to “go back to normal” and instead he does what he wants.
As for how the three phrases were chosen, the OUP stated that it carried out an analysis on a linguistic data system to reduce the candidates to three.
To officially vote for “Metaverse” or the other two candidates, voters must cast their vote on the Oxford Languages website.
More than 237,000 votes have been cast so farand voting will close on December 2.
Oxford has not indicated when the winning word will be announced.
On what the result of the voting could mean, at the time of writing this article an OUP Twitter poll shows that 63% of 929 voters favor “Goblin Mode”, followed by “Metaverse” with 22% and then “#IStandWith” with 15%:
are you #teammetaverse, #TeamGoblinModeor #TeamIStandWith? Vote now for Oxford Word of the Year 2022.
— Oxford University Press (@OxUniPress) November 22, 2022
Are you Team Metaverse, Goblin Mode or IStandWith? Vote now for the Oxford Word of the Year 2022.
Whatever the result of the survey, The metaverse is anticipated to be a major industry in the near future; a recent report by the international consulting firm McKinsey estimates that technologies related to the metaverse will be worth USD 5 trillion by 2030.
Citi investment bank has augmented this prediction, stating that the total market that the metaverse economy can target can be anywhere from $8 trillion to $13 trillion in the same period of time.
Understanding the metaverse has been significantly influenced by the blockchain and cryptocurrency industry, along with Mark Zuckerberg’s rebranding of Facebook to Meta in October 2021. and his recent developments in metaverse products through his company Reality Labs.
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