🦸♂️Avatars: Taking Shape
Last updated
Last updated
An early, tangible expression of our digital identities is the world of avatars - which allows us to visually express ourselves in the virtual world. Pioneering companies in big tech are testing the waters with virtual conference calls, where employee avatars are present to discuss business-related topics. For any virtual meetings where 3D avatars will be used as the participants' representations, for instance, Microsoft Teams activates the avatar capability. As a result, avatars become a part of our digital identities and an extension of who we are in the virtual realm.
There are no limits to how these avatars should look and opinions in the web3 community often differ. Big tech players like Meta are striving to design avatars as close as possible to our real identities and to equip them with purchasable clothing from well-known brands. The core focus here is on the virtual representation of one’s real-world features.
While we do not presume to judge right or wrong here, we clearly see the different dynamics that are triggered by one side or the other. The real-world representation of ourselves in the form of human-like avatars takes on the role of translating us into the digital world. In the end, we need this 2D/3D version to use virtual services and interact with each other. However, once we move towards borderless avatars, the tremendous creative freedom that comes with them enables us to realize new perspectives on our digital identity.
“It’s fairly clear that in an increasingly digital world people will switch between digital identities - you are not going to always have to use the same persona across different applications and in various use cases over the next 50 years.” - Punk #6529
