Anyone who has become aware of the evolution of the Internet in recent years (or is just simply connected) will know that being a successful social network for a long time is not an easy task. Without looking back too much, we would run out of fingers on our hands if we had to count all those initiatives that used to have millions of users and were valued in millions of dollars that are now forgotten. Without a doubt, it is also clear that our need to communicate and interact promises a long life for the phenomenon of social media even though probably in the next few years it will not look like anything like what we use now.
One of the next up and coming trends that is taking shape gives us a sensation of deja vú: platforms for virtual relationships through avatars. Yes, if it looks familiar to you, then you have “lived”. For a while, Second Life was a fashionable phenomenon and by 2007 it had millions of users and many company acquired virtual land to mount there the alter ego of their company. After some time, this platform stopped being talked about and other options substituted it in the preferences of its users. Without a doubt, the new technology, virtual reality glasses encourages that our lives will return to these types of initiatives.
The latest Mobile World Congress was witness to how the two big players, Facebook and Samsung, are betting on virtual reality glasses to take the next technological leap. HTC, Microsoft and Sony also have theirs. Of course, one of the first uses will be videogames, but no one is quite aware that virtual worlds will shortly be back in fashion. Second Life is already reinventing themselves as Project Sansar and Samsung launched AltspaceVR. We are a step away from returning to have an avatar in our lives but this time technology will provide a more immersive experience. In general, media and users are waiting expectantly for this new panorama that these new technologies are coming up with. This powerful deja vú is happening in the minds of some people who see this virtual world as a future like the Matrix.