Use Cases For Virtual Worlds And Metaverse Platforms Which Correspond To Actual Locations On Earth
Several years ago people were “flipping” well-known locations inside geospatial metaverse and virtual world platforms. Someone would purchase a well-known landmark for a low price and then quickly attempt to “flip” (sell) it to someone else in order to create a fast profit. However, no one ever really spent much time on the utility of these platforms as it pertains to helping a local business.
Using the area of Dallas and its suburbs as an example, here are some possible real world use cases for these kinds of platforms:
Chiropractor
A local chiropractor who wants to help those who are Dallas-area golf enthusiasts can help this audience. A clinic, such as Premier Health Chiro Med ( https://premierhealthchiromed.com/ ) in the area of Preston Hollow and Highway 75 / Central Expressway, can “pin” in Augmented Reality helpful short videos about stretching and small things to reduce a golfer's pain on the first tee of every nearby golf course. The same video could be used over & over, so it would be just a matter of finding those first tee coordinates on the map and adding the content. A link, seen at the bottom of the A.R. content on someone's phone through the virtual world platform, can direct the golfer to more tips on the chiropractor's blog. Over time, this may help bring in more golfers to the practice for chiropractic care.
Nighttime Entertainment
A well-known name for nighttime entertainment, attracting both local audiences and out-of-town visitor audiences alike, is Pete's Dueling Piano Bar. Now located in Frisco (formerly in Addison), it may one day wish to host a small “concert” in the metaverse. 3D building environments now can be added to the metaverse at its exact location (in The Star district of Frisco), where guests can be entertained with a small concert. Images inside the 3D building permit clickable hyperlinks – and those can take people to learn more about the actual show, go to the page of available tickets for an upcoming show, and even link out to other videos showing people having a great time such as on the company's YouTube channel here: https://www.youtube.com/@petesduelingpianobar57
The company also can send its musicians to third-party locations for parties, company events, weddings and more ( https://petesduelingpianostogo.com/ ). Images can be pinned in other virtual worlds at those locations and sent as a “thank you” to those who hosted the event. The event coordinators then can share those images (links) via their social media profiles, email newsletters, event blogs/websites, and other methods.
Driving School
If a local driving school in Dallas offers the mandatory six hour driver education course, like Texas Adult Drivers Education in Garland offers statewide ( https://www.texasadultdriverseducation.com/ ), then it can pin helpful driving safety tips in a virtual world's map. Since the 6 hour course is for ages 18 to 24, a good starting point would be to pin a set of images – which then leads to more in-depth videos – on parking areas of Texas college campuses in the virtual world's map.
Alternatively, another provider of the same course (Drivers Education of America – https://www.driverseducationofamerica.com/texas/#courses ) could record videos in the geospatial metaverse platforms tied to those same college campuses. That way, within a few days, the company can have customized college-specific videos giving helpful driving tips which would resonate with each specific campus' students.
Sports Bar
This can be fun if done properly. Using one of the virtual worlds which permits Augmented Reality, a sports bar in Plano – such as Assembly Icehouse ( https://www.assemblyicehouseplano.com/ ) can pin fun customer memories at the specific latitude/longitude of the restaurant. These links can be given to loyal customers so that whenever they come back to eat they can open up images on their phones. These will appear on their smart phone cameras with the current backdrop of the restaurant acting behind the uploaded content.
Plumber
A plumber, such as Duncan Plumbing Solutions in Waxahachie, can use these virtual worlds as well. One example would be to showcase short videos about its trenchless pipe repair service ( https://duncanplumbingsolutions.com/trenchless-pipe-repair/ ) and pin those videos in augmented reality virtual world platforms outside a prospective customer's house. That way the homeowner in Ellis County can have an idea of what the service might look like outside his/her specific home without a single blade of grass being moved prior to the plumber showing up to perform the repair. Helping existing customers by offering reassurance and transparency may be a good way to earn loyalty which, in turn, leads to favorable online reviews as well as referrals to friends and family and neighbors.
Video Production
If a local video production company – such as Ethos Media ( https://www.youtube.com/@EthosMediaChannel ) wishes to do so, the owner can pin screenshots of videos from events on the virtual world's map such as at the conference hotel where everyone attended. Each pinned image can have its own “memory”, a link to the full video, and even be added to the IPFS system so that the memory will be in the “permanent web” even if the virtual world platform ever goes away.
Mexican Food Restaurant
Depending on the virtual world platform, in addition to what the sports bar can do as mentioned earlier, a local Mexican restaurant in Plano like Tacoro ( https://www.tacoroplano.com/ ) can place a content above its storefront via Augmented Reality. This way, if the content gets bridged from the virtual world platform to the larger database then those who soon will be wearing the Augmented Reality glasses will be able to see delicious food (image, short video, or 3D object) hovering above its building. Additionally, there can be a promo code or other incentive to bring in the wearers of these kinds of glasses in order to attract the more high-tech audiences and enjoy their first meals at the restaurant.
These are just a few ways in which local businesses may be able to use these kinds of platforms. You are welcome to contact us with your suggestions for other use cases.