If there is any technology that both has enormous potential and is the least understood, it is the metaverse. Both divisive and promising, this parallel virtual plane of existence has the potential to upend traditional real estate. Or does it?

You may think it esoteric, but millions of dollars of real estate have already changed hands in the top-five metaverse worlds. Beyond stars like Snoop Dogg and Steve Aoki — digital neighbors in the Sandbox metaverse — corporate giants like Samsung and Adidas own virtual property. McKinsey projects that the metaverse could grow into a $5 trillion market by 2030, equal in size to the economy of Japan.

And behind it all: competing and nascent technologies, corporate giants jostling for control, and largely no agreement on file formats, data exchange standards or protocols, or even the technology used to access these virtual worlds.

So, what does it all mean? How will it work? What is the metaverse, exactly, and why should we care?

And above all, how will it all impact the Future of Work?