December 13, 2021, MBS Virtual Holiday Celebration
It’s a busy time at MBS, but last night, from 4 to 6 P.M., students, alumni, faculty, and staff from near and far gathered for some end-of-semester cheer at the Virtual MBS Holiday Celebration—held via the interactive and VERY fun virtual platform Gather.town (c/o Gather).
The evening was packed with activities, prizes, and surprises—including hidden gifts, a hidden escape room, a scavenger hunt, and “Jeopardy Trivia” with questions that were HARD! There was even a beach (!) and a bar / lounge area, where, from 5:15 to 5:30 P.M.., students could venture for “Drinks with Dr. Silver,”—joining MBS executive director Deborah Silver in wishing everyone well for the holiday season and into the new year. Not only did the event provide a great opportunity for students to connect and celebrate, said Silver, but it gave a glimpse into what the metaverse might look like. 
The metaverse! It’s a word that many of us have heard almost nonstop recently. For those not fully acquainted with the metaverse concept, Microsoft breaks it down nicely in a definition similar to last night’s Gather.Town experience— “a digital space inhabited by digital representations of people, places, and things”—a space where people can communicate, share, learn, and work with others. (To Dr. Silver’s point.)
While Gather isn’t the largest player with a hat in the metaverse ring, a recent post, Why the Metaverse Matters, outlines the concept and what it means for future Gather offerings—as well as those of other players (Microsoft, Google, Facebook [Meta]), predicting that, “Ultimately, [the metaverse] will change the way we think about physical location, and create opportunity and connection for people, no matter where they are.”
Either way, while still in relative infancy, the metaverse is coming – and if Meta, Microsoft, and Gather are right, in the very near future, we won’t be able to remember life without it. (We’ll refer back to this post next year.)
ALSO- THURSDAY, DECEMBER 16! Celebration #2! For those who can attend, we hope to see you in person at Thursday’s MBS HOLIDAY OUTDOOR EVENT!