Ever since Facebook and its companies embraced a new brand identity called “Meta” last month, there has been a slew of opinions on what a connected digital world means, what it is going to look like, and who will build it. The concept seems similar to Second Life, a virtual world that allows people to create an online version of themselves and have a second life in the online space.

       Launched in 2003, Second Life is still around and claims to have about a million users. For a closer reference, it is like the ideal virtual universe set out at the end of the recent Ryan ...