The buzzword of CES 2022 was obvious even before the hybrid in-person/digital show began. Companies big and small glommed onto the buzzword “metaverse” to give their products a cutting-edge sheen in press releases and marketing materials ahead of the Jan. 5-7 show.
I started naming the CES buzzword of the year in 2010 when seemingly every company at the tech trade show was using the word “green” to describe their products and companies. Every year, one word usually stands out at the annual CES show.
This year that word was “metaverse,” a vague term to describe an immersive next-generation version of the internet. The metaverse encompasses virtual reality, 3D digital worlds, augmented reality, and crypto and blockchain technologies.
CES held panel discussions about working and learning in the metaverse. Large companies at the show like Accenture, Hyundai, Nvidia, Qualcomm and Samsung used the term to describe their visions for the future.
And a whole lot of smaller companies at CES promoted how their products will play a part in the coming metaverse.
Some attendees expressed frustration with the overuse of the term. One attendee, Nima Zeighami, even put together a Twitter thread of photos that showed exhibitors using the word metaverse in their booth messaging.
Runners-up for CES buzzword of the year included NFTs, digital health, lidar, Matter and, of course, Covid.
CES buzzwords through the years:
2010: Green
2011: Smart
2012: Ultra
2013: Super
2014: Curved
2015: Wearable
2016: HDR (high dynamic range)
2017: Voice
2018: AI (artificial intelligence)
2019: 5G
2020: Streaming
2021: Pandemic
2022: Metaverse
Related articles:
CES 2022 attendee photographs every weird use of ‘metaverse’ (PC Gamer; Jan. 7, 2022)
Metaverse Hype Permeates CES 2022 Tech Show (Investor’s Business Daily; Jan. 4, 2022)
Photo: Metaverse City at CES 2022 (Nima Zeighami)
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