Mark Zuckerberg is on a mission from God: he’s going to plug you in. To explain Zack’s hell or high water commitment to building the Matrix, it’s because he’s sort of divine. Other than to say questing? In October of this year, Meta already Lost $9.4 billion in the Metaverse (opens in new tab) Before telling investors, we plan to make more losses in the future, huge swath of fire (opens in new tab) At the company, its metaverse ambitions remain unwavering. Sounds like a crusader to me.
Of course, Zuckerberg isn’t the only Metaverse fanatic running a tech company. Other reasons (opens in new tab) Jeez). Epic’s Tim Sweeney also found the bug. a court judgment proving that (opens in new tab)In addition, we are interested in Konami (opens in new tab), Tencent (opens in new tab), NVIDIA (opens in new tab), microsoft (opens in new tab) And, uh, Lego (opens in new tab)who knows what, with crypto weirdos and Web3 outriders.
But despite all this frenzy, the Metaverse… wasn’t going anywhere this year.There’s been a lot of hoopla and hoopla and big promises about the world to come, but after almost 365 days and tens of billions of dollars, 2022 in the metaverse feels like it all came down to some very expensive hardware (opens in new tab), stupid selfie (opens in new tab) and the Foot announcement (opens in new tab).
So where does it go from here?
Turn it on, tune in, drop out
Eight years after Facebook acquired Oculus, the Metaverse’s biggest promoter is still have a hard time explaining what it is (opens in new tab)A year ago I would probably say it’s because they really don’t know.It’s a Silicon Valley oligarch’s whim that never got over snow crash (opens in new tab), and others need to know the details. But now I think the reason is more mundane. Because the metaverse is boring.
What is the Metaverse? Internet in VR. Instead of scrolling through Amazon’s pages, you walk through virtual aisles, picking up items with simulated hands, and encountering other shoppers along the way. Instead of working from a physical space or from home with one eye on Slack/Microsoft Teams/GChat, you’ll be living in a virtual office with your virtual colleagues.
Doesn’t that sound…a bit boring? I think that’s why Vishal Shah, Meta’s VP of Metaverse, seemed to be having trouble articulating the company’s concept in words. Metaverse 101 series (opens in new tab) Specifically because the metaverse sounds pretty boring. It’s much better to speak in a savior tone about the creator economy and the “experiential” possibilities of the Metaverse than to tell everyone he’s turning his 9 to 5 hours into a monotonous version of Second Life. Excellent.
So basically, the reason why CEOs still struggle to explain the metaverse to us is because it only makes sense when we explain it to each other. From a technology company’s perspective, the metaverse is dizzying. It’s an infinitely expandable virtual space that you have full control over and can adjust and adjust at will (at least until/unless the government gets involved). The “creator economy” offers a sea of intellectual property to tax and monetize until the end of time.
That’s the former Greek Finance Minister (and former Valve economist, what a career) What did Yannis Varoufakis mean when he said it (opens in new tab) The Metaverse was “the digital fiefdom that Zuckerberg dreams of becoming a techno-lord.” It is also a paradox observed by Second Life pioneers Philip Rosedale and Bradford Oberwager. PCG interview (opens in new tab) Last April: The Metaverse needs residents, but to attract them it needs to be filled with cool stuff, and to fill it with cool stuff it needs residents to build.
Little catch 22. And so far these resident builders haven’t been lured in by vague sales pitches (nor by specific sales pitches. Again, it really only appeals to tech capitalists. from).Ultimately millions of dollars in marketing and research dollars Metaverse flavored Coca-Cola (opens in new tab)Zack’s stupid selfie (opens in new tab)When leg (opens in new tab)And that was just last year.
… The reason why CEOs still struggle to explain the Metaverse to us is that it only makes sense when we explain it to each other.
Nothing so far has succeeded in stoking the enthusiasm the Metaverse will likely need to survive. 2022 will end just as it entered. stalling.
No. The truth is that spending billions on something might end up distorting reality enough to get what you want. That’s how I smell the blood in the water. If you get me to stop betting, they’ll probably find a way to use it to exist one day.
It’s not all doom and gloom. Contrary to my pessimism, the tech industry may not find a way to make this thing even more attractive, even with billions of dollars more. Even if it was, a better metaverse (better verse) sketch was created. these very pages (opens in new tab)what makes us healthier and happier rather than finding yet another tough way to extract value from our daily lives. I think it’s going to take a vote on the virtualization and virtual feet. I know
