WEDNESDAY AUGUST 31st 2022

Why Does the Metaverse Seem So Limited?

We're still trying to figure out what the metaverse actually is. The term was coined in the early '90s by Neal Stephenson in his novel "Snow Crash", and it described a digital world that existed outside of our own. In the years since, the definition has shifted and grown to encompass everything from social media to augmented reality, but we're still not quite sure how all these different technologies fit together.

Some people see the metaverse as a virtual world where we can all escape to, like Second Life or Sims Online. And not even as nice as Sims Online. Somehow in all the massive press surrounding the “Metaverse,” we’ve been left with horrible 1990’s graphics and a feeling that’s nothing more than another “virtual world” attempt that will leave everyone underwhelmed.

The metaverse is an undefined and ever-changing concept. It's what we make of it, and right now it seems to be a nebulous cloud of potential floating in the digital sky. This is both exciting and daunting. Exciting because there are so many possibilities, and daunting because it's hard to know where to start.

One thing is for sure: we need a firm base to stand on if we're going to explore the metaverse. That's where augmented reality comes in. AR has the potential to be a gateway into the metaverse, providing us with a concrete reality to explore and debate.

The metaverse is often touted as a virtual world, but it's so much more than that. It's a combination of technologies that promises to make the virtual world a far more realistic substitute for the physical one. This is thanks to its use of virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR), which create an immersive experience that can be used for gaming, social networking, and even business purposes.

This potential has caught the attention of businesses and governments around the world, who are looking to the metaverse as a way to improve productivity and communication. For example, in China, the government has built its own metaverse called China VR City, which is used for training and education. And in the United States, businesses are using VR and AR for product design, marketing, and customer support. This means the “metaverse” is already here, and already in use.

In a world where technology is constantly evolving, it can be difficult to predict which platforms will become mainstream. However, when it comes to the metaverse, there is little doubt that augmented reality (AR) will be the driving force behind its adoption.

AR has already begun to make its way into our lives, with devices such as the Apple iPhone and Google Glass providing a glimpse into its potential. Maybe Glass was just too early and misunderstood as a recording device. And while virtual reality (VR) hardware is offering higher fidelity, reaching photorealistic levels, it will still be AR that will drive broad adoption of the metaverse.

The reason for this is simple: people really don’t care about having a virtual world except to mainly play games, and the experience will always be too detached from humanity. Instead, adoption will follow the technology that offers the most natural experience to the human perception. And when it comes to AR, this is by far the most immersive and engaging experience possible.

With VR, users are completely isolated from the outside world, while AR allows users to interact with both the virtual and physical worlds simultaneously. This makes AR superior when it comes to creating truly immersive experiences, something that is critical for the success of the metaverse.

AR has the potential to become the metaverse we need. While virtual reality, or VR, offers an immersive and completely digital experience, AR has the potential to be more integrated into our everyday lives. VR can be isolating, whereas AR can be social and interactive.

We're already seeing examples of how AR can be used to improve our lives. For example, Google Translate uses AR to translate text in real time, so you can communicate with people who don't speak your language. The app also provides a handy guide that shows you how to make the appropriate hand gestures for various phrases.

Another example is the Ikea Place app, which allows you to view 3D images of Ikea furniture in your home before you buy it. This app could potentially save you a lot of money, as you won't have to order furniture online only to find out that it doesn't fit in your living room.

So while VR may offer a more realistic experience, it is AR that will offer the most natural and intuitive interaction with the virtual world. And it is this combination of immersion and interactivity that will make AR the driving force behind the metaverse’s broad adoption. By using fake worlds as a way to show the success of the Metaverse we are limiting ourselves enormously to it’s potential and making it seem nothing more than a fad.

What are some ideas YOU have? What are your thoughts on Augmented Reality?

 Q&A John Hanke CEO of Niantic Labs.
Pokémon Go, Harry Potter and Tech for Good 

What is the next step in Augmented Reality?
The future of AR will, I think, get the phones out of the way for us, and help us use technology in a more natural way. The next frontier for immersive gaming is less immersion and more real-world. We’re trying to get people out of their computers and out into the world playing games, but also appreciating what’s out there and talking to one another.

Why are you gungho about Augmented Reality?
It is the direction that I think is far more interesting and promising — for technology and, really, for humanity. AR is designed to add, enhance the things you do as a human being: Being outside, socializing with other people, shopping, playing, having fun. AR can make all those things better.

When I say augmented reality, I mean literally augmenting reality. And that could be anything your senses can perceive. If my augmentation is I made a tree whisper when you sit near it, and it was just an audio form of augmented reality, that’s really a legitimate form of augmenting the world. If you were gazing at a painting of cherry blossoms in the museum, if I could waft the smell of those blossoms to you, that would be a great use of AR. Some of it can come through phones, some of it can come through other devices. But we are visual creatures and we love visual things. We respond to visual inputs above all others. So does make the case for visual AR being very important, which gets you to (internet-connected) glasses.

What bothers you the most about Mark Zuckerberg’s push to create a metaverse?

I feel like people just have it wrong, thinking the future is people logging into a 3D world and walking around as avatars. I do not believe that is the future of technology and certainly not the future of humanity. I think it was a weird reaction to COVID in a way, with people sheltering at home, watching a lot of Netflix, getting a lot of delivery food, and kids living on Roblox a lot.

TheRundown
At least 10 News Stories you Must Know
(but don't have time to read!)

1.Netflix is making a push into advertising, and they've poached two executives from Snap to help them with the transition. Jeremi Gorman, Snap's chief business officer, will serve as president of worldwide advertising at Netflix. Peter Naylor, who joined Snap two years ago to oversee advertising in North America, is stepping up as VP of ad sales for the streaming platform. This move comes as no surprise, as Snapchat has been struggling to gain traction with advertisers in recent years. With Netflix's massive user base and global reach, they're in a unique position to disrupt the online advertising landscape. Only time will tell if this move will pay off for them in the long run.

2. This week, California lawmakers passed a bill that would restrict data collection by operators of websites “likely to be accessed” by minors under 18. The California Age-Appropriate Design Code Act (AB 2273) would prohibit online sites "likely to be accessed" by minors from collecting or sharing their personal information, unless necessary to provide a specific service.

The bill is an attempt to address concerns about the way in which online companies collect and use data, particularly from children. While the bill's intentions are noble, it is unlikely to have a significant impact on the data collection practices of major online companies. First, the bill only applies to websites that are “likely to be accessed” by minors. This leaves a lot of room for interpretation and will likely lead to many companies choosing not to comply with the law. Second, the law only prohibits the collection of personal information, not the use of it. So even if a company does not collect personal information from minors, it can still use information that it has collected from other sources. Despite its shortcomings, the California Age-Appropriate Design Code Act is a step in the right direction. It shows that lawmakers are beginning to take seriously the issue of data privacy and the need to protect children from exploitation by online companies. Hopefully, this will lead to more comprehensive legislation at the state and federal level that will make it harder for online companies to collect and use our data without our consent.

3.Google's recent update to Smart Bidding conversion values now allows you to apply different values to different conversion actions. This is a significant change from the old system, where all value rules applied equally to all conversion actions. The new system gives you much more flexibility in how you assign values to different conversions, and it means that you can more accurately reflect the true value of each conversion. This is especially important for businesses with multiple product categories, as it allows you to assign a different value to each category. For example, if you have a high-end product and a lower-priced product, you can now assign a higher value to the high-end product than the lower-priced product. This change is sure to be welcomed by digital marketers, as it provides a much needed level of flexibility and granularity when assigning values to conversions.

4. It's that time of year again! The lights are up, the trees are decorated, and the holiday sales are in full swing. According to Axios, big retailers like Walmart have already started running holiday offers. Some even started more than a month earlier than last year. Home Depot, for example, dropped holiday items in mid-July… and many toy stores are expected to sell out of products weeks before Christmas. With all of the festive cheer in the air, it's important to handle your holiday budgets with care. Not surprisingly, shoppers are keen to make their dollars stretch further this year. So if you're looking to avoid any post-holiday debt hangovers, be sure to keep an eye on your spending. Happy holidays!

5. If you're one of the millions of people who have used a filter or lens on Snapchat, you may be eligible for a payout. Illinois reached a $35 million settlement with Snap this month, according to the Chicago Tribune, in a class action lawsuit over how user data was collected. The lawsuit alleged that Snap collected "biometric data" without users' consent, which is against Illinois law. Under the terms of the settlement, Snap will pay $28 million to a fund for affected users, and $7 million to the attorneys who brought the suit. So if you're an Illinois resident who has ever used a Snapchat filter or lens, keep an eye out for more information about the settlement - you could be owed some money.

6. As any experienced SEO knows, Google can drop URLs from the search engine index at any time. John Mueller from Google confirmed this on Twitter the other day. He wrote "It doesn't really matter what happened, but yes, any URL can drop out of the index over time." This is an important reminder that even if you're doing everything right, there's no guarantee that your pages will stay in the Google index forever. So enjoy your place in the sun while you can, and be prepared for the possibility that your pages may one day disappear from search results.

7. The data from Apptopia is quite interesting. It seems that even though the top meditation apps saw a sharp decline in sessions in Q2 2022, they were still able to grow their revenues. This just goes to show that even though the meditation app market may be declining, there are still opportunities for growth. And although Calm and Headspace were the two biggest losers in terms of sessions, they were still able to grow their revenues at a healthy clip. This just goes to show that it pays to be the top dog in the meditation app space.

8.  Amazon, facing ‘unfavorable regulatory environment’ in India, struggles to expand. India is a key overseas market for Amazon, where it competes with Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Retail, Walmart-owned Flipkart and social commerce startups SoftBank-backed Meesho and Tiger Global-backed DealShare. Amazon has so far offered “a weaker proposition in ‘new’ commerce” in the country, the report added. At stake is one of the world’s last great growth markets. The e-commerce spending in India is expected to double in size to over $130 billion by 2025.

9. Oxwash, a U.K. startup that’s spent the last few years applying high tech processes to shrink the environment cost of dry cleaning and commercial laundry, has trousered £10 million (~$12 million) in Series A funding to expand its nationwide footprint. Currently its service is available in five U.K. cities: London, Oxford, Cambridge, Bristol and Manchester but — flush with fresh funding — it’s aiming for broader domestic coverage and eyeing a U.S. launch after that

10.  Justice Department in early stages of filing an antitrust lawsuit against Apple, says report: The U.S. Department of Justice is in the early stages of drafting an antitrust lawsuit against Apple, according to sources cited by Politico in a report released just ahead of the weekend. While the new report suggested a potential suit could arrive by the end of the year, it also stressed that a final decision about if or when to sue Apple had not yet been made.

11. Star-studded digital avatar startup Genies launches NFT fashion marketplace. Digital avatar startup Genies, known its for high-profile partnerships with celebrities such as Justin Bieber, Migos and Cardi B, has just released its long-anticipated NFT storefront, “The Warehouse.” Genies last earned a $1 billion valuation from heavy-hitting tech investors including Silver Lake and Mary Meeker’s Bond Capital during its most recent raise, a $150 million Series C round announced in April.

The Watercooler
Impress your Co-Workers with these useless facts about marketing

5 Tips for a More Productive Morning
 

Start at 5:00—yesterday. 

One thing some people like to recommend is to come into the office and write a to-do list, to get yourself organized before you start your day. 

Establish a routine. 

Plan your day wisely. 

Go outside. 

Try not to rely on caffeine.

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