Meta-Averse

Life comes at you fast. Meta-Averse is taking a break. Hopefully not for long, but that remains to be seen. Some unexpected changes in the earn-a-living portion of my work life mean I need to shift focus, at least for awhile, away from the podcast and towards other tasks. I don’t know exactly how long the shift will take, but I do know that while it’s happening I won’t be able to produce the pod on a regular basis. For a number of reasons, I’d rather call time-out than try to put episodes out when I can grab the time, and not on a regular schedule. So I’m calling time out, taking a break, and going on hiatus for a bit. Thank you to all of you who’ve listened, read, emailed, helped, or otherwise engaged with the pod. This episode captures some of my thoughts on what I’ve learned over the course of the first ten episodes — TL;DR: Cryptocurrencies aren’t all that interesting to me right now, probably because I’m not big on risky, speculative investments. Web3 and the blockchain hold interesting potential for community building, organizing, and expanding our notions of what “assets” and “identity” mean online. But, personally, out of all of this stuff, I’m most interested in the potential of Augmented and Extended Reality (AR/XR). There’s a lot of science behind current explorations of what VR sessions can do to a person’s brain and body, and as VR hardware becomes lighter, cheaper, and more powerful, I’m optimistic in the potential of the tech to further human well-being. Similar technologies also hold promise in the realm of so-called “AR Smart Glasses,” that can dynamically layer data over a person’s field of vision, reacting dynamically to both the user’s environment (eg, Serving as tour guide in a museum or on a walking tour, Showing turn-by-turn navigation directions in a driver or cyclist’s field of view, etc), and data coming from external networks (Showing incoming messages akin to a phone screen embedded in your glasses, et al). Personally, I’ve long been interested in AR/VR/XR, and subscribed to the notion that while VR will likely remain a “niche” technology, AR has serious mainstream potential. I’m keeping an eye on two potential watershed moments in the field that may be on the horizon: * The launch of Apple’s mythical smart glasses. Apple has a track record of pushing emergent consumer tech into the mainstream. I’ll leave it at that.* The evolution of dynamic vision correction technology. If and when I can replace my progressive vision lenses (aka Bifocals) with tech that can sense where I’m looking and dial up the best Rx for my eyes, on the fly … well, sign me up! Couple that with AR-style data in the field of view, and we could be looking at a game-changer. Several companies have filed for patents, and even launched pre-order concepts along these lines, so I’m remaining cautiously, excitedly, optimistic on this front. There’s plenty to keep tabs on, remain skeptical of, and get excited about when it comes to the metaverse, Web3, and XR. So stay tuned, keep learning, and remind yourself to use all of this new tech to further well-being for all. I’ll see you on the other side, hopefully sooner than later! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit metaaverse.substack.com

As a music-loving consumer, Spotify Premium is the bee’s knees. Ten bucks a month to listen to virtually all the world’s music? Sign me up! For recording artists, however, streaming isn’t such a great deal. Sure, it’s never been cheaper or easier to produce and distribute quality recordings from virtually anywhere. And the whole world is your potential audience (!) Just don’t expect to earn your living as a recording artist. Very, very few acts do enough streams to make a buck these days. As the below infographic explains, each stream on Spotify nets the artist right around three one-thousandths of a penny. Put another way, you’ll need to do roughly 300,000 streams to earn $1,000. A million streams — which sounds like a ton! — is only going to drive about $3,300 in revenue back to the artist. What’s a musician to do? Look to NFTs, for one. Kevin Primicerio, CEO and Co-Founder of Pianity joins the pod to discuss the future of the music biz — or, one vision for it, at least. Pianity is an NFT platform focused on music. Through Pianity, artists can mint collectible NFTs of tracks for fans to buy, sell, collect, and trade. As the company puts it, the platform lets music fans support their favorite artists by collecting their music. In exchange, fans can connect directly with artists, and get access to exclusive perks. And, of course, once you buy an NFT with a song, you own it. Just like in the good old days of CDs and cassettes. You can even sell it on Pianity’s just-launched secondary marketplace. Can NFTs disrupt the music biz to offer more recording artists a path towards making a living through making music? Listen to the podcast, check out Pianity, and decide for yourself. Learn More About Pianity:WebsiteDiscord Blog This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit metaaverse.substack.com

Eighty-seven percent of people surveyed are concerned about how the metaverse could affect their privacy. But 74% of these same folks would join or at least consider joining the metaverse. This according to a survey Nord Security published at the beginning of this year. The metaverse promises richer, more immersive online experiences. That means more data being collected, analyzed, and used to shape what we see and hear. And that means more chances for bad actors to invade our privacy. As the lines between on- and offline blur even more as the metaverse becomes more real, the risk of digital privacy breaches with physical world consequences go up, as well.How will folks protect themselves while diving into new online experiences we’re all at least a little concerned about? David Nuti, Senior VP at Nord Security, joins the pod to discuss the state of personal privacy and data protection online as we dip our toes into the metaverse future. Learn some practical tips for staying safe(r) now, and things to bear in mind as the Web evolves and our online and offline identities merge even more. Bonus: David tells stories of ATMs spitting cash all over the street 👍Learn More:Nord Blog Nord’s metaverse survey This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit metaaverse.substack.com

Ethan Wu is a financial reporter with FT.com, where he co-writes Unhedged, a weekday newsletter about markets and finance. He’s whip smart, articulate, and highly relatable. On this episode, Ethan and I dive into talking digital currencies, the utility of crypto, and how assets work. Some of my questions for Ethan were pretty basic, as reflects my own lack of knowledge when it comes to finance and markets, while others got a bit deeper into the Why? and What Next? of digital money. But, don’t listen for my questions. Listen for Ethan’s deep knowledge of the space he reports on, and some practical guidance for making sense of everything from stablecoins to why cash sometimes has a negative yield (!). Read and subscribe to FT’s Unhedged newsletter.Follow Ethan on Twitter: @EthanYWu This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit metaaverse.substack.com

Lots of time, money, and brain power is being devoted to getting consumers to spend as much time and attention as possible in the metaverse. But Amir Bozorgzadeh, Co-Founder and CEO of Virtuleap, doesn’t want anyone spending more than 10 minutes or so at a time using his company’s VR apps. Amir is an advocate of short-form virtual reality experiences, and his company’s debut product reflects that philosophy — and the science behind it. Virtuleap Enhance is a VR app that offers a growing library of brain training games that test and train various cognitive skills like memory, problem solving, spatial orientation, and motor control. Amir joined the pod from rainy Lisbon, Portugal to talk about his company’s vision to help people target and address a wide range of neurocognitive skills and issues through daily cognitive workouts in virtual reality.Also: Amir’s genuine and entertaining as hell to listen to, and not at all short on opinions. Enjoy!Learn more on the Virtuleap website.Email Amir: [email protected] Amir on Twitter.Connect with Amir on LinkedIn. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit metaaverse.substack.com

Karim Hijazi has seen some things in his career. As a veteran of the intelligence gathering and cybersecurity industries, a multi-time founder/CEO, and now a podcaster, he knows a thing or two about keeping things secure online — and how and why hacks happen. Our conversation runs the gamut from why simple best practices still rule the day when it comes to cybersecurity (Use Good Passwords!) to what might happen if Russia cuts itself off from the global Internet. But mostly we talk about security in the metaverse: digital identity, cryptocurrency, and how the accelerated pace of technology innovation affects cybersecurity. Listen to Karim’s podcast, The Introverted IconoclastLearn about PrevailionFollow Karim on LinkedIn This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit metaaverse.substack.com

Dr Alan Cowen is an applied mathematician and computational emotion scientist. Bet you didn’t even know “computational emotion scientist” was a thing! Dr Cowen’s work at Hume AI and The Hume Initiative centers around building artificial intelligence to serve human goals and emotional well-being, and charting an ethical path for empathic AI. What does that mean? For starters, it could mean digital assistants like Alexa and Siri the ability to recognize our emotions, and respond appropriately. But down the line, when those assistants are less like disembodied voices and more like high-res 3D characters in the metaverse? I, for one, sure hope they can tell how I’m feeling and react with empathy. Dig into the science of how and why that just might be where we’re headed, in this episode of Meta-Averse.Learn More about Hume:Hume AI WebsiteHume AI Discovery LabThe Hume Initiative WebsiteThe Feelings Lab PodcastAre you a developer, or just have questions? Email Dr Alan Cowen This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit metaaverse.substack.com

Are NFTs the key to unlocking the next generation of customer loyalty? Can artists thrive in a new era where quality customers mean more than quantity of customers? And what do Adidas and Nike have to do with the future of the Web? The Sole Supplier’s Editor-in-Chief Adam Cheung and Blockchain and Cryptocurrency Manager Pip McQuarrie join the pod to explain how the sneaker, fashion, and music industries are embracing Web3 — and why businesses of all stripes would be wise to pay attention.Check out The Sole Supplier:WebsiteThe Sole NFT on TwitterArticle: Pip talks NFTs with Adidas Originals This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit metaaverse.substack.com

The team at Fast Break Labs is building the kinds of games that they like playing with their friends, starting with the first basketball manager game built for the metaverse — VBA: Virtual Basketball Association. This web3 “fantasy fantasy basketball” game combines roster-building strategy (like NBA2K’s MyGM) with tokenized ownership and all the (potential) rewards that come with it. CEO Charles Du joins the show to talk about starting a company to build the future of play, what “owning the game” means in the VBA and across the metaverse, and why community such an important part of the experience. He also shares some thoughts on the current state of web3 — including why NFT has become such an, ahem, charged word. Check out VBAGame and Fast Break Labs:Twitter: https://twitter.com/vbagameDiscord: discord.gg/vbagameWeb: vbagame.com / fastbreaklabs.comMentioned in the episode: Watershed corporate climate programs This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit metaaverse.substack.com

Bittensor is building a network on the blockchain to democratize the global production and use of artificial intelligence. Co-founders Ala Shaabana and Jacob Steeves join the show to explain how web3 can facilitate more efficient development of machine intelligence in a way that rewards its creators, whether they work for a tech giant, or work independently. Can DAOs and tokenization help shape an intelligence marketplace that rewards creators and aligns with human interests and well-being?Check out Bittensor: http://bittensor.comJoin the Bittensor Discord: https://discord.gg/QRXTZek4juReality Intrudes on a Utopian Crypto Vision — NYT article mentioned in the episode: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/03/08/us/politics/cryptocurrency-dao.html This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit metaaverse.substack.com