Hands up if your excited about Metaverse
Hands up if your excited about Metaverse
Hello All,
Other than a few ongoing projects that I can’t really talk about yet, not much has been going on in my world this month. So I would like to take the opportunity to lay out my thoughts on the hyped tech topics of the moment. Crypto, NFTs & the Metaverse. I should also say that although I know probably more than average, it’s a complex topic, being defined by everyone to suit their own needs. So take my opinions with a pinch of salt.
Firstly, I find the whole concept of the Metaverse ultimately nihilistic. I realise that Web 3.0 doesn’t boil down to virtual reality and that these 3D worlds are only one aspect. However, how bad does the world have to become before we choose virtual interactions over physical ones? It seems that the whole concept is based on the belief that the world will become increasingly more hostile, whether that be political, environmental or economically. I can’t help but find this story about cows wearing VR headsets revealing of our own future. Maybe I am wrong and the pandemic has convinced people that Pod life is amazing. Where the middle class work from our small and expensive city flats and get our food delivered, our things delivered and on the rare occasion when we want to cook, we get our groceries delivered in ten minutes. All delivered by a gig worker, who had to piss in a bottle, working for a venture-backed company that is actively trying to monopolise, often works at a loss and can’t wait to replace their already robotic workforce with actual robots. We don’t even have to leave the house to see the latest films anymore, straight to streaming is becoming the standard. I am no expert but there must be some social and community benefit to asking a shopkeeper where the batteries are, to seeing an impactful film with a room full of strangers or walking down to your local takeaway to pick up your food.
When it comes to NFTs, I honestly think they are silly. I think it’s important though not to disregard them purely for their environmental impact or their sceptical artist credibility. I am almost certain the environmental side will be remedied and saying the art is just bad, is missing the point of art and is more an issue with postmodernism. My major issue is that they just seem like scams. A bunch of rich people buying each others assets, to artificially inflate their perceived value and make others think they are missing out. Eventually selling out, and leaving others holding the bag. In a space where nothing of any tangible value is being traded, for there to be winners, there must be many losers. What surprises me most about the NFT space, is how traditional media seems so on board with it. In particular, so many outlets have reported on “metaverse blockchain virtual real estate” (an NFT analogue to buying land in the real world) but this is so absurd. First off, in our current non-metaversey or blockchainey internet, we can already own a little piece of the internet, a domain. Secondly, what happens when the company you bought your virtual real estate goes down, changes the rules or decides that you haven’t trimmed your virtual lawn enough. It seems in an era where climate change is making us face the impact of our growth driven consumer society, we are just looking for more things to put a price tag on and make ownable.
My thoughts on cryptocurrencies largely follow those of the NFTs, the number of obvious scams is truly outlandish. I also think we haven’t reached peak crypto issues yet. Right now it’s bros trying to make a quick buck at the explicit detriment of others. However, the vision that Roblox lays out for the corporate use of cryptocurrencies is telling. A world where each platform has its own crypto buckaroos that you have to buy and then use on their service. Then if you make money in their metaverse NFT market, you have to transfer those buckaroos in actual money that u can then use to tip your delivery driver with. In every transition, the platform skims a little money off the top, or has a minimum withdrawal amount, meaning that your money is trapped on their service. I love the vision that blockchain and crypto has: a world free of middlemen; Where the government can’t freeze your account and power is taken away from traditional institutions and put into the hands of the people. However, I fear we are replacing one grey-haired overlord for a new one wearing Yeezys. That’s why you hear so much about these things, every social media giant is invested in their success. There is nothing grassroots about these ideas anymore.
I appreciate that this all makes me sound very angry, cynical and progress adverse; and I still have a thousand thoughts to blurt out on the subject on everything from privacy to autonomy. However, I think it boils down to one key question: Do you want this or can we all imagine a different kind of future? Personally, I hope for a future where a focus is put on community, quality of life and self-expression, all unmediated by tech platforms.
That’s all from me, hope you have a great month.
Fred
p.s. For anyone who wants to read more, here are some great things I stole from:
https://creativegood.com/blog/21/smiling-in-the-metaverse.html
https://tinyletter.com/reallifemag/letters/the-treasure-that-never-rusts
https://moxie.org/2022/01/07/web3-first-impressions.html
https://www.stephendiehl.com/blog/against-crypto.html
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My Website: https://www.fredwordie.com
My Book: https://www.bigdatagirl.com
My VC: https://ventually.xyz