The Minimum Viable Metaverse

While less glamorous than virtual reality science fiction landscapes, we believe that constructing a definition of the metaverse that is grounded more fundamentally in social structure will allow us to more effectively map its implications and understand the transitional nature of our current moment: The phase of human society where digital express... See more

"The emergence of the metaverse as a computer-generated scaled shared space means that there will be a whole new (virtual) world where we can express ourselves and potentially introduce a different version of who we are all while playing together, learning together, creating together and more. Essentially, we think of the metaverse as the next glob... See more

More people, increasingly dissatisfied by these corporate offerings, are compelled into creating their own virtual worlds. The future of the internet, as some have theorized, might consist of micro-communities, enclosed worlds with fewer but more engaged members. Through video games like Minecraft and collaborative worldbuilding projects, which are... See more

What is a metaverse company?A fundamental aspect of the metaverse is interoperability, which will allow it not to be a platform dominated by a few companies but will be the sum of interconnected spaces where we can move freely from one to another. In addition, it contains a full-fledged economy and encompasses the physical and virtual worlds, which... See more

Since Facebook rebranded as Meta, the idea of the metaverse has been consumed by a kind of ahistorical hype cycle. Brands are flooding into the space and people are issuing broad proclamations about what a virtual world is supposed to look like. There are also plenty who are dismissing the metaverse as “something nobody asked for,” but as Au’s expe... See more

There are two facets to a metaverse experience. One is that it’s highly immersive. Your mind’s eye goes into the experience. It feels like you’re inside it. And there’s a tremendous amount in the press today about how we’ll make it more immersive with VR. But I would say that’s not gating the adoption of the metaverse. The second aspect of met... See more