This Week in the Metaverse for December 5, 2022

0 00:00:10,000 --> 00:00:45,000 Script: December 5, 2022 1 00:00:46,000 --> 00:01:21,000 Hi, it’s Mike Stiles and this is This Week in the Metaverse, your weekly newscast that keeps you up to date on everything that isn’t real, and yet is. It’s December 5th. Let’s find out what happened metaverse-wise this week. 2 00:01:22,000 --> 00:01:57,000 Ryan Bennett of Cylogy wrote a nice piece reminding us of four challenges the workable formation of the metaverse is facing. There’s a lot of cynicism out there about it. Maybe not as much as there is about Harry and Meghan but still, a lot. A Sitecore survey of marketers and consumers shows there’s a pretty high belief in its potential, and 42% of U.S. consumers are currently “Metaverse enthusiasts” meaning they do or want to engage with the metaverse, mostly to experience things they can’t experience in real life. Right behind that is, they want to escape reality. Join the club. Anyway, the challenges, as Ryan sees them are defining the metaverse so everyone knows what’s being talked about. Dispelling the confusion because that will break many companies out of their wait and see posture. Lack of maturity in the experience, meaning the immersive metaverse experience just isn’t that great yet. And the last challenge is working together so interoperability of metaverses can happen, and we don’t have as many metaverses as we have say, podcasts. 3 00:01:58,000 --> 00:02:33,000 What if the world threw a big party and nobody came? Boy that’d be a buzzkill that would really underscore just how many people have thrown in the towel and given up on life wouldn’t it? Well, Lauren Leffer reports in Gizmodo that didn’t happen. But close. A big part of the world, the European Union, threw a big party in the metaverse and do you know how many people showed up? 6. I didn’t say 60, which also would have been bad. I said 6. As in the number of Brady kids there were. As in one-third of the antichrist’s number. The metaverse the EU build cost nearly $400,000 and if you went, let’s just say you had plenty of elbow room and zero concerns about overpopulation. The Global Gateway was intended to be a shared digital space where avatars that look like balloon animals can reflect on global issues. As if airheads weren’t already running the world. Reviews included such raves as “depressing and embarrassing,” “digital garbage,” and “Seriously?” The best that could be said was the graphics were on par with Meta’s Horizon Worlds, and those graphics have been universally mocked. 4 00:02:34,000 --> 00:03:09,000 Part of the excitement around Web3 and blockchain have to do with the possibility of smart contracts? What are they? Do you need a lawyer to execute one? What if a mobster takes a contract out on you? Elizabeth Gail at Cointelegraph looked at how smart contracts might work in one industry, healthcare. First a reminder, smart contracts are self-executing lines of code atop blockchains triggered when predetermined conditions are met. So they can automate online agreements. Healthcare has a lot of manual processes that aren’t efficient, and rife with human error. I know, human error in healthcare bureaucracies? Hard to believe, isn’t it? But smart contracts can do things like distribute staff salaries, record patient info and notify insurance companies about bills, give appropriate access to medical records, track complications and side effects, assign unique anonymized identifiers to identify patients without revealing their identity, provide data for clinical research, spot fake drugs via supply chain data, and watch remote monitoring devices. Gee I feel better already. The healthcare smart contracts market is projected to breach $1.78 billion this year. Which was the cost of my last colonoscopy. 5 00:03:10,000 --> 00:03:45,000 Usually when people watch you move, it’s a little bit creepy. But when it comes to technology being able to track your movements for metaverse applications, well then it can get a little fun. Griffin David at Tech Times writes about the new Sony Mocopi, and what it does is transfer your human movements, assuming you’re human, into the metaverse. It’s got six motion-tracking bands that you actually wear on your head, back, feet, and hands. Six? Hey that’s as many people as went to the EU’s metaverse party. All the trackers work on a single system, so once you’re properly hooked up, your metaverse avatar will move however you move. So if it dances to YMCA, it’s going to do so with much greater accuracy. Sony also said it’ll release the official software development kit of Mocopi Dec. 15 so you can link your motion capture data to metaverse services. Who’s excited about this? Probably 3D VTubers, because right now they move, and their avatar performs that movement with too big a lag. It’s like watching someone who’s wasted play whack-a-mole. 6 00:03:46,000 --> 00:03:57,000 Are you enjoying all the articles about crypto is dead and stupid and anyone who has any is a moron? Those stories might be fun to write about, but the world isn’t buying all that doom and gloom. In fact, what they are buying is crypto. A report from Finbold says Brazilian investors are actually preferring crypto to things like equities and precious metals. A survey of Brazilians shows 33% intend to buy crypto in the next year. Real estate is second at 26%, with stocks in third at 22%. Why? Economic turmoil. Inflation is high and their currency has been devalued. So crypto is seen as the best hedge and protection. Also, it’s a young population, they all have mobile devices, and neobanks make it easy to buy, hold, and sell crypto. Cryptocurrencies have been targeting the Brazilian market with a lot of success. And finally, there’s still a lack of regulation around crypto but the government is taking steps to remedy that, and the belief that it will has made people feel better about buying crypto. 7 00:03:58,000 --> 00:04:09,000 Last week, or maybe it was the week before that, time really flies, we gave you a story about the things holding back virtual clothes try-ons and shopping in the metaverse. But there’s something else shoppers like to try on that isn’t as complicated a proposition in VR. Makeup. Beauty and cosmetics businesses have been among the first and most forward leaning brands to establish presences in the metaverse. We’re talking L’Oreal, YSL, Dior, just about everything I keep in my purse. Key amongst experiences are AR try-ons. Shoppers find the perfect shade of lipsticks, foundations, blushes, and eye shadows, then order the real stuff which will be delivered by a supermodel. Actually, a hopped-up FedEx driver. These AR try-ons are even happening outside of the metaverse in stores that are loaded with smart mirrors. You get the appeal. It’s personalized and really easy. And there are no shortage of tech companies that offer these solutions. Some can have a brand up and running with try-ons in 48 hours. For those who aren’t sure how they want to look, AI can analyze your face and suggest products. Anyway, it works. By 2024, more than 73 billion people will use AR on their phones, and the brands that already use AR have increased conversion rates 40%. Me, I think you’re beautiful just the way you are. 8 00:04:10,000 --> 00:04:21,000 That’s all we have for you this week. Subscribe to the show and tell any people you talk to about the metaverse about it, and we’ll be back next week. 9 00:04:22,000 --> 00:04:25,000 In this short episode you’ll learn: 10 00:04:26,000 --> 00:04:29,000 Four big challenges the metaverse is facing 11 00:04:30,000 --> 00:04:33,000 How many people came to the metaverse party the European Union threw 12 00:04:34,000 --> 00:04:37,000 How smart contracts are being used in healthcare 13 00:04:38,000 --> 00:04:41,000 The new way to make your avatar move as quickly and smoothly as you do 14 00:04:42,000 --> 00:04:45,000 Which nation is more bullish than ever on crypto 15 00:04:46,000 --> 00:04:49,000 Which industry the AR try-on experience is helping most 16 00:04:50,000 --> 00:05:00,000 https://thisweekinthemetaverse.podbean.com/e/this-week-in-the-metaverse-for-november-28-2022/