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The metaverse is bullshit

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Re: The metaverse is bullshit

#41

Post by [deleted] »

VRay wrote: post #20
gitgud wrote: post #9

> "The metaverse is bullshit because it already exists, and it's called the internet > Being 'inside' a virtual world was never really the important part" Well, the facebook keynote presents a compelling argument how social interaction with VR can be more meaningful than through a 2D screen in many situations. However, what IS bullshit, is the display of obviously fake demonstrations with highly experimental and expe…

What’re you talking about? You can make a low end VR headset out of a $100 smartphone and a $5 plastic box today 5-10 years after VR starts to really take off, you’ll be able to get a decent standalone VR headset for $200 or less. They’ll probably be cheaper to make than laptops or TVs in the long run because of the smaller displays.

[deleted]

Re: The metaverse is bullshit

#42

Post by bagels »

echelon wrote: post #29
gitgud wrote: post #9

> "The metaverse is bullshit because it already exists, and it's called the internet > Being 'inside' a virtual world was never really the important part" Well, the facebook keynote presents a compelling argument how social interaction with VR can be more meaningful than through a 2D screen in many situations. However, what IS bullshit, is the display of obviously fake demonstrations with highly experimental and expe…

Zuckerberg sees that anime fans and furries love spending time on VRchat and he wants to build it out for fans of football and the Kardashians. People that buy Louis Vuitton are going to shell out for NFT metaverse skins and wear dorky headsets. That totally tracks.

I have no idea what's going to happen, but computers used to be a thing for "nerds", now everybody uses them every day.

Re: The metaverse is bullshit

#43

Post by wokwokwok » 

    the good news is that the metaverse and the tech industry's very 
    expensive obsession with trying to make it a reality will be a
    schadenfreude generator the likes of which we've never seen before
The tech landscape is littered with failed attempts, but we have here two very technically successful companies, Epic and Facebook, both trying to re-imagine the internet as something different.

I'm not sure I'd write them off as a bunch of idiots quite yet.

A bunch of idiots with a lot of money maybe...

But look: Something is happening.

You can close your eyes and pretend it's not. Apps are going to go away and the web continue to be The Way people access information online, and sucky little progressive web applications that hardly anyone is using or making money off are going to become awesome and NFTs will die. I mean, heck, it's only a matter of time until all those people who invested in bitcoin lose it alllllllllll right?

You can sit there and laugh as how stupid they all are.

...maybe? If you want to.

That's probably not a wise thing to do though.

I think there are enough things going on, with enough competent folk doing them, and enough money behind them, that you're looking at the start of a change.

Who knows how it'll go, but I think it might surprise people who are sitting around laughing.

One thing that you can always bet on: Things change.

Re: The metaverse is bullshit

#44

Post by Hokusai »

rklaehn wrote: post #35

I think people should not underestimate this. The presentation is cringeworthy, but VR is very attractive for teenagers and preteens. I know this from personal experience with my kids. Same with the concept of NFTs. Using real money to pay for an in game asset like a fortnite skin is completely natural to them.

> VR is very attractive for teenagers and preteens

Headsets are horribly bad. The day I can get my VR onto my glasses, that's the day that VR will be for everybody. My headset, and many people I known headsets, is in a box. I love VR, I love the games, but I find it too cumbersome for day to day use compared with my screen.

> NFT

Yes. This is already extremely popular, but you do not need NFTs. Your old and proved in-game assets make millions a day. NFT allows for a distributed proof that most people does not care for. It's going to require a lot of marketing and government regulations and trial sentences to make it enforceable and safe.

Re: The metaverse is bullshit

#45

Post by zemo »

watercooler_guy wrote: post #34
heavyset_go wrote: post #5

I'm sure Facebook is really excited to build a space they own and control completely, as well as have the ability to take a cut of all sales in it. Building a digital company town is right up Facebook's alley.

Zuckerberg did state, for this interview back in July ( https://www.theverge.com/22588022/mark-zuckerberg-facebook-c... ), that > ...just like you have the W3C that helps set standards around a bunch of the important internet protocols and how people build the web, I think there will need to be some of that here, too, for defining how developers and creators can build experiences that allow someone to take their avat…

sure he says that but what they’re doing is the opposite. They’re not releasing standards, they’re not making the equivalent of a cgi-bin server that lets me run my own simulation that someone can transit to from someone else’s simulation, they’re not releasing a high quality client that can target simulations owned by other companies, etc. They say people can make spaces but it’s very Geocities. Sure, people can make stuff inside their playground, but nothing they’re doing makes it easier to set up my own playground on my own infra. Everything they’re doing suggests they think the way to “win” the metaverse is to own all of the spaces. Idiotic. That’s like trying to win the web by having all of the web pages.

Re: The metaverse is bullshit

#46

Post by xornox »

wokwokwok wrote: post #43

the good news is that the metaverse and the tech industry's very expensive obsession with trying to make it a reality will be a schadenfreude generator the likes of which we've never seen before The tech landscape is littered with failed attempts, but we have here two very technically successful companies, Epic and Facebook, both trying to re-imagine the internet as something different. I'm not sure I'd write them of…

Exactly. Things are changing and it is not a bad thing if corporates try to be a change. Probably they fail, but even trying is better than doing nothing.

Re: The metaverse is bullshit

#47

Post by kkjjkgjjgg »

Yes, we have the internet, but Facebook managed to dominate a huge part of it. No wonder they want to keep their dominance in the next level of it. And I would be careful about calling their domination plans bullshit, seeing as they already succeeded once before.

Second Life was phantastic, I still miss it to this day. It just had a very clunky interface, which modern devices like VR gear might improve upon. (I know SL is still around, probably many lessons to be learned).

Also, "We also have Snow Crash to blame for the absolute hell we find ourselves in today," - wut? Yeah, the "absolute hell" of billionaires investing lots of money to create fun and immersive entertainment options for the rest of us. Truly the worst dystopia imaginable?

Re: The metaverse is bullshit

#48

Post by harwoodleon »

rklaehn wrote: post #35

I think people should not underestimate this. The presentation is cringeworthy, but VR is very attractive for teenagers and preteens. I know this from personal experience with my kids. Same with the concept of NFTs. Using real money to pay for an in game asset like a fortnite skin is completely natural to them.

Yes, the ideas are not new. but they are not bullshit. as someone who also has kids that spend money on virtual goods like it’s going out of fashion, i can attest that the impact on my bank account is very real.

The NFT craze (and cryptocurrencies in general) is largely fuelled by an inflationary global currency ($) and dare i say it, a lot of money laundering too. But that does not make the sector illegitimate.

in fact some of the platforms that have risen out of web3 already (ssb/patchwork) for example are indeed just better versions of dystopian counterculture that have gone before.

i’d say the author here is just keen to shout at the TV as the big corporate news breaks.

Billionaires will be the ones who may end up benefiting least from a true move to a dystopian, decentralised internet as Web3 is hinting at.

Re: The metaverse is bullshit

#49

Post by cma »

watercooler_guy wrote: post #34
heavyset_go wrote: post #5

I'm sure Facebook is really excited to build a space they own and control completely, as well as have the ability to take a cut of all sales in it. Building a digital company town is right up Facebook's alley.

Zuckerberg did state, for this interview back in July ( https://www.theverge.com/22588022/mark-zuckerberg-facebook-c... ), that > ...just like you have the W3C that helps set standards around a bunch of the important internet protocols and how people build the web, I think there will need to be some of that here, too, for defining how developers and creators can build experiences that allow someone to take their avat…

They announced support for PWAs using web vr tech. You can guess the kicker: it has to go through the store paying 30% to Meta. That's the new web experience.

Re: The metaverse is bullshit

#50

Post by heavyset_go »

watercooler_guy wrote: post #34
heavyset_go wrote: post #5

I'm sure Facebook is really excited to build a space they own and control completely, as well as have the ability to take a cut of all sales in it. Building a digital company town is right up Facebook's alley.

Zuckerberg did state, for this interview back in July ( https://www.theverge.com/22588022/mark-zuckerberg-facebook-c... ), that > ...just like you have the W3C that helps set standards around a bunch of the important internet protocols and how people build the web, I think there will need to be some of that here, too, for defining how developers and creators can build experiences that allow someone to take their avat…

That's pretty vague and can also describe the Roblox model. Roblox gets a cut of all revenue from other companies' games and spaces.
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