Facebook risks a meta flop, say Metaverse developers

The social media giant changed its name to Meta Platforms last month and announced a focus on buzzy “metaverses.”

However, with few details beyond the rebrand, Metaverse participants suspect it is poised to embody a sense of creativity and profit in the space.

“What Facebook is doing with Meta… and creator of the Metaverse platform,” said Animoca Brands president and co-founder Yat Siu, speaking on a panel at the Reuters Next Conference.

“Until then, it’s just Disneyland. It’s a beautiful place, but we probably don’t really want to be there. It’s not the kind of place where we can really build a business.”

Metaverse refers to an array of shared spaces accessed via the Internet. Some use augmented reality through smart glasses, although current platforms often look more inside video games than in real life.

In an online world with a patch of “real estate,” serious money is swirling out there, changing hands last week for the equivalent of $2.4 million.

Such plots and other virtual objects typically transact blockchain-based assets, called non-fungible tokens (NFTs), whose sales topped $10 billion in the September quarter, according to market tracker DappRadar.

The entry of Facebook has further fueled interest in the space. It had no immediate response to an emailed request for comment on Wednesday, and had not previously responded directly to criticisms of its Metaverse plans.

But Siu said ownership is the basis for improvements and new avenues for products and commerce, such as how car ownership gave birth to baby car seat manufacturers or how home ownership fueled demand for furniture and businesses like Ikea.

same same but different

For fellow Metaverse pioneer Benoit Pagoto, co-founder of virtual sneaker company RTFKT, digital ownership creates space for brands and consumers to transform roles.

“It’s a huge change in the way the relationship (the way) between business, creativity and consumerism is working,” he said at the Reuters Next Conference. “A product is not a one-time thing. You need to think about how you can continue to update it,” he said.

“It’s much, much more fluid. I think the real world will soon be overwhelmed by it because the possibilities for interaction in the digital world are so deep.”

Meanwhile, there has been a scramble to nab the two as brands wanting a piece of the action and lawyers trying to figure out what digital ownership really is.

NFTs are largely unregulated and cheaters are hidden. Anyone can make and sell NFTs and there is no guarantee of its value.

Sophie Gossens, a partner specializing in technology and media law at Reed Smith in London, said, “It’s causing a bit of a headache for people in the legal profession trying to reconcile the terminology with what’s actually happening. Is.”

“Ownership in legal terms means something … (generally) a monopoly on a resource that is enforced by the state,” she said. “The types of rights that are given to you over digital ownership of an NFT are slightly different. You may not have the right to fully control the assets you own in the form of an NFT.”

Still, it doesn’t appear that the reach of the metaverse is making its way back into the mainstream, especially for young people who are already video game or fashion consumers.

“I think we are going to see a mix of digital assets that fit seamlessly into our real environment,” said Natalie Johnson, founder of Nuno, an upcoming marketplace for fashion brand NFTs.

“You don’t need to be a hardcore gamer to embrace and play with this new technology. It will be for everyone.”