This Week in the metaverse, you're going to find headline after headline about Metaverse Fashion Week, don't be put off by the fact that there are loads of brands who are happy to share really low quality graphics in a barely rendered pixel stream for everyone to supposedly enjoy and therefore convert into sales. However, this week there are some really interesting morsels of information that I will most definitely interpolate with opinions of my own about our weekly metaverse chart—but do you know your Yahaha from your Breakroom?
Daddy Uncool 🎼
I'm a massive fan of Jensen Huang. I just think it's awesome that the Nvidia Omniverse is a thing for industry where in previous lifetimes we would have to actually work with BIMs to know about BIMs. They also have it all: cloud computing, storage services and mega bloody graphics cards, so it makes me wonder why the incredibly awesome Huang would deign to work with Microsoft of all tech giants. Speaking of cloud computing: the newly announced alliance between Nvidia and Microsoft seems to be built around their cloud computing platform and Nvidia DGX Cloud to uplift the Microsoft Azure service (which, if you’ve ever used it, is one of the hardest things to use in the world). Azure is pretty rubbish. Everything that Microsoft does, involves the utilisation of a heck of a lot of bytes or cash for up/download.
If you've ever used Microsoft Teams, you know that teams compared to Zoom is an absolute pain in the arse. Jensen, if you are reading this, what did AWS do to you? Not saying that AWS is the Zoom of storage, but AWS would hands down be my ware of choice for any metaverse given its extensive game experience. In the article Nvidia and Microsoft suggest that the relationship supports their metaverse but also that the DGX Cloud is offering AI supercomputing services and that was the point where my eyebrows raised. Do people think that supercomputing is a thing? Is someone sitting in a cave stroking their cat? People, supercomputing doesn't mean anything at all, it’s marketing speak. This piece is as fluffy as Blofeld’s pussy. This article is about Microsoft and its unending urge to get down with the kids. Microsoft is trying desperately to be the cool dad by hanging out with all of its kids in the various corners of the metaverse, cloud computing and AI. Is anyone still using Word? Make yourselves known. When you see an article about a Microsoft partnership next time, give that some thought.
Which metaverse has not yet mastered the art of content descriptors? If you want something called a Farrah but you don’t know how it differs from a Karen, don’t worry, no one knows the difference and they can’t help you.
Hype-r-zoo 🧳
You know the antiquated and outdated saying: a faint heart never won a fair maiden. Well, no one can argue with the bravery and maverick bravado of Travelzoo this week. Because on paper, their travel metaverse looks incredible (and a bit fantastical) because travel is much more than a wet week in Bognor Regis, it’s a world of adventure, culture and social literacy. It’s not Tomb Raider or Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom but you’d never guess it if you listened to Travelzoo’s ambitious pitch.
I’m a believer that the metaverse and web3 is more than an NFT or Facebook flex; I see web3 as being a 3D internet, a place to go and try before you buy: something you cannot do in web2 or current game worlds. So I kind of buy Travelzoo’s big idea of how they will convert the casual metaverse explorer into a fee-paying frequent traveller. They're probably going to do a social experiment, I would imagine much like Fliggy did during the pandemic (which was brilliant by the way)—but the added joy comes from the conversion, for everyone. From the consumer to the travel destination everybody wins by virtue of living the experience through the metaverse before actually going there. I always wished that Wander would do something like this but we’ll see how Travelzoo’s plans develop against their dying trad travel competitors.
Curious to know which metaverse is plagued with server problems? No two sessions will be the same, and neither will the session itself because this metaverse breaks in the middle and never returns to a memorable spawn point.
Uncanny Valley Girls 💄
Are we in the age of Lil Miquela now? Or are we still in the era of Max Headroom? I love the idea of digital influencers, but only when it’s done properly. I don’t get massively excited about virtual influencer avatars because 90% of them are rubbish, but I'm encouraged by this article from marketscale because the use cases seem to be getting better and therefore the influencers will have to improve. With all that said, the metaverse has truly opened up a new world for retailers to reach new consumer demographics. The traditional ways of advertising are tired and probably only suit the previous generations (who don’t always have enough disposable income). The metaverse’s predicted value will be $800 bn by 2024. And because it's been so popular with everyone between the ages of 18 and 35 (you know, like gamers) retailers are now using this to pivot towards young and more interested demographics, to do stuff for them.
Maybelline New York Falsies Surreal Extensions Mascara campaign will be largely digital influencer led and, alongside Gigi Hadid this will firmly establish Maybelline’s forthcoming Maybelline Metaverse. PacSun and Dentsu are doing it too; Dentsu in particular have been strong advocates of using this medium for retail but the proof of the pudding is actually in the eating, so, how do we know this works? Well, right now the results are anecdotal, which isn’t helpful. But that will change, and regardless of the retailer. Your new demographic wants a 3D internet, give them what they want.
This metaverse has the messiest onboarding ever. Written by developers it assumes the players know everything about generating content inside its worlds. We don’t. Bye Felicia!
Userverse 🎮
Coming up with a fancy yet memorable name for your metaverse is a toughie, isn’t it? When you search for ElseVerse, you get this article and a link to Buckhead which is something that excites me a bit more than yet another metaverse, Buckhead, it must be said is set in Elseverse which is a city in the Bulkhead universe, as opposed to the GamePad (a incubation of BullPerks) oh my god, is anyone following this? Anyway, for those of you still reading, ElseVerse has a story, an economy system (actually two, but one doesn’t count) and presumably no users, hence this article.
This Metaverse project is part-game, part-user generated content experience. In its quest (excuse the pun) for avid players it has created a game system where players can launch a farm, open a store or explore new universes inside their specific world and tools creation toolset. The experience is free to play (that’s the economy system which doesn’t count), the other system is a blockchain based model for buying stuff. Allowing “players” to invest in land, mystery boxes, founder passes, rare NFTs and land plots in different destinations. The gaming experience is built on a meticulously developed lore. Businesses can benefit from opportunities in loads of ways like purchasing land. Plots, including commercial ones.
My take on this is it needs users, and it doesn’t have users because I bet it went blockchain first as opposed to game first. It’s ok, these mistakes are frequent as crypto enthusiasts think they know what makes the perfect game. But it’s the users who decide. If they can’t play it, what good is it?
A metaverse with community management problems? That’s a big fat no. If you can’t protect or even support your users, you’re use-less.
Lab Brats 🥼
Skincare, games and entertainment—wut? Yet somehow Clinique will pull it off or die trying.
One of the key issues at the moment for retailers is they're just not getting that foothold in the Generation Z or Tik Tok Generation (because they don’t understand it/them) and they need that new demographic sooooo bad.
Let me tell you what I love about what Clinique has done first before going to Downtown Julie Brown for the rest of it. They optimised their experience for mobile before anything else, YES! “Gen Z and desktop is not a good mix” (sic). I feel like getting a neon sign made.
Here’s the not so arresting epiphany though. Why the hell is this launching on their native url? Don’t they know anyone at Yahaha? Breakroom? VRChat? They could have put this experience literally anywhere else. Dudes, are you so sure of your website traffic that you will wager an entire virtual skinlab on this? User acquisition is not cheap.
Who’s lying about their DAU? Daily active users are the basis for everything traction related, telling tales to the users and clientbase will eventually get you found out. Time to UA, isn’t it?
Shinzon (IFKYK) 🇨🇭
Credit Suisse, Toblerone, Swiss neutrality, there’s much going on in our 8 million-strong land. After all, it's the birthplace of Xhaka. But The Nemesis? It’s easy to see why no one has ever heard of it. So let’s first of all uncover what the hell The Nemesis is.
“A new metaverse experience, the perfect solution to engage users as protagonists in creating virtual experiences.” Is this how we describe experiences now? This is a really weird time to be alive. Anyway, DappRadar wants to play and together they’re doing some “co-marketing and an Easter event in April.” Do these new breeds of playable NFT metaverses specialise in clunky vocabulary these days? This is a really weird time to be alive.
The Nemesis calls itself The NEM. It is apparently a metaverse. It's a fast growing metaverse and one I've never heard of, because if I had heard of it, I would have to go on it. I might even put it in Metacrun.ch’s top 10 of metaverses if it’s any good. So that tells you all you need to know about how fast this is growing.
At the end of the day, and because I’ve read this article so you don’t have to, The Nemesis has reached out to DappRadar on a collab because it wants to test third party web3 software and DappRadar has it in droves. And that’s it.
Holograms on a stool have only one use case: video calls. Tech wunderkinds know this. Why build a metaverse out of it?
Get Nak3d This MVFW
Vogue Singapore has done a really nice article about MVFW (Metaverse Fashion Week). Brava! But the first thing that jumped out at me was this: why is everything so blurry and pixelated? Anyway, now that the pictures editor has been judged, Decentraland and Spatial have joined forces for Metaverse Fashion Week, but that’s no reason to participate. The main reason is because Nak3d is giving away their Wednesday Addams and Miles Morales looks from their respective collections, for absolutely free. If you want something ready to scare rather than ready to wear then grab this look for 0 MANA. That’s right, it’s absolutely free! Feel your best spider self with Nak3d’s Miles Morales Look, for absolutely free too. And because Nak3d is platform agnostic, you can get the same look for free in all its unpixelated glory over at Yahaha. And, if you’re reading this and want high-quality fashion items linked to physical purchasable in season objects in your game or metaverse, get some!
Is anyone feeling a space where gamification has to be taught first before retrofitted onto an otherwise beautiful environment? Cart before horse is not the one.
That's enough Metaverse for this week. I'm off to the FROW of my dentist’s office for a crown rather than a tiara. Happy Metaverse Fashion Week everyone!