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It’s me: Kelly Vero, creative badass, future-gazer, game developer and general metaverse nerd. The metaverse has been around for as long as I have! It has gained more of a practical turbocharge than its whimsical sci-fi theoretics in current years and the momentum is at critical mass. But some total douche suggested that the metaverse was dead before it had even had the chance to live! I jump in my NFT Audi Quattro to investigate. The Macroverse An explanation about the metaverse is necessary to propose why I think that the metaverse is very much alive (stop me if you’ve heard this one before). The metaverse was first mentioned in Snow Crash by Neal Stephenson, and the cultural philosophy of the metaverse has been explored by everybody from William Gibson to Ernest Cline and even myself included. However, what the metaverse actually is seems to evade everybody, because where there are people who believe in the metaverse and everything that it stands for, there are also people who do not accept that the metaverse exists. So, let's have a look at the people who don't believe that the metaverse exists because they are a bit weird. Persistent. Shared. Social. Interoperable. The metaverse itself isn't anything new. It is definitely a cultural phenomenon, and also heavily philosophical in its development, one might say escapist. It spans everything, from wearables to the distribution of content. It will in the future cover everything from real estate (and to some extent, it already does) through to travel and hospitality and again in some cases it already does provide this utility. Where does this belief that the metaverse doesn't exist “yet” come from? It's a good question. Because the metaverse is to a greater extent an open source experience, it is not technically owned by anybody. And because it's not owned by anybody, it is owned by everybody; it must therefore be controlled or whatever, by those who have the money and the resources to do so. Writing as somebody who actually works in technology: I have worked for millions of software projects and hardware projects that have been bankrolled by outside investors and owned by technology corporations, however big or small. What I've never had a problem with, is understanding the project that I'm working on: whether it goes live, or it's dropped because it's crap. I've never been under any illusion that this project didn't exist. So, when I see my hard working colleagues and peers in this brave new metaverse space, working tirelessly to create something that everybody can enjoy; it is a little bit pissy to read that there is a certain fraction of the technology population that does not really believe in its existence. That doesn't make sense. Go to Decentraland, you will see a metaverse in existence rather than a game. And you can connect to that metaverse through a variety of different platforms. Hey, look, if you are wearing a Fitbit, you can access your statistics and find out the gamification of your particular task or goal through their dashboard. But that’s still not a game. Fitbit is without question: Persistent. Shared. Social. Interoperable. That is metaversal isn’t it? So I'm wondering why people believe it doesn't really exist, or they suggest that it hasn't come to life yet. This is a bit of a Schrödinger’s cat for the tech bros, sure, but not the end users and they are your audience. The Megalomaniaverse This hasn’t-come-to-life-yet discussion is more of an echo chamber for the people who don't especially buy into the metaverse outside of anything around XR. Extended reality. Recently, I've worked with a gigantic tech corporation who shall remain nameless (but you can definitely take a guess). Whilst working with them, it became apparent very, very quickly, that outside of their extended reality research and development, they really had not planned to do anything more widespread than that. When I asked them about whether there would be a mass adoption of what it was that they were creating (hardware, predominantly for extended reality use cases); they answered. “Well, there isn't really a metaverse unless we create it.” I narrowed my eyes and found the first opportunity to stop working with them, what would be the point? The learnings from that experience particularly, was a little like my beef with digital fashion. The pale, male and stale higher ups are trying to make the decisions for Gen Z, where they believe products exist in their own image. Gen Z doesn't agree. If things are being created by an open source network or by the people at large, then of course, there isn't a tech corporation that's going to recognise a metaverse as existing beyond their own source control. You think this is a Game? Lately, I've read a lot about the possibility that the metaverse might be dead. I was very, very surprised to read this. I was so surprised to read this as it didn't feel like it was coming from a bad place. But also it didn't feel as though or read as though it was completely accurate either. And it came from a good source. If you take a look at some of these huge technology management consultants and their annual reports, they give in to the idea of the metaverse, but only from the perspective of buzzwords and marketing. But they don’t truly believe in the metaverse; it doesn't suit their board members or stakeholders to get behind a $26 trillion sector built on, well, what is it built on? It has to be something that they understand. But in the case of the metaverse being dead, this was troubling to say the least. And trouble seldom comes from the community it's aimed at: the open source networks, the people who believe in working towards the common goals of what they hope the metaverse will be. No, it came from these tech creators who don't believe that the metaverse is in existence in the first place. Therefore, if tech corporations are effectively propagandising the metaverse, is the metaverse dead before it's even been given an opportunity to be born? I say absolutely not. The metaverse will continue to be whatever the end user wants it to be. For some, that is a gamified platform with which to navigate, perform tasks or just have fun (so just chill out please, The Drum). For others. It is digital or system process twinning, where you are able to create simulations of existing working spaces and places. Moreover I hope that the continuation of The Sandbox and Decentraland as a place where real estate can be bought and real estate can be built on becoming its own purpose-driven platform. So, when people say that the metaverse is dead, out loud, in public, I question their belief system as to whether they thought the metaverse was alive in the first place. Believerse And if they don't believe that the metaverse is alive in the first place, are they exactly the type of people that we want around the metaverse? I don't really subscribe to negative propaganda for a platform that is merely trying to find its feet in a very uncomplicated way. If tech companies and particularly tech and crypto bros want to over complicate the situation, then that is their want. But for the people who really believe in the application of the metaverse as an opportunity to do a variety of different tasks; from creating a sustainable universe for both creation and for communication, as well as awareness and simulation then you're in really good company. Let’s go in that direction. Until then, I am going to continue my hunt for the naysayers and the pessimists and try to show them rather than tell them that their minds will be changed. Oh, and their minds will be blown.

Kelly Vero here! Creative badass, future-gazer, game developer and general metaverse nerd. I like to find simple ways to educate and entertain, the metaverse really isn’t as complicated as you might think. “Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?” Alice asked. “That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,” said the Cat. We're all a bit Alice sometimes: she was unsure about what was on the other side and quite rightly so, for it was filled with a world of hateful deeds but also friends for life, if she knew that beforehand, would she have ever fallen down the rabbit hole? I could end the article here by saying, “and that's all the metaverse is”. However, I think it bears a little bit more investigation than that. First of all, what are you looking for in the metaverse? There should be some key things that help you to decide whether this metaverse is for you. I like to approach the metaverse with an idea of what it is that I want to get from the metaverse. And remember the metaverse is a multifaceted descriptor. It covers everything from fintech to tools systems. Don't be under the illusion that the metaverse is just a thing. It's a multitude of things. Here's a quick description about exactly what the metaverse is: Persistent, shared, interoperable. That's it. You shouldn't be looking at the Neal Stephenson, William Gibson, or Ernest Cline definitions unless you really believe that the metaverse is some concoction of a writer’s imagination. These definitions are, in some cases, over 30 years old now anyway, and how many Gen Zs or Xennials really believe that the future is 30 years old? The basic definition itself probably does hold true, but the metaverse is an evolution, it will continue to shape and develop. Follow the White Rabbit Like a total nerd, I have a checklist of what I believe makes a good metaverse, do you want to see it? These points might help you as you navigate this broad church of experience for the first time. Ease of use. Is this metaverse easy to find? Is it aimed at my demographic? Is it something that I will be interested in? And once I've decided yes, it is all of those things it should be a breeze to log into. Decentraland does just that. As a visitor to the metaverse you have an opportunity for a period of time to surf (!) or experience the world without ever having to hand over your email address or your first born child to experience what is happening in that world. Content makes a metaverse. The failure to discover content easily is a big red flag for anybody entering this new social space. Social = content and that’s the bottom line: either the platform creates the content or the users do. If you're just expected to walk into a metaverse that has absolutely nothing going on this is not the place for anyone. Unless you're pretty happy to just stand there doing absolutely nothing in an empty room, that just looks pretty. Trust me, I have seen hundreds of people standing in a virtual space where they have no clue what they are doing. Where are all the people. Where are all the people? A key factor in deciding whether this is the metaverse I want to join usually is how many people are either on the server or in the instance that I wish to land. 100 users per day? 1000 users per day? It’s not much, is it? Unfortunately, vanity precedes sanity when it comes to getting people on to metaverse platforms. You know what? That's fair enough, because the metaverse has to be marketed just like everything else. However, I would rather be in a space where there are lots of people and where I can be sociable and have a great time as well as taking some time to myself and crafting my real estate or my apartment, etc. Rather than being in a space where there is literally nobody and I'm just moving through districts and prefectures inside the metaverse in an endless search for like-minded individuals. The thing that I love about the metaverse is creativity. The metaverse is built around, or it should be built around a creative economy. If it isn't built around the creative economy, there's nothing for you to discover. Unless it's been placed there by the developers themselves. And that's not a lot of fun. Because looking through the eyes of somebody else and their dreams and their hopes and wishes is exactly not what you want to be able to discover when you're embarking on new lands, new frontiers or new universes. So that brings me to finding metaverses that might be fun for you. Avakin Life. The reasons why I like this particular metaverse are many - there are over 250,000 people in Avakin Life every single day. However, I love how it skews with my demographic. I’m not a kid, so Roblox is not my jam. Avakin Life allows me to do all the things that I would do during my day to day but just inside the metaverse; so, if I want to have a job, I can get a job in the metaverse no problem (I’m a hairdresser). If I want to go to hang out on a yacht somewhere, I can do that. Actually, I can't actually do that in reality, but you know you don't have to dream in the metaverse. Decentraland. There are a lot of people in Decentraland but more importantly there are a lot of activities in Decentraland. The diverse and focused approach in Denetraland is like no other. Culture and subculture is heavily supported here, whilst maintaining that connectivity through social development, and I really enjoy that about Decentraland. You also can use interoperable NFTs here as well as their own currency MANA which is traded both inside and outside of the experience. The Rec Room. It’s a watercooler moment-type place, a space to collaborate, learn and socialise. It’s a place for fun, but it’s also a proto boardroom type experience where you should be able to interconnect the dots of bluechips worldwide in a commerce space. Spatial. I really enjoy Spatial because there's always something interesting happening there. It utilises a really important system for metaverse development and that's jump in play or as we call it in the games industry: instancing. You don't have to be necessarily invited to things to go there - but when stuff is live and happening you can literally jump between events servers. And… and this is big, it supports video and audio way better than a lot of its contemporaries (who literally don’t bother). Zepeto. Full disclosure, I’m in my 40s - so is Zepeto for me - hell yes it is! From shopping at Gucci to dance classes, there’s an abundance of activity in this particular metaverse. Go and live your best BTS life. Life, what is it but a dream? A final couple of words of advice when navigating the metaverse fully: if you have to buy a device to access an experience then it’s a walled garden. The elephant in the room is always there. If I have to buy a headset to visit a biodome, then yeah, the graphics are great sure, but this just cost me $500. How is that equitable for universal access? Do you have to pay a subscription to visit a specific platform? That’s not cool. The metaverse, for the most part, is free and if you want to buy coins to access new digital fashion, interiors or items, that’s your choice, but it must never be the first thing that you do in order to get there. You've got a cell phone and that cell phone should be quite enough for you to navigate to where you want to be and what you want to do and where you want to go. The world is yours, take it.

I’m Kelly Vero, creative badass, future-gazer, game developer, and general Metaverse nerd. It’s no secret that I’m crazy for fashion (yeah, I know, it doesn’t look like it). I always tell people that I’m either a failed engineer or a failed fashion designer, so if you put these two things into focus, you meet someone who is always trying to refine the process and development of things, and digital fashion cannot hide from my urges! So, where did we go wrong in fashion, and how can we “fix” it? My good friends at Positive Fibers posed a big question to me during a podcast recording recently: how will the metaverse fix fashion? When I realised Marije was being serious, I knew the answer! But like all solid hypotheses, there has to be a deal of background and hands-on experience to provide the answer. Because the circularity of everything requires a common framework that is democratized, right? In that no one owns it, and everyone can use it – a few brands have the desire but not the will. Some standout brands seem to be on the way there but have fallen at the first hurdle: from RFID (wasteful) to blockchain (closed). They certainly didn’t make it worse, but they didn’t make it better either. When the pandemic hit, we saw a sea of change in how we dress but also in how conscience/consciousness might guide us. So today? The fractious nature of fashion as layers of styles, movements, and demography means that we’re still nowhere near. Negative Forecasting In 2019, before the pandemic forced us into Karl Lagerfeld’s lockdown hell of sweatpants; digital fashion definitely was a thing, but that thing was up for debate. In a report by the BBC about digital fashion in November 2019, it was Marshal Cohen, chief retail analyst at market research company NPD Group, who fired the strangest warning shot at digitizing fashion. "Do I believe it's going to be something huge and stay forever? No." Coming from the games industry, where digitizing fashion is the only way; my tea was instantly expelled from my mouth in a moment of hindsight horror. But even before the pandemic, how could it be that this was still an error of vision; because the more that we use video games or digital applications to further our communication, and the more that we connect to digital platforms, the more that there should be a digitized approach to everything. The spokesperson du jour is allowed to be wrong. Unless he was talking about metallic wings on digital evening dresses, in which case he’s 100% on the money. From how we either design clothes for physical requirements, or how we designed clothes directly into digital, we still need a rethink even in 2022. Digital does not currently sustain physically. For the first part of the pandemic, it was still very clumsy and awkward. There were a lot of discussions about how we would look after the design part of the product lifecycle management. I was invited to participate in a hack. I came up with a few possibilities, such as how this could be made easier for the design team to navigate their way around digital fashion and physical fashion with a less wasteful approach. However, this was quickly thrown out in favour of how-do-we-send-our-people-to-Shanghai-fashion-week-without-them-getting-on-a-plane because there was a pandemic. NO IRONY. Being more focused on people rather than on the tools and the appropriation of products in that space - even though at the time, games such as Fortnite were starting to emerge as metaverses or at least styled for the metaverse - was incredibly short-sighted. It was still apparent, to me anyway, that many designers and manufacturers were not prepared to make that shift from physical to digital with ease. A huge conversation - probably started by me - began about digital sustainability, a general discussion about greenwashing being good and supply chain balance, conscious purchasing, continuous governance, provenance and development being way off on the horizon. Mark's Mighty PLM Let's start with the PLM. The product lifecycle management system for manufacture was digitised around 1989, and I’m going to credit it to Mark Harrop. If you don’t know who this guy is, look him up, he’s an actual living god in the fashion industry. By the use of initial hacks of possibly Lotus 1-2-3 or other types of early spreadsheets, it was easy to place dimensional data directly into grid overviews to give merchandisers and retailers the information they needed to place the apparel accordingly in a store. Because e-commerce had not at that point really taken off, it didn't truly exist. Over the course of those few years, it was companies like Burberry who started to take on board the idea that product lifecycle management could be handled in a digitised manner, allowing checks and balances with ease. That word again. Ease. The passage of time has been kind enough to PLM, thanks in part to the adoption of the technology by heritage brand Burberry, who has led the vanguard on all of the latest digital innovations. In fact, Burberry, as of the time around the pandemic and maybe before, considers itself to be a technology company. I concur. I wish more fashion houses considered themselves more tech than trad. Because from the design, all the way out to the merchandise and the bits in between, Burberry uses digitisation through manufacture and supply chain logistics within the product lifecycle management theory or method. That should mean lean production, right? Not everyone got the memo. Digital design came along so very late in the game to the fashion industry, and even if a fashion house claims to be an early adopter, it feels as though it was somehow embarrassed by it because we never heard a thing, not a fanfare, not a showcase - whereas in my industry, the games industry, we were doing all the work for the fashion industry as far back as the early 90s. But, let’s give the laggards the benefit of the doubt because these were pandemic times. I’m reliably informed that the experimentation of design tools like AutoCAD, made it almost impossible to stitch (yeah, stitch) together the physical with the digital as fluently within the product lifecycle management method. Clothelous Designer The pandemic obviously changed all that for a lot of people. Silence fell upon an otherwise busy industry, and productivity hit rock bottom despite the demand for stuff. Come on, we all ordered stuff during the pandemic. But tech came through: Clo3D, though born in 2009, was really born, Marvelous Designer got its wings and started to fly, and CAD made way for mesh, texture and render. These things became the glue that stuck together all of the various steps inside the development of clothing, brands, and luxury and general apparel as we know it, inclusive of footwear and other accessories. People tend to innovate when there are times when they feel they are blocked from being able to do what it is that they want to achieve with ease. We innovate our way out of the problem. That's definitely a design thinking trait. Naturally, designers would ordinarily innovate their way completely out of a blocked situation - so why did it take so long? Get the Balance Right MTM is an important part of the product life cycle. Because MTM is the management of time against pattern blocks coming from the design stage - I have made quite a lot of jokes in the past to loads of fashion developers where I have suggested that MTM could so easily be gamified to enable people to enjoy what it is that they're doing and not feel as though they're constantly being tested and pressured in order to deliver, but there's no bigger profit margin than what you would find in the fashion industry. No one took me on. Obviously, because, what’s games? The fashion industry requires people to work fast, making margins big enough for brands to survive where waste is costly. But it was during the pandemic that we started to see a shift towards quantum development or on-demand development, whether that was for specific elements in the product lifecycle management, or whether it was aimed at specific brands, app-specific items of clothing or apparel. The thing about quantum fashion and on-demand fashion is that it isn't wasteful or, at least, it shouldn't be wasteful. It has been designed to be more effective, efficient and streamlined than traditional development in clothing manufacture. And at present, it is working successfully in a variety of different labels and brands, but certainly, if we look at a company such as Twine, which are based in Israel, they dye thread according to the amount that is needed to stitch the exact number of t-shirts, suits, trousers etc. I think that's an ingenious way of securing the future of dye waste into water throughout the world, not just in the places that we would ordinarily expect dyeing to be a hugely needless practice. Furthermore, in doing so, what we are creating here is supply chain balance. The Big, Fat Dressberg When we've created the first physical sample, usually what we will do is call our favourite courier service and have that shipped on a next day delivery or flown over to some country far, far away from both our design studio or from our manufacturing centre. Because these two places are never close to one another, this ends up as a geo-societal cost rather than it being anything to do with the convenience of which I’ve heard, “the look and feel”. It's incredibly wasteful. The sample itself is either hugely scrutinised or completely destroyed in its quest for creating the perfect product, ultimately becoming that piece of landfill - let's call it what it is - the apparently mythical mountain of landfill that already sits somewhere between here and Africa. The tragedy of the commons is that the more we see that which we are embarrassed about, along comes a wonderful aesthetic on a building on Bond Street or Fifth Avenue, and we must have it. Why don’t we just take the digital version of it? Fashion NFTs are big - can’t they be bigger? How impactful on the planet is a fashion NFT against a limited visual campaign in some big-label department store? That’s quite some plastic that needs to be ditched, recycled or ignored. And, is the new luxury simply fast fashion in disguise? This is exactly how greenwashing gets moving. We think that our fashion houses are careful because they tell us in their CSRs, but is the reality more facepalmy than that? How is manufacturing impact being offset? How are textiles being recycled rather than dressberged? If you do a talk at the UN in Geneva about fashion being the epitome of over-consumption, but you took two planes to get there, and you packed your favourite sweatshop-made sneakers, are you being true? (Fair obviously doesn’t come into it.) If It Ain't Broke...Right? How can we fix the physical sample conundrum when we're thinking about what happens next in terms of creating a more harmonious and balanced supply chain? People in power with their stupid sneakers and private jets can basically GTFO. The answer is really simple: use digital tools to show the look and feel and the movement of the garment or the textile before the item goes into mass production. Is that too simplified? This can be done in a number of ways. During the pandemic, I created a virtual sampler, and I did this using a game engine. Some people might create something similar using volumetric capture, or they might want to work with VR tools to be able to show how this works. Definitely, the proponents in this space are the companies who are creating both the look and feel of the textile itself rather than just the design, pattern or toile. So companies such as Adobe Substance 3D, Marvelous Designer, Clo3d, ZBrush, etc. are the watchwords when we think about textile creation in a phygital space (you might call that the metaverse). Nak3d has launched a super solution for streamlining digital garments from PLM detail and back again into e-commerce through digital garment generation. Harnessing the power of unique identification of apparel throughout the design-to-merchandise cycle is important for us to figure out how and more importantly, where the clothes are going. And no, this is not a bloody privacy and data play because the data is fairly pointless if you’re going to waste the garment. And Nak3d is a fine metaverse example because these guys have adapted their engine for platform exports from Decentraland to Call of Duty without breaking a single scene. But to answer Positive Fibers' earlier question, which I did laugh about in the beginning but feel a little more connected to the answer. Yes, of course, the metaverse is a part of the fix, but not as much as digital tools are right now. Sure, the more open source or unwalled these tools become, the more we’ll call them metaverse or web3; but from the gamification of MTM, to the upskilling of sweatshops and digital design replacing courier planes in the sky, I think we can all agree that the metaverse does lend itself to the solution rather than the problem. Don’t you think.

I’ve been writing books, games, scripts, articles and anything that I think is worth a read since I was 10 years old. It all started with a story about a ghost that I thought I saw on a school trip. It won my home city’s prestigious Lord Mayor’s award for literature. For reference, my city produced some of the world’s greatest writers: Lord Byron, D.H Lawrence, Alan Sillitoe to name but three. Also LOL that I mentioned them in comparison to a kid’s story about ghosts. From 1983 to 2023 I’ve been pretty prolific and wrote my first published novel in 2013 (my current book comes out this September); but I’ve always been dogged by traditional publishing. It takes tiiiiiiiime. It’s true that after my first couple of published books, I started self-publishing but that’s because I’m greedy and I didn’t want to hand 30% (or more in some cases) of what I’d worked hard to produce over to people I had never even met. I’m not on this planet for long, none of us are. So when I wrote Prince of Tokyo in 2016, I decided to make it available as an NFT too, so that folks who don’t want the constraints of Kindle or Barnes and Noble could also feel free to read books in non-traditional ways. Forward, not Fore-Word Blockchain technology is important to the future of writing, anything. Here’s why: it operates as a decentralised digital ledger system that records and verifies transactions across a network of computers. Each block in the chain contains transactions and a cryptographic link to the previous block, ensuring secure and transparent data storage. This technology's key features include decentralisation, decision making processes for the block itself, immutability (or the inflexibility of the block as part of something bigger), and cryptography (which is the security and the smart part of the contract, and the contract itself). Beyond cryptocurrencies, blockchain has really good use cases in supply chain management, offering transparency and traceability for products. It also revolutionises digital identity verification, enhancing security by allowing individuals to control their own digital identities (I’ll fight with you about this another day). In sectors like healthcare, real estate, and voting systems, blockchain ensures secure data sharing, tamper-proof records, and efficient processes. Additionally, it improves intellectual property management, energy trading, and cross-border payments . But that’s not the end of what Blockchain can do, I would say that financial transactions are just the beginning, because Blockchain offers benefits such as increased transparency, reduced fraud, and enhanced efficiency. It empowers users by giving them control over their data, while eliminating intermediaries—isn’t that great? As blockchain technology continues to evolve and find new applications, it has the potential to reshape industries by providing secure, decentralised, and trusted solutions to various challenges. One such application is the book publishing industry. Expositionally speaking, In a world where everything is protracted, dry, and boring; our heroine is trapped in an endless cycle of trying to get published. Alone, and more drunk than Ernest Hemingway in charge of a tank, she started to read about a magical world of something called web3 publishing and with her new powers is able to vanquish the ageing publishing beast. The end. Wow, what a run-off for a jump off eh? But the truth is never far away from fiction. Publishing anything is looooong. In fact, traditional publishing often involves lengthy processes, from manuscript submission to final book release. This extended timeline can lead to frustration for authors like me eager to see their work in print and may not align with the fast-paced nature of modern readers' demands. New and emerging authors often face hurdles in gaining entry into traditional publishing. Established publishers tend to lean towards established authors or those with literary connections, leaving many talented writers struggling to have their voices heard. Some of the best stories are always the ones you discover rather than the ones that are heavily rotated. I always like to think about the marketing process for book publishing to be a little like eating fast food: it’s in your face constantly, the branding and the fomo, and it makes you hungry but 20 mins after you eat or in this case read the book you have either forgotten what you read or you are hungry again. Traditional publishers act as gatekeepers, deciding which manuscripts to accept based on their subjective preferences. This can result in the rejection of quality works that may not fit current market trends or the publisher's vision making for a really difficult vertical to work in. And there are a million other reasons why traditional publishing methods might not fit with your desires as an author or reader from distribution to sustainability. Accepting the Challenge I know, I know if you are reading this, you’re thinking *how did she go from Act I of the dramatic structure to the Hero’s Journey?* it’s a skill, dear reader! In all honesty, accepting the challenge of not only writing, but writing about accepting the challenge in your book is even more of a bête noire if you have to try and get an agent, then a publisher, then do the marketing and then release a book. When I started the process of writing professionally, NFTs and even Blockchain was a such a far off concept (for a lot of people I appreciate it still is!) but it would have been and is the best medium to publish that the 21st Century has. I’d always hoped that something like this might come along to disrupt the industry but I didn’t think it would be disrupted with such complete and utter ease! Incorporating blockchain technology into book publishing can lead to a more transparent, efficient, and secure ecosystem. Authors like me might enjoy fairer compensation, readers can access diverse literary works, and the publishing industry can adapt to the evolving digital landscape while preserving the essence of literature. It’s a Gutenberg moment, surely? Some web3 publishing platforms you may not have heard of: Mirror.xyz Readl Book.io BookVolts Soltype.io Because no one wants to read a book about web3 on a web3 platform amirite? Blockchain's transparent and decentralised nature can bring a clearer vision to the publishing ecosystem. Authors, publishers, and readers can access an immutable record of every stage of a book's journey—from creation to distribution. This transparency ensures accountability, reduces the possibility of fraudulent claims, and enhances trust between all stakeholders. Adding speed doesn’t necessarily mean the left hand knows what the right hand is doing, but blockchain kind of does: it does its own checks and balances. This immutability in blockchain ensures that once information about a book, its authorship, or its ownership is recorded, it cannot be altered or deleted without consensus from the network. This feature guarantees the preservation of authentic and accurate records, preventing unauthorised changes or disputes over intellectual property rights. And trust me, as someone whose first foray into publishing received an email from Amazon Kindle themselves apologising for a data breach where my precious book was pirated a million times onto a gazillion file sharing platforms, IP is important. It’s your brand, your DNA, your fingerprint, it’s your soul and if that gets pirated by people who are never going to pay for a view into your art; you are either Dan Brown or Croesus. I am not Dan Brown I’m not Croesus either, so I think it’s realistic to understand that in book publishing more than anything else (maybe not as a service provider for a museum) the time to money is long, and in some cases not at all. Don’t build your career on making money from books unless you are really sure you will be Dan Brown or some actor/singer/dancer-turned-writer because their acting work has dried up since they were in the public eye. Those idiots make money too. When I was nominated for Prince of Tokyo, I was up against a very famous singer in an award thing for up-and-coming writers who needed more exposure, yes, really. She’d sold millions of records, made loads of money and I was so surprised that I lost to her. What I’m saying is that blockchain will not change your earning potential. But what it will do is secure your authorship, it might agree your contracts with publishers, protect your IP, and wait for it: make your book globally accessible. Blockchain-powered platforms can enable authors to publish their works to a global audience without the need for traditional gatekeepers. I find anything traditional to be a bit boring. If readers from around the world can access and purchase books, surely it promotes cultural diversity and inclusion—as a writer that means much more than the thirty cents you will make on a dollar after you have marketed the life out of your writing. Though I’m not Dan Brown, I find myself embroiled in a weird Holy Grail-style web3 conspiracy where artists, writers and creatives are fighting over the tiniest pieces of market share. These things haven’t changed since web2 and that sucks. I couldn’t look away from why some art does really well (such as Beeple) and is completely devoid of substance, whereas other art is really well planned and executed (such as JAC’s The Core). When I was thinking about how to approach the writing of my own book about the future of the metaverse through the evolution of video games, I realised that I needed to get my skates on to avoid some other evolving currents: nomenclature, trends, and whilst I took care of that, I reached out to an amazing NFT artist based in South Korea (where else?) to design my book covers. I say covers because these will be in very specific collection drops for the first edition. I asked YEON to help me create the substantive aesthetic for a traditional business model I’ve simply disrupted for this book’s launch. I learned so much from writing Prince of Tokyo and publishing it later as an NFT. Here are some takeaways: Use your smart contract. You can’t pack everything in there but you can cover your arse with the fundamental details about your book, thus protecting you from the Hooded Claw/the old guy from the amusement park/Darth Vader. People eat with their eyes. With some obvious exceptions we are driven by aesthetic. It drives FOMO. Meme guy and his girlfriend know this only too well. Don’t write a book to release it with a crap NFT visual. No one will want to see it (or you). Get help. I used YEON for my new book but there are a million amazing artists out there waiting for you. Use the force. Using NFTs as pre-order proof of ownership is a great way to price your book, set the constraints of the launch, and, dare I say it, it’s the perfect marketing tool. You don’t need to be Terry Crews to flex a bicep and make it rain. It’s called creating a sales funnel. Get real. More importantly, be realistic. You will not be Beeple. But you might do really well from folks who are a) massive fans of YEON (in my case) or b) are prepared to pay for the quality of the book’s content. There will always be print, and that’s totally ok. You don’t have to go nuts on the whole NFT thing, think of NFT being something to enhance your sale, a sweetener. You will sell the epub or mobi files, as well as the fancy bamboo pulp 10 colour dust cover (ok I’m taking it a bit far). Price your book within benchmarks if it’s more comfortable - remember that you will gas this bad boy too so keep something back, something good (thanks Goldfrapp) The End, because that’s how books end.

I’ve got my own headaches with NFTs this week; to be honest, they’re lovely headaches to have. Being able to understand new tech as it evolves is one of the keys to keeping tech prescient. Don’t you agree? Something new is happening in the crypto space too - this winter is finally abating. And, the hype of AI is finally chilling with a glass of something nice or a fruit flavoured vape. Whatever AI is doing, everyone has stopped jizzing over it and they’re now realising that shit got real. 🧠Virtual (In)Sanity🤯 China's digital embrace has grown ever stronger! Yes, just like Jeff Fahey in Lawnmower Man digital is becoming an unstoppable force, thank the universe, kind of. This article, much like how things went bad for Jobe, is a bit of a double edged sword. Reports reveal that a digital ID system, akin to its social credit system, might step into the metaverse arena. China Mobile, the state-owned telecom giant, suggested a digital ID for metaverse users. Think "natural" and "social" traits blended in. This virtual ID could curb chaos, ID troublemakers, and even store job info. An echo of the social credit system? This is a double edged sword: on the one hand, it’s good to be digital, but I would feel so much more comforted if this digital passport was blockchain backed tather than state-owned. Wouldn’t you? 👗Re-Ee-Tail👠 While media insists on pumping those hard earned marketing dollars into traditional advertising like billboards and bloody Vogue; something is bubbling and thank the metaverse. Ralph Lauren's on a totally different runway. Elizabeth Arden has a fancy new (but probably unusable platform), Pinko announced theirs last week; and now CEO Patrice Louvet has spilled the beans on their metaverse moves. Avatars in American casuals? You got it! Ralph Lauren's strutting into Fortnite, with real-world versions coming too. Introducing products via the metaverse before the real world? Did we read that right? I’ve definitely been playing this song for a couple of years now and it’s finally happening. Retail is gonna take a million years to catch up but finally, it’s rewiring its shopping game! ⬅️Swivel-eyed Loons😵‍💫 Are AI language models playing politics? Let me be clear. A study claims ChatGPT carries a "significant and sizeable" left-leaning bias. That’s a robust claim. Researchers say its text might sway readers politically. Read my lips. The critics are stepping up, saying the methodology might have missed the mark. Ich bin ein Berliner. ChatGPT, are you singing the lefty tune? It looks like this might be something of a poorly executed report anyway with one Princeton University research suggesting there were flaws in how this had been put together. Remind us once again that in technology, as in most decent public houses, there is no space for religion or politics. 🦙Get Your Drama Llama Off My Lawn🧑‍💻 Meta AI unveils Code Llama an AI coding tool born from the Llama2 model. This feels a bit like an advertising pitch, but go on…. For devs who speak Python, Java, and more, it's like music to your coding ears. Best part? It's open to the community, meaning even small crypto projects can level up their code game. Let me stop you there. Technology behemoths Meta are more of a wolf in sheep’s clothing than a community-driven moon landing moment. Again with this organised tech religion nonsense. Please, take the cosplay outfit off guys—you are an advertising platform and you want our data. The sooner you are honest with yourselves is the sooner you will be honest with us. 💃My Bias is Sasaeng🎶 K-Pop sensation BLACKPINK's getting its virtual palace within Roblox. Jennie fans rejoice! Lisa fans, assemble! The other 2’s fans do whatever! Get ready for a grand virtual party with the usual collection of nonsense: light sticks, selfies, hi-touch and all that jazz. We did something similar a few years ago in the west with the Meta Daisies, it was in Avakin Life and let me remind you that over a million visitors attended that fan-event so do the math! Fighting! 💣Boom Town🤑 ZTX, the Web3 wunderkind from Naver’s Zepeto, has dropped a metaverse bomb! They've launched the much-awaited NFT drop "ZTX Genesis Home Mint" in collaboration with OpenSea. 4,000 exclusive NFT homes await, each tailored to different districts: fashion, gaming, finance, and art. A creative home, governance rights, and it’s all redeemable in Zepeto. Do you know what really threw me a curveball though? The presale went in a few minutes. If you ever wanted to assess your metaverse against the marketplace, that’s the PERFECT way to do it. I just wish some of these other platforms would take notice instead of staring into the void of their own egos. That’s enough metaverse for this week. I’ve got a keynote to write for More Than Games as part of Scottish Games Week this October/November. Will you be there? Tickets are on sale now. Do Something Less Boring Looking for a way to increase productivity whilst grinding on Hay Day? I got u. Suck at art? Suck no more! Night Cafe is ace. Shy people rejoice - there’s an AI for your video presentations now too. If you’re raising funds, there’s nothing worse than taking a knife to a gunfight. Get informed!

Whilst the world jizzed over ChatGPT, OpenAI's AI chatbot, some of us had been using everything from Otter to Gmail for a while. ChatGPT seems almost magical in its ability to provide answers to a wide range of questions. But AI is way more than just chatbots – it's a diverse landscape with immense potential. While having AI-powered chatbots help you with tasks or generate captivating images is exciting (think of the fingers), the true power of AI goes beyond, potentially reshaping economies on a massive scale. McKinsey Global Institute estimates this potential impact at a staggering $4.4 trillion annually for the global economy. How should you get started with AI? Why would you even bother? Are the old ways really the best? No. Well, sometimes yeah. But mostly ChatGPT and all its happy money-generating children are there to make you more productive. I can feel through these words I write, that you already feel more productive. Amirite? Here’s some cool ideas for ya. Low Hanging Fruits Want to get started quickly? These bots will help you to do stuff if you ask the right questions. I’ve added a couple to get you started. Customer Support Chatbots: Companies use AI-powered chatbots to provide instant assistance to customers, answering common queries and guiding them through troubleshooting steps. “Provide one paragraph about our return policy [pasted here] using a fun yet informative tone.” Content Generation: Journalists and content creators leverage AI to draft articles, reports, and summaries, saving time and generating content ideas. “I need to write an article about AI covering chatbots and generative AI, please provide it in the style of Kelly Vero.” The Segmenters (these were not selected for Harry Potter villains, sadly) I loved working with DICOM and supercomputers, but unless you know what to look for, you won’t be able to tell AI what it is you need. That said, segmenting is one of THE most relevant AI processes because, like ripping a piece of paper strip by strip you want a computer that can put it back together and tell you what the data says. Meanwhile in video games, we were creating autonomous everything over 10 years ago. The state machine that segments action to predict everything from collision to drive-bys? Yeah you can thank Forza and GTA for this revolution in self-driving cars. Medical Imaging Diagnosis: Deep learning models analyse medical images like X-rays and MRIs to assist doctors in detecting diseases at an early stage, enhancing patient care. Autonomous Vehicles: Deep learning algorithms process real-time data from cameras and sensors in self-driving cars to identify objects, pedestrians, and road signs, ensuring safe navigation. The Freuds Is there anything better than not thinking? Thinking makes overthinking happen and that’s no good if you want to measure and monitor. We just want the facts. So, sit back, no lay back and let AI be your Sigmund Freud. Tell it about your mother if you want. Tell it anything. Here are some ways it could help you. Social Media Monitoring: NLP tools monitor social media platforms to gauge public sentiment about products, services, or events, helping companies make informed decisions. “I want to know how many Gen Z users were on Instagram during September 2019.” Customer Feedback Analysis: Businesses use sentiment analysis to analyse customer reviews and feedback, gaining insights into customer satisfaction and identifying areas for improvement. “Here are some qualitative survey responses we received during [insert your dates here] can you provide any insight into negative customer feedback.” The Policy People My good friends Marion Mulder, Heidi Saas and Debbie Reynolds all use data to analyse the way that humans are treated by other humans. Be it privacy policies, HR data or the sexualisation of avatars. AI is a double edged sword here because for the most part, AI has been used as a power tool. Routing out folks based on the colour of their skin, whether they are pregnant or not (or planning to be) or whether they are just a plain old gender that does not reflect the workforce is not an AI problem, it’s a people problem. Tell AI what you want to do and it will do it. AI is the Ron Burgundy of code. It reads whatever is on the screen. Fair Hiring Practices: AI algorithms are used to screen job applications, ensuring fair evaluation and minimising bias based on gender, ethnicity, or other factors. Content Moderation: AI tools identify and filter out inappropriate content on online platforms, maintaining a safe and respectful environment. The Photoshoppers Generative AI in my experience of running NAK3D is mixed. I don’t think it’s the greatest thing that ever happened to fashion. I would argue that it’s more of a segmenter. Thing is, generative AI is a massive time-saver for creatives who already get paid a lot of money, to get paid a lot of money for doing less than they did before. I’m just sayin’. Fashion Design: AI generates new clothing designs by remixing existing designs and incorporating diverse style elements, inspiring fashion designers with fresh ideas. Architecture Visualisation: Architects use AI to create realistic 3D visualisations of buildings based on textual descriptions, aiding in presenting design concepts to clients. The Instagrammers GANs are ace. Imagine you're an art forger, and you want to create paintings that look just like famous artists' works. But there's a challenge: you need to fool an art detective who's really good at telling real paintings from fake ones. Enter the GAN (generative adversarial network) which is constantly creating from data that it is constantly trained from. It’s a big step up from Kim Kardasian’s airbrushed fails, Kim I hope you are reading this. Artistic Creations: GANs transform photographs into artwork in the style of famous painters, enabling individuals to see their photos in a new artistic light. Interior Design: GANs help interior designers envision room transformations by applying the aesthetic features of different styles to existing spaces. The Talkers (and the Listeners) I mentioned Otter at the top of the article. To be honest I find it an essential tool in recording everything so I don’t forget it. But it’s good at translating verbatim too! However, the whole language and communication thing is interesting. I live in a country where English is not the national language so if I go to the doctors, I need to know that I’m getting the information or diagnoses relayed back to me correctly before I write my will. Know what I mean? I use Deepl and it’s getting better at knowing what I need German, French, Italian and Romansch skills for (mostly to get out of jail or to not die). Language Translation: End-to-end learning models translate text from one language to another in a single step, allowing for faster and more accurate language translation services. Speech Recognition: AI systems transcribe spoken language into written text, aiding in tasks like transcription services and voice assistants. The Hands-off Robots (are Humans) I am obsessed with robots. From the ones that make cars to the ones that perform surgery. The NHS is very open about wanting to use AI to assist in cutting down waiting lists and enhancing medical care performance. Autonomous Robots: Engineers implement AI safety protocols to ensure that robots operating in public spaces make safe decisions and avoid accidents. Medical Decision Support: AI models provide medical recommendations while adhering to ethical considerations, assisting doctors in making informed treatment choices. The 419 Ever had a conversation with someone or something online and you’re not sure whether it’s bot or human? The Nigerian Prince has evolved! The sophistication of neural network analysis is making fraud sweet, but detection even sweeter. The linguistics of fraud, compliance and protection will continue to spill into everything from medtech to insurtech. Financial Fraud Detection: Neural networks analyse transaction data to detect unusual patterns and identify potential cases of fraudulent activity in real time. Language Translation: Neural networks understand the context of entire sentences and accurately translate idiomatic expressions and nuances between languages. The Minority Report When someone says Minority Report it’s always tinged with fear and horror but not all elements of that movie were scary. Some of it was really prescient, in ways that we’re only just discovering now in 2023. In an age where police operations are simple issuers of crime numbers, AI could really help in finding even the tiniest details. For market research, which is a totally different vertical, these details are represented by insights that span consumer behaviours. That’s an essential skill in understanding the nuances of being human. Video Content Analysis: Multimodal AI processes both visual and audio elements in videos, enabling video platforms to provide automated subtitles and relevant content recommendations. Market Research: Multimodal AI combines text and image data to analyse consumer reviews and photos, yielding comprehensive insights into product preferences. The Words That Matter As AI becomes increasingly integrated into our lives, new terms are surfacing. Whether you want to impress in conversations or interviews, here's a handy guide to some essential AI terminology: Artificial General Intelligence (AGI): Imagine AI that surpasses current capabilities and excels in tasks far better than humans. AGI not only performs tasks but also enhances its own abilities through learning and advancement. AI Ethics: A set of principles aimed at ensuring AI doesn't harm humans. This involves decisions about how AI systems gather data and address biases. AI Safety: This interdisciplinary field focuses on the potential long-term consequences of AI development, particularly the risk of AI rapidly progressing to a level of superintelligence that could pose threats to humanity. Algorithm: Think of an algorithm as a series of instructions that enables a computer program to learn from and analyse data in a specific way, like recognizing patterns, allowing it to accomplish tasks autonomously. Alignment: Fine-tuning an AI to produce desired outcomes, from moderating content to ensuring positive human interactions. Anthropomorphism: The tendency to assign human-like qualities to non-human entities. In AI, this can lead to overestimating the human-like attributes of AI systems (or writing about them, in my case). Artificial Intelligence (AI): The application of technology to simulate human intelligence, either through computer programs or robotics. It aims to build systems capable of performing human tasks. Bias: In the context of large language models, errors arising from biased training data, potentially leading to incorrect attributions based on stereotypes (Marion Mulder talks about this in LGBT+ a lot) Chatbot: A program that communicates with humans through text, simulating human language and interactions. Cognitive Computing: Another term for artificial intelligence. Data Augmentation: Enhancing AI training by remixing existing data or introducing more diverse data. Deep Learning: A subset of machine learning where artificial neural networks, inspired by the human brain, analyse complex patterns in text, images, and sound. Emergent Behavior: Unintended abilities displayed by an AI model. End-to-End Learning (E2E): A deep learning approach where a model is taught to complete a task holistically, considering inputs and generating solutions in a single step. Ethical Considerations: Awareness of ethical implications related to AI, including privacy, fairness, data usage, and safety concerns. Foom (Fast Takeoff): The notion that the development of AGI might lead to rapid progress that could be difficult to control, potentially endangering humanity. Generative Adversarial Networks (GANs): A model composed of two neural networks – a generator and a discriminator – collaborating to create new data. Generative AI: Technology that uses AI to produce content, such as text, video, code, or images, by recognizing patterns in training data and generating novel responses. Google Bard: A Google AI chatbot that fetches information from the current web, unlike ChatGPT, which is limited to data until 2021. Guardrails: Policies that guide responsible AI behaviour and prevent undesirable outputs. Hallucination: Incorrect AI responses, resembling confident but inaccurate parroting. Large Language Model (LLM): An AI model trained on vast text data to understand and generate human-like language. Machine Learning (ML): A component of AI enabling computers to learn and predict outcomes without explicit programming, often used with training datasets. Microsoft Bing: Microsoft's search engine utilising AI-powered search results, akin to Google Bard. Multimodal AI: AI capable of processing various inputs like text, images, videos, and speech. Natural Language Processing (NLP): A branch of AI using machine learning to enable computers to understand human language. Neural Network: A computational model mimicking the brain's structure, designed to recognize patterns in data. Overfitting: A machine learning error where a model performs well on training data but struggles with new data due to excessive focus on specifics. Parameters: Numerical values shaping an LLM's behaviour and predictions. Prompt Chaining: AI using past interactions to influence future responses. Stochastic Parrot: An analogy illustrating that LLMs mimic human language without understanding its meaning, similar to a parrot repeating words. Style Transfer: Adapting the style of one image to another, enabling an AI to recreate images in different artistic styles. Temperature: A parameter controlling the randomness of an LLM's output. Text-to-Image Generation: Creating images based on textual descriptions. Training Data: Datasets used to teach AI models, encompassing text, images, code, and more. Transformer Model: A neural network architecture learning context from relationships in data, such as sentence context. Turing Test: A test assessing an AI's human-like behaviour. It passes if a human cannot distinguish its responses from those of another human. Weak AI (Narrow AI): AI specialised in specific tasks, unable to expand beyond its designated capabilities. Zero-Shot Learning: Testing an AI model's ability to perform tasks without specific training data, simulating real-world adaptation. As you delve into the world of AI, understanding these terms will help you navigate conversations, grasp concepts, and appreciate the dynamic field's potential. Keep in mind that this glossary is continually evolving as AI advances. So keep popping back as I update it a little more. Here’s your homework now, especially if you’re new to AI. Don’t read those silly infographics, instead, have a bash at using low-level AI yourself. Start working on your prompts, refine them as you learn more, and remember that all AI needs that human touch to make sure it’s not too formulaic or cringe in its presentation, and more importantly that the information provided can be fact checked. However, if you are writing anything fictional, the world is your lobster (not your Llama)! 🦞

Honestly I had to edit the life out of the newsblasts this week because the metaverse news would not stop coming. Is this a sign of things changing or an opportunity for me to put the boot in? Either way, I'm passionate in the extreme. I get mad when folks do it wrong and I stan folks who do it right. If you read the outlook from Bain & Co recently you will see that the metaverse ain’t going anywhere. So you can cry and bleat all you want, you whine to each other at Gamescom this week, but you’ll thank all us stalwarts later. Beat to the Blockchain Drum ⭐️ In news that excited me more than a private dance from Jungkook, Zepeto, the South Korean sensation, is doing a metaverse moonwalk into blockchain and though I would usually say oblivion, I feel like they may be ok compared to their contemporaries. Get this: ZTX just snagged a whopping $13 million in a seed round, with venture capital bigwig Jump Crypto leading the charge. Zepeto's not your average Joe – they're worth a staggering $1 billion and have won over a cool 400 million users since 2018. Now, they're diving into the NFT universe with ZTX, aiming to turbocharge crypto adoption. ZepetoX brings ownership to its 3D universe, starting with Genesis Home Mint – a collection of NFT 3D homes, yes, homes, ready to rock on Ethereum's Arbitrum. Bear in mind that their demographic is mostly under 18, I think they’re gonna nail this one. 🎮 Sandbox Unlocks the NFT Treasure Chest, Will the Game Change? Early predictions for the metaverse depressed me more than you can possibly imagine. Snoop Dogg or fancy academia aside, I think those who created the vision for what the metaverse could be in the early days or opportunistic years of the pandemic were ill-equipped to deliver. That makes me mad. Moreso because now quite a few operatives in this space are using token drops as some kind of last gasp into a flagging space. The Sandbox are a metaverse powerhouse, that’s never been up for debate but this crypto winter sure is taking a toll on these once untouchable empires. By unleashing a colossal 332 million SAND tokens – that's a cool $133 million in value, my friends, The Sandbox are rallying around their own products from their own stable and this is the tough bit for me. People just are not using the virtual platforms the way that they were. So facing the weather by doing a token unlock could be a death knell. I hope not. SAND tokens have been dancing in a downward rain for the last 30 days, from around $0.45 to a not-so-hot $0.39. The Sandbox isn't backing down, quite the opposite—they’re doubling down. Watch out. 🐶A Shaggy Dog Story Who let the dogs out? No, literally, who let the dogs out? This is a story that I ran a little while ago which has come back for an extra bite. 21 million wallets wagging during its testnet phase and now it’s touting some kind of Shiba Inu-themed metaverse playground, complete with virtual residences and digital property galore. Le Sigh. This is about 2 years too late regardless of where they want to be in the food chain. Unless they can make the tail wag the dog, this might decentralise itself out of existence. Someone pass me the poo bag, we’ve got a stinky scoop. ✨Return of DAMAC Hold onto your VR headsets, because DAMAC’s unleashing D-Labs, a metaverse makeover like no other! With a whopping $100 million ready to roll, they're carving out a space in this digital universe. Ready to trade your IRL for a metaverse mansion? D-Labs' got your back! Virtual digs, digital property, and futuristic platforms are DAMAC's jam. Isn’t that everyone jam though? The last few stories including the ZTX announcement is about virtual penthouses and land grabbing. Doesn’t anyone know how to do games? Fumb does, so does MYSTiC, doesn’t it make more sense to partner with the big guns rather than do this whole if-they-build-it thing? I dunno about you. I’m bored of it. 😭Bitter NFTears I wanted to say something about monkey business. There’s no point as it’s all been said before. I also wanted to illustrate when Sun Wukong decided to destroy the heavens starting with the Peach Orchards, but I won’t. People, this is not a drill. This is the end of times. A reality TV showdown in the NFT world between Sotheby's, the classy auction house, and Bored Ape NFT buyers. Investors are throwing shade and calling it a 2021 NFT gold rush gone wrong. Who knew monkey business could get so salty? The low-down is this: Sotheby's, famous for sophisticated auctions, might have put a little too much NFT glitter on those pixelated primates. They skyrocketed after a swanky auction, but guess who was the secret buyer? FTX, the crypto exchange now in the legal hot seat! Lawsuit plaintiffs are pointing fingers, saying they were bamboozled into thinking these NFTs were headed for mainstream fame. Whilst I thoroughly enjoyed Hermes vs Maison Rothschild, this is gonna be the first courtroom showdown that we can all attest to since OJ. 🛑 What’s the 411? VentureBeat has picked up a press release which means nothing much. Gaming meets blockchain in an explosive collision as Gala Games rockets into the metaverse through Elixir Games Launcher. Ok, well, Ultra are doing this. Nefta to a greater extent are doing this. Babe, everyone is doing this. This isn’t a new era of gaming, blockchain gaming is a thing. It’s just that everyone’s CEO dad is getting on the hype train so expect to see a lot of this. What the metaverse needs more than anything is education, solid use cases and PEOPLE. Flat Pop A real waste of my degenerating retina to see yet another poorly planned, executed and downright cringe NFT collection. Major brand NFTs strutting down the NFT catwalk, only to trip on the secondary market runway? FIX THIS. Collectors swarmed like flies on the proverbial for these digital Coke bottles. Absolute bilge. Over $450,000 splashed into nearly 60,000 Masterpieces by traders diving headfirst into the NFT ocean. But major brand NFTs have a reputation for fizzling out faster than a shaken soda can. FIX THAT. Remember Budweiser's beer can collection? Prices sank, value evaporated, and traders nursed their losses. As we toast to digital Coke bottles, let’s find as many metaphors for flat things, especially flat things that can be fixed. Do Something Less Boring Here are some AI tools I’ve been enjoying this week: https://magai.co/ it’s like a refined chatgpt (tidiness comes at a cost though) Unfold your arms - here comes https://aragon.ai/#hero you can turn your selfies into business headshot type things (this thing works miracles on my craggy face) Be more accessible with https://freesubtitles.ai/ - I will be adding this to my next video prep. THAT'S ENOUGH METAVERSE FOR THIS WEEK. That’s enough metaverse for this week. I just stepped up at NAK3D from CTO to be our CEO so that means a whole world of pitching and being ghosted. If you have any tips for the world’s most cynical business leader, don’t keep it to yourself. In the meantime, check out some of the articles you may have missed via my equally cynical sounding voice over on Spotify. You can listen to a wide range of articles whilst you work. Simple.

I’m writing a book at the moment for your reading pleasure. It’s called How Video Games Made the Metaverse (pre-order it). This article therefore provides an additional secret indulgence of mine; because for the last 30 years I have been dreaming up the ultimate video games world and now the metaverse exists, I have been dreaming up the ultimate gamified metaverse. Want to know what might go into it? Read on… The Whole World Video game worlds, yes! From Mushroom Kingdom to Rapture, the world inside our beloved video games are integral and lucid, they take us over, they make us want to live in them. In 2023 these stylised worlds should become increasingly important to the development of the metaverse, but among the boring grids or monotonous spoke and wheels of top down drivel it’s fairly easy to see why metaverse worlds have such little appeal. As more people spend time in virtual worlds, the need for immersive and engaging experiences is becoming more apparent. Video games could easily lead the way in examples and ideas that can be used to enhance the metaverse and make it a more vibrant and exciting place. One reason why video game worlds are so important is that they offer a high level of interactivity. Players are able to move around, interact with objects and other players, and shape the world around them. This level of ownership is crucial for the metaverse to succeed, as users need to feel like they are part of the world rather than just passive observers. Games like Minecraft, for example, allow players to build and modify the world around them, creating unique and personalised environments that reflect their creativity and vision. So UGC or user generated content is a good way of connecting the “player” to the space. A Place of Your Own Another important aspect of video game worlds is their attention to detail. Game developers spend countless hours designing and refining their virtual worlds, ensuring that every aspect is finely tuned and crafted to create a rich and immersive experience. This level of attention to detail is essential for the metaverse, as users will be spending more and more time in virtual worlds and will demand high-quality and engaging experiences. Games like Red Dead Redemption 2, for instance, have received critical acclaim for their realistic and detailed worlds, complete with living ecosystems, dynamic weather, and complex AI systems. Can we honestly compare existing metaverses to the awesome power of video games for immersion? Hands-down the game world has the edge. The carefully crafted lexicon of images and words is an art form that only video games can achieve. Video games also offer a wealth of creative and imaginative ideas that can be used to enhance the metaverse. Games like World of Warcraft and Final Fantasy have created entire worlds with their own unique lore, characters, and cultures. These worlds have inspired countless fan creations, from cosplay to fan fiction to art. Hello? If you’ve never seen my tattoos you have no idea of the impact video games have had on my life! By incorporating these ideas and elements into the metaverse, developers can tap into a rich creative community that is already invested in these virtual worlds. Finally, video games offer a glimpse into the future of the metaverse. As virtual reality and augmented reality technologies continue to improve, games like Half-Life: Alyx and Pokemon Go offer a tasty vision of what the future of immersive and interactive virtual worlds might look like. These games blur the lines between the virtual and physical worlds, allowing players to experience new levels of immersion and interactivity. Living in the Metaverse So what does all this look like from a metaverse perspective? All the games I’ve made in my career have rich seams of habitable environments that we could really ‘live’ in. I feel like currently that’s the only way to pivot the metaverse away from this slow-car crash of moving parts that simply look naff to anyone. I’m always asking metaverse creators to actually employ video game designers, storytellers and world builders who, you know, have real experience in this space. So on the flip side it is definitely possible to turn video games into metaverses, and in fact, we are already seeing the beginnings of this trend. Many modern video games are designed with a level of immersion and interactivity that makes them ideal candidates for inclusion in the metaverse. The key to transforming a video game into a metaverse lies in expanding its scope and creating an ecosystem of interconnected experiences. This means that instead of simply playing through a linear story or completing a set of objectives, players should be able to interact with other players and create their own stories and experiences. Here comes Minecraft once more. It has been able to seamlessly find that sweet spot between the static games world and the user generated concepts that we need in a metaverse. Even when it first launched I was comparing it more to Second Life and SmallWorlds than its PC game contemporaries. Originally designed as a sandbox game where players could build and explore virtual worlds, Minecraft has evolved into a metaverse-like experience with its own economy, social structures, and communities. Players can join together to build massive structures, trade resources, and create their own unique gameplay experiences. This is just too important to ignore in terms of discoverability and democratising. This is exactly where the dawn of web3 broke. This is how civilisations are made. Look at Yahaha—a prime contender for the grown-up Minecraft if there is such a thing! Another example is Roblox, a platform that allows users to create and play their own games using simple building tools. Roblox has created a massive ecosystem of interconnected experiences, where players can jump between different games and socialise with other players in a virtual world. My beef here is always that this is such a kid-led movement that I just don’t feel as comfortable here as say Byte City or Breakroom. As virtual reality and augmented reality technologies continue to improve, we can expect to see more and more video games evolve into metaverse-like experiences. Games like Half-Life: Alyx and No Man's Sky are already pushing the boundaries of what is possible in virtual reality, offering immersive and interactive worlds that feel like they could be part of a larger metaverse. The Ideal Home Expedition Now the theory is in place, how do we apply the logic to the dream? It’s good to look at solid examples of games and metaverses to fully understand the pros and cons of what it might be like to live there. In the example of Second Life, we can clearly see its potential to become a metaverse. Second Life, in case you have been living under a rock, is a virtual world where users can create their own avatars, interact with others, and create their own content. The world is vast, with thousands of virtual locations and communities. Users can create their own businesses, host events, and explore a wide range of virtual experiences. Second Life has been around for over 18 years and has a dedicated user base that has created a rich and vibrant ecosystem. How about Fortnite? Although Fortnite is primarily known as a battle royale game, it has evolved into a metaverse-like experience with its own economy, social structures, and events. Fortnite's in-game events have attracted millions of players, with virtual concerts and other experiences that have blurred the lines between the physical and virtual worlds. Fortnite has also become a hub for social interaction, with players using the game as a platform for communication and collaboration. The lack of user engagement and activity is one way to kill a metaverse. A metaverse requires a critical mass of users to be successful, and if there are not enough people participating, the experience could feel, well, crap. For example, if a metaverse were to be too complicated or challenging to use, or if there were too many technical issues preventing users from interacting with each other, it could deter people from participating. That low barrier to entry is desperately needed—people who don’t have wallets still need to get into a metaverse. For god’s sake stop tipping the balance of experience into simply making money. You really won’t win friends. Diversity and inclusivity, oh wow. So many so-called metaverses claim to be inclusive and accessible, but trust me on this, they are far away from supportive experiences. Simply changing browser settings is not enough and for me anyway, it’s an instant red card. The metaverse must be welcoming and accommodating to people from all backgrounds, cultures, and abilities. If certain groups are excluded or feel marginalised, it could create a negative environment and deter users from participating. Finally, a metaverse that is too commercialised or monetized could also be considered something less than fun as metaverses go. While it is reasonable for metaverse creators to monetise their platform, it is important to strike a balance between generating revenue and providing a good user experience. Web3 projects, such as Decentraland and The Sandbox are virtual worlds built on blockchain technology, where users can buy and sell virtual real estate, create their own content, and interact with others. These two in particular feel mainly brand-activated and cost-centred showrooms right now; though still in their early stages, they represent an interesting vision for what a metaverse mall could look like. If a metaverse becomes too focused on generating profits, it detracts from the overall user experience and turns users away. For me the metaverse is a bit like looking at an atlas. There are differing cultural styles and aesthetics for our ever-changing mindsets. Of course it would be lovely to feel that interconnectedness but no one seems to want to do that on either side of the tech fence. Perhaps web3 games like Medieval Empires or Call of the Voyd, maybe even Bitcoin Miner will bring us closer than ever to the immersion we need in order to live that virtual realness. There are already several virtual and game worlds that have the potential to exemplify the metaverse, and new projects are emerging all the time. The ultimate metaverse will likely be a combination of these existing worlds, as well as new experiences that have yet to be imagined. The Joined-Up-A-Verse For what it's worth, my ultimate gamified metaverse looks like a feast for the eyes and the mind! Purchasable land and apartments from Midgar (Final Fantasy VII), the open world crafting of Elder Scrolls Online or Fable, Animal Crossing inventories with tidy Farmville store designs, PVP a la Valorant or OS Runescape, Destiny 2’s PVE with a dollop of Warhammer 40k: Space Marine and how about the economy of EVE Online meets the skin model of League of Legends. What do you think? Can we make it? Please? Video games have the potential to become powerful components of the metaverse, providing immersive and engaging experiences that allow users to create their own stories and build communities. As the technology continues to evolve, we can expect to see more and more video games transform into metaverse-like experiences, offering a glimpse into the future of virtual worlds. Some hot takes could be: Metaverses that suck are ones that fail to engage users, lack inclusivity, or are overly monetised. A successful metaverse must prioritise user experience and community engagement to create a thriving virtual world. Build something with a high level of interactivity, attention to detail, imaginative ideas, and a glimpse into the future of immersive virtual worlds then give it to your dwellers to dream and develop however they see fit. These beautifully designed video game worlds are imperative to the development of the metaverse. Good design is invisible rather than planned, PR-ed and presented as some kind of campaign or dare I say it: week. Therefore, by drawing on these examples and incorporating them into the metaverse, developers can create a vibrant and engaging world that captures the imagination of users around the globe.

I saw a fun graph the other day, you know the ones I mean: the Statista bar graph style with no real importance on the state of anything. Things like “How much has Kelly Vero spent on NFTs in the last 3 years”—that kind of thing. This particular bar graph was related to AI, NLP, and ChatGPT (because, reasons). It said something like “How Cool is China with AI by Demographic” and it got me thinking about how I might answer that question myself. Simply, I always answer any question related to China with Xiao Zhan, Hu Yi Tian or Wang Yibo. But Kelly, this is serious because this impacts our entire outlook on AI! So I thought about it again and realised that China's affinity with AI was borne out of convenience surely? Again, my Ockham's Razor moment might be about drop shipping or shopping in general. After all, retail is pretty important. Am I close enough? Not nearly. Before I go down the rabbit hole of AI, let’s set the scene a bit with Industry 4.0. The fourth industrial revolution has been nothing more than a whisper in my area of expertise (video games) yet if I sidestep into my other day job (digital fashion and g-commerce) then BOOM! It’s responsible for everyone losing their jobs, the reason why we have landfill, the MTM problem, literally everything to do with the supply chain where we can’t replace physical with digital. Use the Fourth The Fourth Industrial Revolution, also known as Industry 4.0, refers to the current era of technological advancements that are transforming the way we live, work, and interact with each other. This revolution is about the use cases and utility of merging several technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics, the internet of things, 3D printing, and advanced materials. We know from history class that the first industrial revolution started in the late 18th century with the mechanisation of production through the use of steam power, followed by the second industrial revolution in the late 19th century which introduced mass production through the use of electricity. The third industrial revolution started in the 1960s with the rise of automation and computerisation, which led to the development of the digital economy. The Fourth Industrial Revolution builds upon the third by combining digital technologies with physical systems. This has led to the creation of cyber-physical systems that can monitor and control physical processes with unprecedented accuracy and efficiency. These technologies are changing the way we live and work, creating new opportunities for innovation and economic growth. The rise of big data and analytics; the use of sensors and connectivity to enable real-time monitoring and control, the development of autonomous systems such as self-driving cars (whose sector will be worth $98.89 Billion in China by 2030), and drones. The increasing use of artificial intelligence to enhance decision-making and automation have helped to create a significant shift in the way we organise and operate our economies and societies, with the potential to drive significant changes in productivity, sustainability, and quality of life. Do you see where I’m going with the bar graph theory and China’s involvement in how this will benefit the global us? China's investment and development in artificial intelligence has significant implications for the Fourth Industrial Revolution globally: Advancements in automation: AI-powered automation is one of the key drivers of the Fourth Industrial Revolution, and China's investment in this area has enabled the development of advanced manufacturing and logistics systems. This has led to significant improvements in efficiency, productivity, and cost reduction. Impact on the workforce: As AI and automation become more prevalent in China's economy, there will be a significant impact on the workforce. Some jobs will be replaced by machines, while others will require new skills to work with and manage AI systems. This will require significant investments in training and education to ensure that workers are prepared for the new job market. The Great F(AI)rewall The comparison between the first and the fourth industrial revolutions is a stretch, I know, but this is me, and my thought processes have never been (that) academic in construction, I’m an interested observer. I want to visualise that bell curve of evolution. I guess that in order to know how China has coped with the rise of AI, don’t we first have to understand the impact of the Great Firewall of China? You know what that is right? The Great Firewall of China is a complex system of internet censorship and surveillance used by the Chinese government to control and restrict access to online content within China. The system is made up of a combination of legal and technical measures, including website blocking, keyword filtering, and monitoring of internet traffic. The main purpose of the Great Firewall is to control the flow of information and prevent Chinese citizens from accessing content that is deemed politically sensitive or harmful to the ruling Communist Party's interests. This includes websites and social media platforms that are critical of the government or promote ideas such as democracy and human rights. It has been in place since the early 2000s and has been strengthened over time with new technologies and regulations. It is widely regarded as one of the most sophisticated and extensive systems of online censorship in the world. Despite the restrictions imposed by the Great Firewall, many Chinese citizens have found ways to circumvent the system using tools such as virtual private networks (VPNs) and proxy servers. However, the government has also taken measures to crack down on these methods, making it increasingly difficult for people to access blocked content. It would be foolish to disregard AI as not being possibly the most powerful tool in cracking down currently. The Powerhouse From the development of machine tools (1760-1840) to Emerging AI industries (2011-): China's investment in AI has also spurred the development of new industries such as autonomous vehicles, facial recognition, and natural language processing. These industries have the potential to create new economic opportunities and transform various sectors of the economy. World’s Fair (1791-) to Global competitiveness: China's investment in AI has made it a global leader in the field, and this has significant implications for its competitiveness in the Fourth Industrial Revolution. As AI becomes increasingly important for businesses and industries around the world, China's leadership in this area will give it a significant advantage in the global economy. China has made significant investments in artificial intelligence in recent years, which has contributed to its leadership in this field. I would love to throw in Xiao Zhan, Hu Yi Tian and Wang Yibo at this point, but let’s be honest, I can’t crowbar them into how China has become such a powerhouse of AI and why there are myriad reasons as to why China is set up and comfortable with AI systems: Government support: The Chinese government has recognized the potential of AI and has made it a priority to develop the technology. The government has provided funding, infrastructure, and policy support to promote the development and use of AI. Remember that this is also controlled at state level. Large market: China has a large and growing market for AI applications, which has attracted significant investment from both domestic and foreign companies. This has created a favourable environment for the development and deployment of AI systems. It is utilised from the inside of China to well, China a kind of B2B echo chamber, not too dissimilar from India’s technology policies but less open. Data availability: China has a vast amount of data generated by its large population, which provides a significant advantage in developing and training AI systems. The availability of data has also enabled the development of advanced machine learning techniques such as deep learning. Behind the Great Firewall of China is a wealth of data management services which are centralised for specific purposes a bit like a hive mind and in and of itself something deep and without contraflow away from the central policy. Research and development: China has invested heavily in research and development of AI technology. Chinese universities and research institutions have produced many AI-related publications and patents, and the country is home to some of the world's leading AI researchers. China's focus on AI has significant implications for Industry 4.0, including advancements in automation, changes to the workforce, the emergence of new industries, and increased global competitiveness. China's strong government support, large market, abundant data, and specific investments in research and development have contributed to its comfortable and well-established position in the field of AI. In addition to government support, Chinese companies are also playing a major role in the development and deployment of Industry 4.0 technologies. Chinese tech giants such as Huawei, Tencent, and Alibaba are investing heavily in artificial intelligence, big data analytics, and cloud computing, while Chinese robotics companies are rapidly expanding both domestically and globally. Of course AI is more than drop shipping and Singles’ Day or Double Twelve, but the impact on us globally especially in my lines of work is affected by how much we automate, or what we produce as people and groups and not just data points. The demography will buck the trend of the larger share of the population, because it’s the university end of the chart that is most closely associated with early adoption rather than Crossing the Chasm. If we can learn what the biggest researcher of AI is doing, will it help us to be more effective in what we create and produce on a human level too? That’s another article for another day. For now, I would say that China's role in Industry 4.0 is significant and growing, with the country positioning itself as a major player in the development and deployment of advanced technologies that are transforming the global economy.

I’m a really creative person, but I’m also a massive idiot. So most of the time I outsource my thinking about privacy, data and compliance to other people, not other things (ChatGPT—I see you). I admire the work of wonder women in this space—check out Heidi Saas and Debbie Reynolds: if you take nothing else from this article let it be known that these two know their onions. Be Excellent to Each Other My knee jerk reaction to traditional data and privacy is more of a learned by osmosis golden rule: treat others' personal data and privacy as you would want yours to be treated. In other words, to respect individuals' privacy rights and protect their personal data as you would want yours to be protected. This means being transparent about how personal data is collected, used, and shared, obtaining consent from individuals before collecting or sharing their data, and taking steps to ensure that data is secure and protected from unauthorised access or disclosure. Additionally, it means giving individuals control over their personal data and respecting their rights to access, rectify, or delete their data as appropriate. It also means avoiding any form of discrimination or unfair treatment based on personal data, such as race, gender, or religion. This golden rule of privacy and data is reflected in many privacy laws and regulations, including the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) and GDPR-K (for kid’s data) in the European Union and the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA) in the United States. Individuals and organisations can help ensure that personal data is collected and used in a responsible and ethical manner that respects privacy rights and protects individuals' personal information, but what about for web3? What happens when we go open and transparent with our data? How do we control everything that is personal to us? Someone made a fun comment about me recently, “she’s so web3 that she doesn’t do insta or whatsapp”. I definitely don't, but not because I'm so out-there and web3, it’s because I got sick and tired of being catfished, gaslit and infiltrated by products and services that somehow slipped into my DMs without my permission. The Doxx Ugh, this bane of everything we do online, not just web3: The Doxx, the act of doxxing, it’s gross. Doxxing is the practice of researching and publicly revealing personal information about an individual or organisation without their consent, typically with the intention of harassing or causing harm. This can include information such as their full name, home address, phone number, email address, and other sensitive data. If you’re reading this and worrying, this is not a rallying call for you to change your name to M. Mouse. Moreover, it’s something you can’t really control but it should be a reason to change what you’re doing. You should simply carry out those processes, all processes in web2 or web3 with a heightened level of security. Because doxxing can be carried out by anyone with access to the internet and can be done for various reasons, such as revenge, activism, or simply as a form of online harassment; you do need eyes in the back of your head. This practice of malevolence can have serious consequences, including loss of privacy, identity theft, physical harm, and even loss of employment or social status. It’s also invasive and pervasive on our wellbeing—it’s harassment; plain and simple. Hacking, social engineering, or simply searching for information that is publicly available online detonates the exposure. The information may be posted on social media, forums, or other online platforms, and can quickly spread to a wide audience. It's important to note that doxxing is illegal in many countries, and can lead to criminal charges and civil lawsuits. Therefore, it's important to be cautious and responsible when handling personal information online and to respect the privacy of others. Decentralise Everything Web3, also known as the decentralised web, is a paradigm shift in the way we think about and use the internet. I often (and foolishly) suggest that this is open season on privacy and data because there are no rules. However, as web3 is based on blockchain technology and allows for decentralised applications (dApps) that are built on top of a peer-to-peer network rather than relying on a centralised server, I’m both correct and incorrect in my throwaway statement. Decentralisation has significant implications for privacy and data management. In web3, data is typically stored on a decentralised network of nodes, which are maintained by a community of users rather than a single central authority. This means that data is not controlled by any single entity, but is instead distributed across the network. In addition, data on Web3 is typically encrypted and secured using cryptography, making it difficult for unauthorised parties to access or manipulate. Privacy is also a key consideration in web3, as users have the ability to remain anonymous or pseudonymous while using dApps. This is achieved through the use of public and private keys, which allow users to maintain control over their identity and personal information. One of the implications of transparency in web3 is that all transactions and interactions are publicly visible on the blockchain. While this provides a level of transparency and accountability, it also means that any personal information that is associated with a particular transaction can be viewed by anyone on the network. Remember what I said about doxxing? Therefore, you gotta be careful in your considerations of what data is shared on the blockchain, and how it is stored and accessed. Accentuate the + Web3 should lead to greater trust in the system because of the open and transparent nature of the platform. By providing a clear and public record of all transactions, you should feel confident that the network is operating as intended and that your data is being handled in a secure and responsible manner. The comparison to web2, though we’re super comfortable with it, is obvious. Web2 applications are typically managed through a combination of technical and legal considerations. These technical measures for privacy include the use of encryption, authentication, and access control mechanisms to protect sensitive data and limit access to authorised users. Legal measures include privacy policies, terms of service, and regulatory frameworks that govern the collection, use, and disclosure of personal information. But guys, guys! These are all or often centralised, meaning that data is stored on a single server controlled by a central authority. This can present privacy risks, as users must trust the central authority to protect their data and use it responsibly. That word again. If the central authority is compromised, or if they use the data for purposes that are not aligned with the users' expectations, this can result in significant privacy violations and we’ve seen the fall out haven’t we? Disclosing personal information in order to use the application has always gone hand in hand with web2 privacy. Things like name, email address, location, and other identifying information. Then, in some cases, this information may be shared with third-party service providers or advertisers, which can further compromise users' privacy. That’s the bit that I can’t stand. I’m damned if I do and damned if I don’t in web2. Why do I have to do X to get Y? It’s a barrier to entry and I don’t want to be limited, like at all, in how I access anything on web2 or web3 platforms. If we want to continue with the old regime of privacy and data regulation in the transition to dApps and web3, it could have a number of implications and challenges. How about tossing traditional regulatory frameworks in the bin? These rules about privacy and data protection may not be fully compatible with the decentralised nature of web3 applications. For example, it may be difficult to identify a single controller or data processor in a decentralised network, which could complicate compliance with existing regulations. To be fair, these privacy and data protection tools are weighed in favour of the data consumer rather than the owner—that’s we need independent controls as we transition between web2 and web3. Our optimistic desire for greater privacy and control over personal data is one of the main drivers behind the move to web3 and decentralised applications. If we feel that our privacy is not adequately protected, they may be reluctant to use dApps and may instead stick with traditional web2 applications. The result being the limitations to growth and adoption of web3 technologies. Finally, I want to say that there is a risk that if the old regime of web2 is maintained, it could perpetuate existing power imbalances and limit innovation in the space. Decentralisation has the potential to democratise access to information and resources, something that the world probably needs as we move to an advanced technological age. If the old regime is maintained, it could stifle giving individuals greater control over their own data and limit the potential benefits of web3. I’ll look at the doxx in more detail in a subsequent article, but for now, it is important to balance the need for privacy and data protection with the potential benefits of decentralisation and the transition to web3 before we get there. We definitely need something new, and I promise to explore that next time. Until then, the onus of new regulatory frameworks and innovative approaches to privacy and data protection are on us. More care, more common sense and definitely more comprehension is needed no matter who we are. If we’re outsourcing our privacy and data thinking now, what will become of us?

How’s that Starbucks card filling up? One stamp left since 2005? Never bothered? I’m in the latter category. I just can’t seem to find a good mode of loyalty that suits me and it annoys me. When I set up Solo Wallet, I had this front and centre of my mind—I want to be loyal to anything, easily. The metaverse is coming, some say it’s already here and this presents the strongest potential to create new forms of economic and social interaction. In such a world, traditional models of economy and loyalty must be adapted or reimagined. This has to happen, but how will it work? And who will make it sweet? You Might Win Something Traditional loyalty programs are marketing tools used by businesses to encourage repeat purchases from their customers. These programs work by rewarding customers for their loyalty, usually through a points-based system. From the sign-up to the promotions everything is flawed in this new way of connecting. Here’s how: The Sign up: Customers can sign up for the program for free by providing their name, email address, and sometimes additional information like their phone number or address. It sucks to be you when these marketing corps know how to trade on your personal information. Is that the only currency you have? No! That’s rude. Your hard earned cash is the currency you have. If you are still doing this to get that, go now, leave, RUN! What do points make? Members earn points for every purchase they make at the business. These points can be based on the amount of money spent or the number of products purchased. The tricky part is in the language used. It’s too easy to say “we will give you stuff”, it’s easier, much easier to go the whole hog and surmise what we might get. That spend a penny to win a pound thing never really dies. The great redeemer: Members can redeem their points for rewards such as discounts, free products, or other perks. The number of points required for each reward varies. In my pet food supplier-of-choice website, I never seem to have just enough points for a packet of flat peas. This really pisses my bunnies off. “Why don’t you spend more money on delivery next time, mum?” Why indeed. More of the same, but different: Some programs have a tiered system where customers can earn additional benefits or rewards as they move up levels based on the number of points they accumulate. For example, a basic level might offer a 5% discount, while a higher level might offer a 10% discount and additional perks like free shipping. Again, I refer to the wisdom of Dave and Seon-hye, my two 7 kilo Flemish giants for this one. Yes I am a dick for not falling into the trap clearly laid out for me. The one where you don’t win: Some programs offer additional ways to earn points, such as special promotions or referral bonuses. Like the first point of signing up or on (unless it’s my glorious newsletter) there is absolutely nothing to do here. This is akin to selling Aloe Vera juice or dildos—though not together. You+Your Data=You I’m fascinated by economy and loyalty models. I’m a complete thicko for ever being a designer or writer in the games industry or a supposed architect of the metaverse because well, finance thinkers and doers get paid more, much more than us mere crayon eaters. I’m passionate about virtual and digital currencies though, of all kinds. From the humble Gil to the mighty Bitcoin, I think there’s a place for all of them in the metaverse. Digital currencies, such as Bitcoin or Ethereum, could be used as a medium of exchange in the metaverse, allowing users to buy and sell virtual goods and services. Additionally, blockchain technology could be used to create a decentralised economy, where users are rewarded for contributing to the ecosystem, and where ownership and control of assets are distributed among the community. Then there’s DAOs with all that public policy stuff which is being created on the fly; I’m not too into that right now, but it does follow the economic and loyalty principles that I feel need a closer look. But back to my guilty pleasure: virtual currency. Literally, how in the hell are we going to make this work? I just looked in my Metamask wallet (I really don’t like Metamask) and there were fragments of dumb purchases with weird currencies. Why did I do this? Because the metaverse made me do it. I can’t buy in Decentraland unless I have MANA, The Sandbox=SAND, The Otherside=APE, the list goes on. And if these metaverses were fully functioning metaverses where the commerce mechanics were set up as they are IRL, then there wouldn’t be a problem. Whilst I appreciate that we’re in some strange holding pattern where we’re both ready and not quite ready to accept that virtual world travel is a bit like going from my desk in Switzerland, to say, a bar in Malaysia I would be very honest and say that most of these currencies are utility-backed but only through use-cases in their worlds and we’re just gonna have to get more savvy here because when game currencies come, and they will, it’s goodbye yellow brick road. Virtual game currencies have already become an important part of the tech economies of the present, and are likely to continue to play a significant role in the future. Here are some examples of how virtual game currencies may be used in the tech economies of the future: Unify! As more games and virtual worlds are created, players may be able to use the same virtual currency across multiple games. This would create a unified virtual economy, where players can earn and spend currency in a variety of different virtual worlds. The cryptocurrency platform Enjin is working on creating a cross-game virtual currency that can be used in a variety of different games and virtual worlds. Secondary market magic. Virtual game currencies may also become more closely linked to real-world value, and could even become a form of investment. Remember World of Warcraft? Well it’s definitely still a thing and players can earn gold by completing in-game tasks, and then sell that gold to other players for real-world money. This has created a secondary market for virtual currencies, with some players making significant amounts of money by buying and selling virtual goods. DeFi the laws of Ca$h. Virtual game currencies may also become more decentralised, with blockchain technology being used to create virtual currencies that are not controlled by a single entity. This would allow for greater transparency and security, and could also create new opportunities for developers and players to earn rewards. Decentraland uses its own cryptocurrency, MANA, which is built on the Ethereum blockchain and can be used to buy virtual real estate and other goods within the game, but as I said, right now, this is limited and it’s not guaranteed either. Game On! Virtual game currencies may become the basis for entire virtual economies, with players earning a living by creating and selling virtual goods and services. For example, the game Second Life has a thriving virtual economy, with players earning real money by creating and selling virtual clothes, buildings, and other items. Virtual game currencies are likely to become an increasingly important part of the tech economies of the future, as more games and virtual worlds are created and as blockchain technology becomes more widespread, but it has to do that. We can have this stupid pump and dump mentality. We need people who understand that currency is something that only works if it lasts and these fly-by-night coins are just a big bag of crap currently. Interoperability and the Laws of Attraction Interoperability for economies related to technology is a concept focused on the ability of different economic systems to communicate and exchange value with each other seamlessly. In other words, interoperability enables different economic systems to work together, creating a unified economic ecosystem that can be more efficient and beneficial for all participants. In tech, interoperability can be applied to various economic systems, including virtual currencies, online marketplaces, and digital payment systems. It’s not just for avatars and LinkedIn flexes you know! Did you know that interoperability can allow users of different virtual currencies to exchange value with each other, or allow sellers on different online marketplaces to accept payments in a variety of different currencies? You didn’t? Why not? This is a web2 kind of thing which has had the edges filed off. Interoperability should not be so hard to implement in this space. It can be achieved through various means, such as the use of common standards or protocols that enable different systems to communicate with each other. Here’s one: blockchain technology. And we all know that blockchain can be used to create a common framework for different virtual currencies, allowing them to be easily exchanged with each other. Simples. Imagine what that will do to one world and open policy agreement for things like sureties and insurances? Please tell me you have heard of the Open Banking initiative? This enables different financial institutions to share data and services with each other in a secure and standardised way. This initiative has enabled greater competition and innovation in the financial sector, as well as better services for consumers. Again, another win for interoperable finance. Universal banking and open banking initiatives can play an important role in creating an inclusive world by increasing access to financial services and promoting greater competition and innovation in the financial sector. We love inclusivity. Ok, I’m in the minority here because I look around and I see elitism in finance everywhere, not just in the decentralised finance sector. And this is not ok. Why would you create a new world which has exactly the same old mistakes in it? Universal banking is a concept that refers to the provision of a full range of financial services by a single financial institution, including services such as savings, loans, investments, and insurance. By offering a wide range of services, universal banks can provide greater convenience and accessibility to customers, especially those in underserved or remote areas. The tech economy needs this. It does. Stick your AI as far up as the sun stops shining because finance, decentralised or however you want it, keeps the lights on. Not only that; it enables greater collaboration and integration among different economic systems, leading to more efficient and effective use of resources, and better outcomes for all participants. How else might we rethink finance, banking and the like for this new decentralised world? Access: Universal banking enables customers to access a wide range of financial services from a single institution, which can be especially beneficial for underserved populations who may have limited access to financial services. Open banking initiatives can further increase access by allowing customers to access a wider range of financial services and products from multiple providers. Literacy: Universal banks can play an important role in promoting financial literacy by offering educational resources and guidance to customers. Open banking initiatives can also promote financial literacy by providing customers with more information about their financial options and enabling them to make more informed decisions. Innovation: By opening up financial systems to third-party developers and services, open banking initiatives can promote greater competition and innovation in the financial sector. This can lead to the development of new products and services that are more affordable and accessible to a wider range of customers. A Culture of Freedom How about a reputation-based system? We have that already in web2 where sites like Ebay and Stack Exchange get the community to rate you. In the metaverse perhaps that model works? Users earn rewards for contributing positively to the community. Think about the ways a user who creates popular virtual goods or services could earn a higher reputation score—this could lead to increased visibility or preferential treatment in the marketplace. Additionally, users who participate in community events or contribute to the development of the metaverse could earn rewards or recognition. That’s gamification to some extent and does show the sticky side of what gamification can do when placed in the correct space. The social factor is BIG. No. Think bigger because social connections allow users to earn rewards or benefits for referring friends or building a network of followers. Could this be similar to how referral programs work in traditional e-commerce or social media platforms? Yes but without added data capture. Perfect! How about those tiered systems from before? Many video games use a tiered system to reward loyalty, where players can earn additional benefits or rewards as they progress through different levels or ranks. This can be applied to web3 loyalty systems by creating different levels of rewards or benefits based on the amount of engagement or participation from the user. In games this is natural, so, if you can loop it or gamify it, you should! Remember how Travis Scoot pulled all those users into Fortnite? Video games and metaverses often host special events or promotions that offer unique rewards to players who participate. These events can create excitement and motivate players to engage more with the game. BUT IN THE METAVERSE THEY DON’T. Largely because these gods of the new age, aka the platform creators and CEOs are lazy as hell. Their *if you build it they will come* ethic is about as tired as old knicker elastic. Web3 loyalty programs should create special events or promotions that offer unique rewards or benefits to users who participate, but they don’t and this shows how much they care about you. NFTs have finally become popular as a way to reward players with unique, collectible items. Web3 loyalty programs can use NFTs to reward users with unique, collectible tokens that can be traded or sold on blockchain marketplaces. But use these things as a pivot towards loyalty rather than a shill. Many video games allow players to share their progress or achievements on social media platforms, which can help to build a community around the game. Web3 loyalty programs can incentivise users to share their progress or achievements on social media platforms by rewarding them with additional benefits or rewards and it’s all part of the loop baby! You do this to get that and you keep doing it and you tier up and you do more and before you know it, you’re the queen of everything! Challenges and achievements work similarly. The challenges or achievements on offer reward players who complete them. Loyalty programs in web3 can offer similar challenges or achievements that reward users for engaging with the platform or completing certain tasks. The next time to assess ways that you will be the most successful at finance, loyalty and reward systems; think about hiring a game developer. Even better, talk to me! At Solo Wallet, these are all the things we’re doing to make life really simple but also really rewarded. From minting NFTs to visiting your local supermarket, this shouldn’t be a one app for this, or one app for that approach. This has to be easier or we will never advance. If you want to stay where you are, fine, but I don’t want to. I want to be free of all this data, I want to make data something that I control not something that controls me. So if the only way to do it is to make myself; you can bet that I will—and you should too.

I’m currently sitting writing a book about the metaverse from a farm near the French border with Switzerland. I’m surrounded by fields of wheat, and heavy pre-summer rain, or is it climate change? Whatever it is, it’s bolstered by the chorus of cicadae around my feet. I'm contemplating making my classic spag bol as we speak (don’t tell my publisher)—and I dream of having a replicator so that I don’t have to think about whether to do the Godfather version or any other variation on the theme. Let’s face it, making Italian food isn’t hard, but one day soon, or now, food is going to change, and I will get that replicator. If food is evolving it seems to be slow enough for us, the consumer to not notice it, but food evolution is more than just whether you have a strawberry milkshake flavour kit-kat or not. In this article I want to look at the impact that web3 is having on food and how that’s shaping the game so that everyone gets a piece of the pie. Eat Your Greens As the world's population continues to grow and the effects of climate change become more pronounced, sustainability will be a key consideration for food production and consumption. I am a really simple person when it comes to this and I know a great deal of research before practice has already taken place. I mean, the UN Sustainable Development Goals illustrate the need for ensuring everyone has access to food, and that’s pretty difficult in migratory, poverty or pestilent situations. Also, these days you don’t have to live in a third world country to be poor! The rise of food banks and growing numbers of malnutrition in young people amounts to some serious problems in the food chain as a whole—can we forgive ourselves? I think we already have because we allow food producers to continue to make crap food and our farmers will continue to struggle against marginalised markets. Can future technologies and the metaverse—combined with the principles of Web3—contribute to developing new farming techniques, reducing food waste, and making the food industry more environmentally friendly? I think it definitely has some long term benefits but some unfortunate short term fails. Let’s see if my hypothesis is correct. The metaverse can provide virtual environments where vertical farms can be simulated and optimised first. By using advanced algorithms and machine learning, farmers can experiment with different layouts, lighting conditions, and crop varieties virtually before implementing them in the physical world. This allows for more efficient use of resources and reduces the environmental impact of traditional farming practices. Vertical farming is happening now, and Futurae Farms (US), CubicFarms (Canada), AeroFarms (United Arab Emirates), InFarm (Germany) have a combined value running into tens of billions—very cool indeed. But I want to know: which of these are deploying web3 techniques? That’s right, none of them. Raiz Vertical Farms is using ReFi (regenerative finance) to address climate change using tokenised farm delivery subscriptions. Building NFTs on Near (which I’m a huge fan of by the way), Raiz “makes and releases digital artworks of plants linked to impact metrics such as carbon emissions and water savings—significant issues in traditional agriculture and industrial farming markets.” Raiz are young farmers in the city doing extraordinary things with web3. Web3 technologies might also facilitate the creation of decentralised marketplaces where farmers, food producers, and retailers can connect directly with consumers to sell surplus or near-expiry food items. By eliminating intermediaries, reducing transportation costs, and leveraging blockchain for transparency and traceability, these marketplaces can help reduce food waste and create a more sustainable and efficient food supply chain. Smart contracts can enable accountability to a high degree in this space too. The use of smart contracts, which are self-executing contracts with predefined rules, can be utilised to ensure transparency and accountability in the food supply chain. For example, by recording and verifying every step of the supply chain on a blockchain, from farm to table, consumers can have access to trustworthy information about the origin, quality, and sustainability of the food they purchase. Wang et al wrote a super white paper where QR codes are used for traceability between smart contracts and you can download a smart contract protocol from GitHub right now if you are so inclined to. Overall, I reckon that the role of decentralisation in this space is ripe for some support. But start small, Raiz really needs you. The integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) devices can enable precision farming techniques. Sensors can collect data on soil moisture, nutrient levels, and plant health, while AI algorithms can analyse this data in real-time to optimise irrigation, fertiliser application, and pest control. This leads to more efficient resource usage, higher crop yields, and reduced environmental impact. AI is the cornerstone of precision farming with literally everyone using this and robotics across agriculture over the last 10 years. But IoT needs some uplift, wouldn’t you agree? Crop productivity can be enhanced in one hour. What are you doing with your lunch break? Technology is already transforming the food industry, from precision farming to 3D printing of food. In the future, can we expect to see even more innovation in this area? With the potential for personalised nutrition and the use of artificial intelligence to optimise food production and distribution, I’m wondering why we’re using technology like basic individuals to increase ultra-processed foods—it makes no sense. But the global food printing market does and that has increased in value to $11.3 Billion by 2030, at a CAGR of 50.2%. Did someone say replicator? I would 100% eat insect protein if it was repackaged into something that looks like a rasher of bacon (sorry veggies and vegans—I’m the issue here) because if we eat what we’re eating now, we’re just part of the Soylent problem. A certain brand of plant-based burgers is only double the price of a packet of ultra processed grillsteaks because of technology—it takes time to print a plant based burger, and that costs money. So whilst my replicator idea is a little way off yet (come on Mattershift, I need my Earl Grey Tea—hot, not cold) carbon nanotube membranes are waiting in the wings to bring us what we want, what we really, really want. I am one of these food consumers who drank, smoked and ate crap in my 20s, wore moisturiser and bras in bed in my 30s and in my 40s I turned to lactose-free and more biohacking to solve the problems caused by bad decisions in my 20s. Let’s be honest, it’s not the final collection of mistakes I made in my 20s, but I might need more than a girdle and a toothpick to work that out. With an increasing focus on health and wellness, food developers will need to take into account the changing preferences of consumers like me. This could involve developing new plant-based proteins or creating new ways to deliver nutrients through food. I’m currently experimenting with Yourheights: a one–pill strategy to deliver vitamins and nutrients to my brain. The role of food—aside from health and wellbeing—is in its cultural connections. My love of spag bol is eclipsed by my love of gyoza and mandu. They aren’t just food for me, they’re memories too. So while technology and innovation will play a role in shaping the future of food, it's important to also consider the cultural and traditional aspects of food. For example, many people have a deep connection to the food they grew up with, and preserving these traditions will be important. I live in a country that wouldn’t know a Sunday roast if it came up and whacked it in the face. Yorkshire puddings, what? So I want to know how the metaverse will impact the traditions and connections we have to food and drink for good and bad. Look, so many metaverses drop brand activations in their feature releases from Cipriani to Taco Bell. What’s the why for brands, and do consumers really want food that they can’t taste (yet)? In this virtual space, it's possible that people could purchase and consume virtual food, which could have implications for how food is marketed and sold and vice-versa. If I go to Tokyo’s Toshima Ward I will be able to buy a lovely Bento from Green Lawson, so what? Who cares? It’s a convenience store staffed by avatars who are controlled by home and remote workers. It’s a phygital reality that we should start getting used to and I for one am a fully signed up member of this club. It's difficult to say for certain whether the world will buy food like this in the future, as there are many different factors that could impact consumer behaviour and preferences. However, the idea of using avatars to serve customers in a convenience store is an interesting concept that could potentially offer benefits such as increased efficiency and convenience. If this type of technology were to become more widely adopted, it could have implications for the food industry as a whole. For example, it could lead to a shift towards more automated food service, which could reduce the need for human labour and potentially lower costs for consumers. On the other hand, some consumers may prefer more traditional, human-driven interactions when purchasing food, so it's likely that there will continue to be a variety of different food purchasing options available in the future. Here’s what I want to see happen soon, if they aren’t happening already: In-metaverse grocery stores—I hear that Edeka is a big mover in this space, so I’m keeping everything crossed. NFTs to be developed as food coupons - this is what these things were made for surely? (In amongst everything else NFTs were made for, I guess) Personalised nutrition as smart contracts, why not? I’m taking my weakness for chocolate with me to the grave. Functional foods: Yourheights has nailed the brain care case—what am I missing? The future of food is likely to be shaped by a combination of technological advancements, changing consumer preferences, and environmental and social factors. I’ll be 100 in 2073 and hopefully still carping on about the metaverse (because anger is an energy) predicting exactly what types of food we will be eating in then is limited by not just climate, geopolitics and socioeconomics but also by our cultural desires—a one-pill world is a way off yet but what is certain is a continued innovation and evolution in the food industry that if we’re passionate enough can be democratised towards sustainable transparency. What do you think? Are you hungry enough for it?