It’s only been a few weeks since Facebook announced their vision of the Metaverse and changed their name to match. Critics have come out of the woodwork with every objection imaginable on why Facebook won’t be successful. They can’t do hardware, they can’t effectively moderate online communities, people don’t want to wear head gear for 8 hours, and etc.
But the one thread that all of the criticism has in common is that they all are oblivious to economic forces. So what do I mean by economic forces?
Take for example public figures who hate Twitter and want to quit the platform. However, that is also where they may engage with their target market and gain valuable insight that they don’t get anywhere else. As a consequence they continue to use Twitter to reach their market or audience. That my friend, is economic forces at work. Due to a drive that is financial in nature, they have altered their behavior to accommodate that financial drive.
Many people who have businesses or consultant lifestyles need access to data or the ability to connect with people. The most economic way to do that is not always the most desired or pleasant way. Whether or not these people find Twitter to be “pleasant” is irrelevant to the economics involved.
Another example is the employer and employee relationship. Employers are always trying to find the right balance of trying to encourage their employees to be productive and efficient without resorting to draconian tactics. Those who think that the metaverse will never catch on in the corporate world are again ignoring economic forces pushing corporate managers.
Zoom-style meetings aren’t always the best. It’s only too easy to “zone out” of those and there can be a lot of distractions competing for employee attention. The zoom window is small compared to the panoramic real world the employee is sitting in. But a virtual metaverse would reverse the equation. The employee would find himself immersed in the environment of the corporation and the real world would recede to a tiny window. Employees become more engaged and less susceptible to distraction.
Employers still encourage business travel because they know that it helps to transcend the regular business meeting to get to that next level of connection. But what is it about the informal communications that happen in person that lead to greater connection? It’s the shared experiences that happen in a shared environment. Whatever that may be. It could be dinner, a walk in the parking lot, or a baseball game. But does that need to happen in the real world? Could a simulated environment also facilitate that next level of familiarity? I think it probably could. And it would be far, far less expensive. Not too mention employees might be happier spending their nights at home versus in a far-flung hotel.
Again, economic forces on the corporation to increase productivity and decrease expenses will push the metaverse to the rank and file. People don’t like Zoom or Teams meetings but we do them anyway. Why? Because it’s pushed on us from above. I think most people would prefer a simple e-mail communication or good old-fashioned conference call. It’s naïve of Meta critics to assume that since no one “wants” the metaverse that they will have the option of just staying out of it.
But the economic forces will work in both ways. People will not only be pushed into the metaverse. They’ll also be pulled in by the opportunity to make money and increase their market share. A good number of business Facebook accounts were started by business owners who loathe Facebook but felt that they couldn’t ignore all the potential new clients. The same principle will be at play in the metaverse. Or completely new businesses will start within the metaverse where people are getting paid for services rendered entirely in meta.
For many people, the thought of earning a living in the metaverse, will be enticing. No commute. No work clothes. No awkward lunch conversations. No dirt under the fingernails. And no travel. Anyone who thinks that most people will find the metaverse abhorrent are living in a bubble and already disconnected from reality.
As I’m always saying, the future isn’t about moving people, it’s about connecting them. It’s not about transporting boxes of information down a highway, it’s about disseminating data to millions of people at once in a fraction of a second.
The metaverse is a logical outgrowth of that idea. It’s cheaper and quicker to conduct business online than it is in bricks and mortar. And economic forces will both push and pull people into it from multiple directions.
There are also those who say that the metaverse is inevitable but Facebook is not a likely candidate to carry out this mission. Those people are dead wrong. I’ve heard their criticisms and disagree with all of them. Again, they are ignoring economics and how the real world works. But that is a topic for another day.
Take for example public figures who hate Twitter and want to quit the platform. However, that is also where they may engage with their target market and gain valuable insight that they don’t get anywhere else. As a consequence they continue to use Twitter to reach their market or audience. That my friend, is economic forces at work. Due to a drive that is financial in nature, they have altered their behavior to accommodate that financial drive.
Many people who have businesses or consultant lifestyles need access to data or the ability to connect with people. The most economic way to do that is not always the most desired or pleasant way. Whether or not these people find Twitter to be “pleasant” is irrelevant to the economics involved.
Another example is the employer and employee relationship. Employers are always trying to find the right balance of trying to encourage their employees to be productive and efficient without resorting to draconian tactics. Those who think that the metaverse will never catch on in the corporate world are again ignoring economic forces pushing corporate managers.
Zoom-style meetings aren’t always the best. It’s only too easy to “zone out” of those and there can be a lot of distractions competing for employee attention. The zoom window is small compared to the panoramic real world the employee is sitting in. But a virtual metaverse would reverse the equation. The employee would find himself immersed in the environment of the corporation and the real world would recede to a tiny window. Employees become more engaged and less susceptible to distraction.
Employers still encourage business travel because they know that it helps to transcend the regular business meeting to get to that next level of connection. But what is it about the informal communications that happen in person that lead to greater connection? It’s the shared experiences that happen in a shared environment. Whatever that may be. It could be dinner, a walk in the parking lot, or a baseball game. But does that need to happen in the real world? Could a simulated environment also facilitate that next level of familiarity? I think it probably could. And it would be far, far less expensive. Not too mention employees might be happier spending their nights at home versus in a far-flung hotel.
Again, economic forces on the corporation to increase productivity and decrease expenses will push the metaverse to the rank and file. People don’t like Zoom or Teams meetings but we do them anyway. Why? Because it’s pushed on us from above. I think most people would prefer a simple e-mail communication or good old-fashioned conference call. It’s naïve of Meta critics to assume that since no one “wants” the metaverse that they will have the option of just staying out of it.
But the economic forces will work in both ways. People will not only be pushed into the metaverse. They’ll also be pulled in by the opportunity to make money and increase their market share. A good number of business Facebook accounts were started by business owners who loathe Facebook but felt that they couldn’t ignore all the potential new clients. The same principle will be at play in the metaverse. Or completely new businesses will start within the metaverse where people are getting paid for services rendered entirely in meta.
For many people, the thought of earning a living in the metaverse, will be enticing. No commute. No work clothes. No awkward lunch conversations. No dirt under the fingernails. And no travel. Anyone who thinks that most people will find the metaverse abhorrent are living in a bubble and already disconnected from reality.
As I’m always saying, the future isn’t about moving people, it’s about connecting them. It’s not about transporting boxes of information down a highway, it’s about disseminating data to millions of people at once in a fraction of a second.
The metaverse is a logical outgrowth of that idea. It’s cheaper and quicker to conduct business online than it is in bricks and mortar. And economic forces will both push and pull people into it from multiple directions.
There are also those who say that the metaverse is inevitable but Facebook is not a likely candidate to carry out this mission. Those people are dead wrong. I’ve heard their criticisms and disagree with all of them. Again, they are ignoring economics and how the real world works. But that is a topic for another day.
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