Daily Metaverse #10: February 23, 2022
Ten issues deep, but just like the metaverse, we're just getting started!
Happy hump day, internet! Our first story today is a look from Forbes at healthcare in the metaverse, and I believe it’ll be a particularly interesting space to watch. Technology has enabled us to get some of our healthcare in increasingly convenient fashion, and the pandemic has accelerated that trend.
This is really valuable - take as an example the fact that I get pills to stop my hair from falling out over the internet. I send pictures of my head to hims and answer some questions, and they send me a prescription. Consider all the benefits - I save time, my carbon footprint is reduced because I’m not traveling to the doctor, and I’m not exposed to sick people in a waiting room.
Multiply those benefits by millions of Americans and a bunch of different health issues, and you’ve got real social, economic and environmental impact. VR, AR and the metaverse will enable a broader set of medical issues to be dealt with without having to go to the doctor - if the government lets that happen. It remains to be seen if the boost that telemedicine received from the pandemic continues, or if it dies down as Covid becomes endemic.
Business in the Metaverse
The Amazing Possibilities Of Healthcare In The Metaverse: The pandemic has accelerated the growth of technologies like video in healthcare - will that progress slow now, or will healthcare be improved via the metaverse?
Wrangler’s Metaverse Debut Features Leon Bridges: Will jeans make it in the metaverse, or are Meta’s legless avatars our future?
Record label CEO explains how music NFTs are set to revolutionize the industry: Artists have always made most of their money from live performances as opposed to music sales - NFTs look ripe to give them another way to monetize their music (unless record labels start demanding NFT rights in their contracts).
Universal Just Hired an Exec to Drive Forward its Web 3.0 Business: Richard Cusick joins as the Chief Product Officer, Global E-Commerce, and the fact that Universal’s head of metaverse stuff gets a C-level title is a clear sign of how seriously they’re taking it.
Universal Music to launch NFT collections with Curio NFT marketplace: And Universal’s not waiting for Cusick to get started - they’re already putting in place the infrastructure for their artists to launch NFTs.
Salesforce employees revolt over NFT moves: The enterprise software provider wants to start supporting NFTs, possibly through a marketplace, but its employees have environmental and other concerns.
Hardware for the Metaverse
Sony offers a first look at the orb-like PSVR2 headset: They’ve made a lot of improvements since the first version, including using a single cable to connect to your PlayStation, greater resolution and no need for an external camera to track your movement.
Nvidia CEO talks Omniverse, Metaverse, and autonomous vehicles: Whatever the future of the metaverse holds, Nvidia is almost certain to be powering a healthy chunk of it.
Education in the Metaverse
Professor Teaches Marketing Class through Virtual Reality: From the University of Tennessee, we get an early look at integrating VR into college courses.
A giant leap for immersive learning: Creating a virtual reality classroom: While UT uses existing VR technology for their class, the National Science Foundation has given a $1 million grant to several other universities to help develop better VR tech for education.
Art in the Metaverse
Meta Launches a Metaverse Culture Series With ‘I Am a Man’ Virtual Exhibit: Meta’s Horizon World is hosting this exhibit “paying homage to Dr. Martin Luther King Jr., Rosa Parks, 'I Am a Man activists, and the Tuskegee Airmen.” Is it a genuine attempt at making sure everyone is represented in the culture of the metaverse, or just a shameless attempt to appear inclusive? Only time will tell.
Law in the Metaverse
Divorce In The Metaverse: Attorneys Should Prepare For This Emerging Area Of Family Law: We’ve already seen weddings in the metaverse, so this seems like a reasonable thing to start considering, though I would guess the issues will mostly be around how to manage the division of crypto and NFTs during divorce… what if both people really want that Bored Ape??
Milan Fashion Week and Fashion Law Trends: the liability of NFT marketplaces for infringing content: A thoughtful piece on the responsibilities of marketplaces like OpenSea and their legal obligations around dealing with NFTs created by those infringing on copyrights and trademarks.
People in the Metaverse
Reese Witherspoon sparks debate over latest video announcing new venture: It’s fascinating to see which celebrities are getting involved in the metaverse early, and Witherspoon seems to be all in.
Safety in the Metaverse
Metaverse app allows kids into virtual strip clubs: This is terrible! But which strip clubs are they? And how do we get to them?
Gaming in the Metaverse
Aaryn Flynn's Inflexion studio is now owned by Tencent: Gaming is perhaps the clearest early use for the metaverse, and that means that big bucks are going to be thrown around by major gaming companies that don’t want to be left behind.