3 ms·

What Is the Metaverse?

9 points by noch 5y ago

0des 5y ago
It's a buzzword indistinguishable in purpose to VR with more ads and corporate endorsement [0]. [0] - Ask HN: How is the “metaverse” concept different from the Second Life boom? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29136478 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29136478
- Buttons840 5y ago
  Yep. It's a PR stunt to make artificially imposed scarcity for the sake of corporate profits seem cool. In the future VR metaverse, remember people, that it costs nothing for everyone to have the nicest beachfront house and drive the nicest VR cars.
  - intrasight 5y ago
    You really should read Snow Crash. One reason that it's compelling is that it discusses the socioeconomic aspects of the metaverse. The currency in the metaverse is largely compute resource. Your complicated beachfront house costs everyone else in terms of compute costs - and you have to pay those costs. If you don't have the cash, you'll have a crappy low-fidelity house.
    - 0des 5y ago
      My personal opinion is that the 'metaverse' we are being sold has almost no resemblance to the metaverse in snow crash. Uncle Enzo would not approve!
      - intrasight 5y ago
        My opinion is that we're in the very early days. My other opinion is that if we're being "sold" the metaverse, then it's not really the metaverse. Just like the internet.
    - Buttons840 5y ago
      > Your complicated beachfront house costs everyone else in terms of compute costs Why? I don't care if other people render my house or not.
      - intrasight 5y ago
        You may not. But for a lot of other people, they want to show off their fancy properties.
blululu 5y ago
Reading this was less than helpful - I have nothing nice to say about this piece. It's just another copy of the genre of 'Metaverse' hype that is an agglomeration of fluff, buzzwords and content farm quality writing.
- 131012 5y ago
  I agree with you, but these sentences struck a chord, even if I had to clear a lot of buzzword clutter along the way. "It’s possible to buy in-game assets without playing the game, and it’s possible to create assets just from playing the game" --> "In the future, we believe that digital assets will become much more liquid and much more normalized." --> "The question has been how to capture that and who will benefit?" The hope of metaverse capitalism might be to control vertically the whole digital market, while conceal work as a game to avoid the century-old problem of wages.
  - meheleventyone 5y ago
    The goal is to tokenise and therefore monetise more deeply than ever. Speculation on game items, rent them to people that actually want to play, maybe even earn because people are actively using them and so on. How many middlemen and how much “value extraction” can you attach?
hmrr 5y ago
I thought it was a thin marketing veneer over the socially irresponsible technologists, financial criminals and sociopaths...
whoomp12342 5y ago
bruh have you seen sword art online?
throwuxiytayq 5y ago
What's really silly is the number of companies trying to jump on the METAVERSE!! bandwagon without for a second considering that I won't touch anything connected with the term now that FB made stink around it. Oh well, I'm sure it works on other people though. Apparently there's plenty of Marky Mark's Fuck You Platform lovers everywhere.

9 points by noch 5y ago

0des 5y ago

It's a buzzword indistinguishable in purpose to VR with more ads and corporate endorsement [0]. [0] - Ask HN: How is the “metaverse” concept different from the Second Life boom? https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29136478 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=29136478

Buttons840 5y ago
Yep. It's a PR stunt to make artificially imposed scarcity for the sake of corporate profits seem cool. In the future VR metaverse, remember people, that it costs nothing for everyone to have the nicest beachfront house and drive the nicest VR cars.
- intrasight 5y ago
  You really should read Snow Crash. One reason that it's compelling is that it discusses the socioeconomic aspects of the metaverse. The currency in the metaverse is largely compute resource. Your complicated beachfront house costs everyone else in terms of compute costs - and you have to pay those costs. If you don't have the cash, you'll have a crappy low-fidelity house.
  - 0des 5y ago
    My personal opinion is that the 'metaverse' we are being sold has almost no resemblance to the metaverse in snow crash. Uncle Enzo would not approve!
    - intrasight 5y ago
      My opinion is that we're in the very early days. My other opinion is that if we're being "sold" the metaverse, then it's not really the metaverse. Just like the internet.
  - Buttons840 5y ago
    > Your complicated beachfront house costs everyone else in terms of compute costs Why? I don't care if other people render my house or not.
    - intrasight 5y ago
      You may not. But for a lot of other people, they want to show off their fancy properties.

blululu 5y ago

Reading this was less than helpful - I have nothing nice to say about this piece. It's just another copy of the genre of 'Metaverse' hype that is an agglomeration of fluff, buzzwords and content farm quality writing.

131012 5y ago
I agree with you, but these sentences struck a chord, even if I had to clear a lot of buzzword clutter along the way. "It’s possible to buy in-game assets without playing the game, and it’s possible to create assets just from playing the game" --> "In the future, we believe that digital assets will become much more liquid and much more normalized." --> "The question has been how to capture that and who will benefit?" The hope of metaverse capitalism might be to control vertically the whole digital market, while conceal work as a game to avoid the century-old problem of wages.
- meheleventyone 5y ago
  The goal is to tokenise and therefore monetise more deeply than ever. Speculation on game items, rent them to people that actually want to play, maybe even earn because people are actively using them and so on. How many middlemen and how much “value extraction” can you attach?

hmrr 5y ago

I thought it was a thin marketing veneer over the socially irresponsible technologists, financial criminals and sociopaths...

whoomp12342 5y ago

bruh have you seen sword art online?

throwuxiytayq 5y ago

What's really silly is the number of companies trying to jump on the METAVERSE!! bandwagon without for a second considering that I won't touch anything connected with the term now that FB made stink around it. Oh well, I'm sure it works on other people though. Apparently there's plenty of Marky Mark's Fuck You Platform lovers everywhere.