The Memo: "Meet me in the Metaverse"

Th e Memo: "Meet me in the Metaverse"

By Lila MacLellan, senior reporter and Anne Quito, and edited by Francesca Donner.

ABOUT 10 MINUTES into my interview with Shep Ogden, the 26-year-old co-founder and CEO of a digital media startup that counts Mark Cuban among its investors, I began to panic.

Ogden was showing me around his company’s sleek employee clubhouse in the metaverse, but it was hard to focus. I was sure I was going to vomit.

“Shep, I’m sorry,” I fi nally said, “I’m not sure I can do this.”

I was nauseated, but Ogden was gracious enough not to laugh. He said my problem was not uncommon for newcomers to VRChat, the virtual platform where Offbeat Media Group built its bespoke private campus.

The real Offbeat Media—maker of virtual infl uencers and streaming shows—is based in Atlanta, where it has a small physical workspace. Ogden was speaking to me from his offi ce there, I was at home in New York, and we were both wearing VR goggles.

With Ogden’s guidance, I adjusted the way my avatar walked so it no longer made me dizzy. Now my avatar glided, allowing me glimpses of its form. I was a raccoon, I discovered, shortly before sliding—by accident, I might add—into the company’s pool. As I sank, virtual water slowly fi lled my fi eld of vision.

The so-called metaverse—from where I conducted this interview—is not a single place and its defi nition is debatable, but enthusiasts are already talking about how it will one day exist as a kind of decentralized internet, where we can live, shop, and socialize in digital public or private VR spaces. And work.

▲https://soundindepth.com/racismin-the-metaverse-they-want-tosell-african-american-slaves-asnfts-in-the-metaverse/2022/02/13/ top-hip-hop-music-news/admin/

◄www.electricsouth.org/ea_talks/vrsocial-metaverse-africa-meetup/

Already brands and companies have begun buying real estate in VR.

IS THE FUTURE OF WORK IN THE METAVERSE?

Not so fast.

What the metaverse can do for the average inperson workplace remains an open question.

But early research and experimentation suggest the uses of the workplace metaverse might fall roughly into three functional categories: • An alternate offi ce space. VR meeting apps allow people to write on whiteboards, or in the air, and to watch video feeds, which might include a Zoom call. Meta’s Workrooms app also has a Passthrough window, which allows users to see into their physical space without removing their headset, so you can work on your actual keyboard. Still, there’s not a whole lot to do in virtual workspaces beyond watching a presentation, running a Post-it note brainstorming meeting, or just talking. • A place for immersive training. The world’s big consulting companies are developing content for VR training, putting new hires behind virtual airline counters or in a restaurant kitchen, for example. “If you’re really going to learn, it has to be applied learning—learning by doing something,” says Suneet Dua, products and technology chief growth offi cer at PwC,

“and with the metaverse you get to do applied learning at the next level. It’s like learning on steroids.” • An employee hangout. Off beat’s digital campus has become an ideal place for employees to celebrate birthday parties or just hang out. Congregating in the metaverse is “10 times better” than gatherings on video calls,

Ogden says, because it really does feel like you’re with other people while you’re physically apart.

work@qz.com Image credit: Off beat Media, Medium, markcubancompanies.com, en.vrcw.net