Future of The Metaverse

Metaverse

LEADERS INSIGHT

Lily Snyder

Who did we interview?

Lily Snyder is a writer and speaker. She uses her background as an IT business consultant to help brands use emerging technology. Lily co-founded a virtual reality startup and since then developed metaverse playbooks for Fortune 500 companies. Lily is the editor for The Augmented Workforce, How AR, AI, and 5G will Impact Every Dollar You Make.

Let us quickly get to our expert's point of view.

Lily Snyder

Let us quickly get to our expert's point of view.

Ques 1 : If you can share some of the Metaverse work you are optimistic about and you think that can bring a great impact in future?
Ans : Starbucks Odyssey is falls under Web3, but I think it’s a great case study for brands who want to experiment in this space. I recently listened to the “Ask Me Anything” hosted on the Odyssey Discord and I think Starbucks is driving loyalty in Web3 in an interesting way. They’re not calling the NFTs you can earn NFTs, rather Stamps.

The other company I’m optimistic about is Ready Player Me. They’re an avatar creator company but you can use the one avatar you make in RPM and use it across hundreds of different apps such as Spatial, Mozilla Hubs, VRChat. They also released a way to use generative AI to change the color and fabric of your avatar’s clothes. You can type “a faux leather, pink jacket, with silk cuffs” and that’s what your avatar will wear! Ready Player Me has partnered with brands like Tommy Hilfiger to bring clothes to your avatar, and you can get the same outfit for yourself.
Ques 2 : How can we leverage Metaverse in 2023? What is the best event that you attended recently? What were your key takeaways?
Ans : In the fall of 2022, I attended the Economist Metaverse Summit. The metaverse is in its infancy. People and brands can best leverage it in 2023 by experimenting, investing, and having an open mind in how to use the different technology that comes together to make the metaverse (augmented and virtual reality, online, social, worldbuilding games, 5G/6G, AI).

5 Themes from the summit:
- People get hung up on the term "metaverse". The word has been stigmatized.
- VR is not the metaverse. No one company can build *the metaverse*.
- The battle for openness vs. security is on.
- You need to understand kids (8 & 12 year olds) who play online games to build your metaverse roadmap.
- The metaverse is art, it's creative, and that doesn't mean walking around as a dragon.
Ques 3 : What is the potential for Metaverse globally?
Ans : The potential for the metaverse globally is hopefully breaking down barriers between people. Today we use the internet to talk to anyone in the world. We can order products from anywhere in the world. What makes the metaverse different is that it’s 3D. Everything about it is in 3D dimensions. At it’s peak immersion it will encompass all of our senses. That means the people we interact with will no longer be strangers behind a keyboard but virtual avatars we interact with.
Ques 4 : How metaverse will redefine business and work?
Ans : Some areas where the metaverse will redefine business and work are in training, employee development and hiring, and product development. Since the metaverse is a 3D, immersive enviornment that combines our physical and virtual worlds - we can simulate and train difficult situations. We can prototype or redesign in real time. And brands are finding ways to create communities and interact with customers in new ways using the metaverse.
Ques 5 : What’s your success mantra?
Ans : My success mantra is don’t be afraid to try. This applies to new technology, business processes, and ways of thinking about the world. As my friend, Navah Berg said, “The only skill someone in the metaverse needs is wander…everything else can be easily learned but curiosity is magic.”