Intro

My guest today is Matthew Ball. Matt is an investor, the former head of strategy at Amazon studios, and one of the brightest minds in the media industry. Through his essays and now his book, which launches today, Matt has established himself as the foremost authority on the Metaverse, which has stormed into the public eye since I first had him on the show two years ago. The Metaverse is the focus of our discussion and I hope you enjoy this encyclopedic tour through all of its details as much as I did.

For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.

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Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more.

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Show Notes

[00:02:37] - [First question] - Which most represents the Metaverse: Minecraft, Ready Player One, Fortnite, or Facebook’s Horizon

[00:05:58] - Facebook trying to own the concept of the Metaverse by changing their name 

[00:09:22] - Defining what the Metaverse is and a good working definition of it

[00:11:33] - The state of the engines behind 3D output and the history of them 

[00:16:32] - The role IP played in bootstrapping the first Metaverses 

[00:18:32] - Where the ability to create digital environments will lead, and what Unreal 7 could look like compared to Unreal 5 today

[00:21:03] - Natural limits of the Metaverse compared to real-world experiences

[00:24:16] - Other sensory inputs that will need to be improved for digital immersion

[00:26:59] - Why the initial excitement of trying something like Oculus wears off over time, both for casual gamers and those excited about this new frontier

[00:31:40] - Changes in technology and new projects that have him most excited that will empower the digital infrastructure for Metaverses

[00:37:14] - What interoperability means and why it has its own chapter in his book

[00:31:52] - How Roblox connects with Fortnite and how far down we need to go to build a bridge between digital worlds

[00:46:13] - What will drive commerce in the Metaverse and the possibility for a singular currency standard

[00:51:35] - Considering the demand for the Metaverse and whether or not it will be a constraint on adoption and success

[00:57:37] - What the modern equivalent of a lemonade stand will be in the Metaverse

[00:59:58] - The lower adoption rates for more participatory media consumption[01:03:19] - Potential pitfalls and the dark side of the metaverse

[01:06:14] - Who the categorical winners of the Metaverse might be   

[01:14:15] - The top things he would suggest exploring to best understand the Metaverse