Reflecting on a Year of Innovation in the Metaverse – Part 2 As we wrap up 2024, we’re closing out an incredible year for Into the Metaverse with the second installment of our "Best Of" series. This year has been filled with groundbreaking conversations, a major milestone of 100 episodes, and a community of listeners who’ve made it all possible. To everyone who has tuned in, shared an episode, or helped spread the word—thank you for being part of this journey! In this final episode of the year, we’re bringing you highlights from another four exceptional guests whose insights have truly shaped our understanding of the metaverse. These clips capture the essence of what Into the Metaverse is all about—pushing boundaries, exploring transformative ideas, and imagining what’s possible in this evolving space. From conversations about interoperability and AI to the challenges and opportunities of virtual worlds, this episode revisits the moments that sparked the most engagement and left a lasting impact. Whether you’re reflecting on the year with us or tuning in for the first time, we hope these insights inspire you as much as they’ve inspired us. Thank you for being a part of this journey. Here’s to an exciting 2025 filled with more innovation, curiosity, and progress in the metaverse. Let’s keep building the future together! -- -- -- -- -- Segment Details: From E91 with Krystal Hauserman How Interoperability Unlocks Marketing in the Metaverse Full episode with Krystal: YouTube | Spotify | Apple Follow Krystal: LinkedIn | Website From E96 with Charlie Fink How Generations of Tech and People Have Interacted and Influenced Each Other Full episode with Charlie: YouTube | Spotify | Apple Follow Charlie: X | LinkedIn From E97 with Marcus Holmstrom  Entertainment IP Coming Into and Out Of Roblox Full episode with Marcus: YouTube | Spotify | Apple Follow Marcus: LinkedIn  From E103 with Stephanie Hirschmiller Digital to Physical Feedback Loops Full episode with Stephanie: YouTube | Spotify | Apple Follow Stephanie: LinkedIn | Instagram -- -- -- -- -- Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 01:35 Krystal Hauserman 06:06 Charlie Fink 18:59 Marcus Holmstrom 27:05 Stephanie Hirschmiller

What a year it has been for Into the Metaverse! As 2024 comes to a close, we’re taking a moment to celebrate what has been an incredible year of conversations, milestones, and, most importantly, growth in understanding the ever-evolving metaverse. This year, we crossed the 100-episode milestone—a huge achievement that wouldn’t have been possible without your support. To everyone who’s tuned in, shared our content, or simply joined the conversation, thank you from the bottom of our hearts. We’ve had the privilege of hosting some of the most innovative minds in the metaverse space. To reflect on this extraordinary year, we’re bringing you not one but two special "Best Of" episodes featuring clips from the conversations that sparked the most engagement, generated the most insight, and helped us all better understand where the metaverse is headed. In this first of two episodes, you’ll hear from four amazing guests whose perspectives and expertise have helped shape our understanding of this transformative moment in tech and culture. Each clip highlights ideas and predictions that are driving the metaverse forward, and we hope they inspire you as much as they’ve inspired us. Segment Details: From E84 with Alvaro Velilla, SVP New Business at Universal Music Group Building a Sustainable Relationship Between Roblox & Music Full episode with Alvaro: YouTube | Spotify | Apple Follow Alvaro: LinkedIn From E95 with Matthew Ball, award-winning author and metaverse expert Four Major Ways AI Impacts Future of the Metaverse Full episode with Matthew: YouTube | Spotify | Apple Buy Matthew’s award-winning book, The Metaverse: Building the Spatial Internet Follow Matthew: Website | LinkedIn | Twitter From E98 with Cathy Hackl, tech & gaming executive, futurist, and speaker Our Current Technological Convergence Point Full episode with Cathy: YouTube | Spotify | Apple  Follow Cathy: LinkedIn | Instagram From E101 with Liam Broza, Chief Innovation Officer for Infinite Reality (iR) Why the Web and Browser Is the Place to Build the Metaverse Full episode with Liam: YouTube | Spotify | Apple  Follow Liam: LinkedIn | X Chapters: 00:00 Introduction 01:24 Alvaro Velilla 08:36 Matthew Ball 18:16 Cathy Hackl 25:02 Liam Broza

Join Paul Powers, Founder and CEO of Physna and a Forbes 30 Under 30 honoree, as he unveils the transformative power of 3D data. Delve into the concept of 'Physical DNA' and discover how it’s revolutionizing supply chains and engineering. Paul shares insights on integrating 3D AI into industries, streamlining processes, and enhancing collaboration. He also reflects on his unique educational journey and the cultural influences that shaped his innovative thinking. Explore the fascinating intersection of the physical and digital worlds!

Jacob Loewenstein, SVP of Business Development at Spatial and AR/VR investment leader at Samsung NEXT NY, discusses transforming the 3D internet. He shares insights on evolving Spatial from enterprise to user-driven content during the pandemic. Jacob highlights the significance of accessible game development and fostering generational engagement in virtual spaces. The conversation dives into democratizing virtual creation, the impacts of platforms like Roblox on younger users, and the future of immersive digital experiences across all devices.

Welcome to Into the Metaverse. In this week’s episode, Yon sits down with Stephanie Hirschmiller, a consultant, creative strategist, and content specialist in luxury and tech, to explore how the worlds of beauty, fashion, and virtual identity are converging in the metaverse. Stephanie shares insights from her work with major brands and platforms, diving into why beauty and fashion brands are moving into virtual spaces like Roblox and Fortnite and how digital identities are reshaping self-expression for younger generations. They discuss the rise of 3D avatars, hyper-personalization in the virtual realm, and what it means for traditional beauty and fashion industries as more people invest in their digital appearances. Tune in as Yon and Stephanie examine the future of identity, self-expression, and brand engagement in an increasingly digital world. Chapters: (00:00) Stephanie’s Background (04:53) When Will Virtual Be Bigger Than Physical (09:57) Digital to Physical Feedback Loop (16:41) Innovation in How Brands Interact Virtually (22:38) Brands Doing It Best So Far (27:03) Interoperability (31:15) Blurring the Lines Stephanie is a brand consultant and editor working at the intersection of luxury beauty, fashion and innovation. She is also co-founder of The Future Face which hosts experiential workshopping events matchmaking beauty industry decision makers with tech providers. Read all of Stephanie’s writing. Follow Stephanie: LinkedIn | Instagram Follow Yon: LinkedIn | Twitter Learn more about Into the Metaverse by visiting the website. Learn more about Supersocial by visiting the website.

Welcome to Into the Metaverse. In this week’s episode, Yon sits down with Yemel Jardi, Co-founder of Decentraland and Executive Director of the Decentraland Foundation, for an in-depth conversation about how Decentraland is shaping the future of virtual worlds. Yemel shares his journey from developing open-source Bitcoin tools to building one of the most influential decentralized virtual worlds, highlighting the core principles of self-custody, user-generated content, and open-source collaboration. The two discuss the challenges and opportunities of building an open metaverse, the role of major brands like Dolce & Gabbana and Netflix, and why interoperability is crucial for the future of digital ownership. Tune in as they explore the next phase of Decentraland’s evolution and what it means for users, creators, and brands in the open metaverse. Yemel Jardi is a co-founder of Decentraland, and the Executive Director of the Decentraland Foundation. With a passion for blockchain technology, Yemel began building open source tools for Bitcoin development in 2014, and later co-founded Casa Voltaire, which has incubated significant blockchain projects such as Decentraland, OpenZeppelin, HardHat, and Muun. He is currently the Executive Director of the Decentraland Foundation, leading the organization's efforts to build a decentralized virtual world in the open metaverse. Immerse yourself in Decentraland Follow Yemel: LinkedIn | X Chapters: Origins of Decentraland (00:00) What is Decentraland (12:20) Who is Using Decentraland (14:54) No Code Capabilities (16:56) Brand Activations & Engagement (19:04) Age of Audiences (24:58) The Need for Interoperability (26:34) Areas for Improvement (33:18) New Version and AI Improvements (37:24) The Internet As It Should Be (42:04) Wrap Up (48:11) Follow Yon: LinkedIn | Twitter Learn more about Into the Metaverse by visiting the website. Learn more about Supersocial by visiting the website.

In today’s episode, Yon welcomes Liam Broza, Chief Technology Officer at Infinite Reality, to dive into the impressive work Infinite Reality is doing in pushing the boundaries of the web and creating immersive and social 3D experiences. During their conversation, Liam fills Yon in on how he came to be at Infinite Reality and what the companies main set of goals are, before discussing why web based will win, the current set of obstacles facing Infinite Reality, how to scale the audience, the role of AI and blockchain, and much more. Liam Broza is the Chief Innovation Officer for Infinite Reality (iR), an innovation company powering the next generation of digital media and ecommerce through AI and immersive technologies. Liam leads the company’s platform team building iR Engine, a no-code cutting-edge spatial web platform that empowers creators and brands, regardless of technical ability, to build immersive web experiences with ease. Liam has spent the last 15 years working at the intersection of spatial computing, computer vision, and data sovereignty. A lifelong engineer and entrepreneur with a deep bench of data learning and immersive computing skills, Liam co-founded, expanded, and ultimately led Ethereal Engine, a creator of end-to-end frameworks for web-first, social immersive experiences, to its successful $75 million acquisition by Infinite Reality. Check out everything Infinite Reality is working on. Follow Liam: LinkedIn | X | Blog  Chapters: Liam and Infinite Reality’s History (00:00) What Infinite Reality Builds Today (06:51) Getting The Most Out of Browser Capabilities (09:52) Why the Web is the Place to Build (13:02) Current Obstacles Facing Infinite Reality (16:26) Is There a Scalable Audience Ready For This (19:18) Why E-Commerce as First Target (22:56) Role of AI, Blockchain, and Crypto (26:44) Most Excited About Next 12 Months (32:04) Follow Yon: LinkedIn | Twitter Learn more about Into the Metaverse by visiting the website. Learn more about Supersocial by visiting the website.

Welcome to the 100th episode of Into the Metaverse! In today’s episode, Yon welcomes Matthew Ball back to the podcast to continue their discussion on the future of the metaverse and the convergence of so many new technologies. During their conversation Yon and Matthew dive into four of the major themes and categories that Matthew wanted to update with the second edition of his book which includes crypto currency, head mounted displays, artificial intelligence and the two frames of convergence. Then they spend the second half of the conversation diving into the potential of Roblox and why it is still so underestimated. Ball is eponymous for his writings on the evolution of the media landscape and the metaverse with his award-winning best-selling book, The Metaverse: Building the Spatial Internet. A second, updated edition of the book was released earlier this summer, which you can purchase now on Amazon, or visit here for more info and purchase options. Follow Matthew: Website | LinkedIn | Twitter Chapters: Introduction (00:00) Why Update the Metaverse Book (00:41) Crypto Currency (02:46) Head Mounted Displays (04:49) Artificial Intelligence (06:03) First Frame of Convergence (08:37) Second Frame of Convergence (12:46) It’s Always Been Connected (14:21) The Future Potential of Roblox (16:28) Why Roblox is Underestimated (22:24) Wrap Up (27:15) Follow Yon: LinkedIn | Twitter Learn more about Into the Metaverse by visiting the website. Learn more about Supersocial by visiting the website.

Cathy Hackl, a renowned tech and gaming executive focused on spatial computing, dives into the intense competition for AI and VR hardware supremacy. She critiques Apple’s latest announcements and discusses Meta's opportunities for hardware breakthroughs. Cathy also highlights Snap's developer-first approach with its new Spectacles and Roblox's ambitious growth goals. The conversation showcases the shifting landscape of tech innovation and how these companies are navigating their paths in the evolving metaverse.

Cathy Hackl, a prominent tech and gaming executive known as the Godmother of the Metaverse, shares her journey into spatial computing. She reflects on her transformative time at Magic Leap and how it ignited her passion for the metaverse. The discussion explores who is leading advancements in AI and spatial tech, alongside innovative strategies from major brands in beauty and fashion. Cathy emphasizes the importance of adapting to human needs in technology and predicts revolutionary shifts that will redefine digital interactions.