This week Yon welcomes Jonathan Pan into the metaverse. Jonathan is the Head of Product at Store No. 8, the incubation arm of Walmart. Between his current role and his prior stops at companies such as Riot Games, Amazon, and Meta, Jonathan has built a long track record of working in and on emerging technologies where he can let his passion for building content and teams thrive. During their conversation Yon and Jonathan discuss how emerging technologies will both contribute to and complement the metaverse, break down key insights from Jonathan’s article on the practical metaverse, lay out the advantages Roblox’s dedicated developer community affords them, and much more. Chapters: Introducing Jonathan Pan (00:25) How Jon Defines the Metaverse (01:25) How Do Emerging Technologies (AI, Blockchain, Etc) Contribute to and Complement the Metaverse (04:30) Key Insights from Jonathan’s Article on the Practical Metaverse (08:30) First Time Realizing the Potential of Roblox and Minecraft as Platforms (12:30) What Will Still Be True About Roblox, Fortnite, and Minecraft Three to Five Years From Now (17:45) The Advantage of Roblox’s Dedicated Developer Community (22:40) One Thing Jonathan is Most Excited For in Next Five Years (29:30) Learn more about Jonathan and Store No. 8 by visiting their website. To read Jonathan’s article The Practical Metaverse visit here. Follow Jonathan: LinkedIn | Medium Learn more about Into the Metaverse and Yon by visiting the website. Follow Yon: LinkedIn | Twitter Learn more about Supersocial by visiting the website.

This week Yon welcomes back to the show former co-host Matthew Kanterman to catch up on everything that is going on within the metaverse today and what has transpired over the past couple of years since they originally launched the podcast.  Long-time listeners will quickly recognize Matthew as he was here at the inception of the Into the Metaverse Podcast back in 2021 as co-host for the first iteration of the show. Matthew currently serves as the Director of Research for Roundhill Investments where he has continued to expand his knowledge and thoughts around the metaverse, AI, and all emerging technologies. During their conversation Yon and Matthew compare and contrast Apple and Meta’s approaches to the metaverse, discuss how blockchain technology can be more relevant to common consumers, highlight key events in the industry between when they first started the podcast to now, dissect the role Nvidia and generative AI will play in the metaverse, and much more.  Chapters: Re-Introducing Matthew and Roundhill Investments (00:25) Defining the Metaverse Today and In the Future (01:25) Differing Approaches in Device, Terminology, and Developer Relations Between Apple and Meta (05:45) How Blockchain Can Be Relevant to Common Consumers (17:00) Key Events and Indicators That Show Where Metaverse is Headed (22:40) Nvidia and the Role of Generative AI (27:05) One Key Takeaway from the Episode (34:00) Learn more about Matthew and Roundhill Investments by visiting their website. Follow Matthew: LinkedIn | Twitter Learn more about Into the Metaverse and Yon by visiting the website. Follow Yon: LinkedIn | Twitter Learn more about Supersocial by visiting the website.

Yon is once again joined by Priya David Clemens to discuss the most important and interesting news stories related to the Metaverse in this week’s edition of Yon & Priya Talk All Things Metaverse. In this episode, Yon & Priya go in depth on Mark Zuckerberg’s response to the Apple Vision Pro launch, open source vs closed source approaches to building ecosystems, LVMH and Epic Games partnership announcement, and much more. Chapters: Zuckerberg’s Response to the Apple Vision Pro Launch (00:35) Meta’s Open Source Approach vs Apple’s Closed Source Approach (03:05) New Partnership Between LVMH and Epic Games (06:15) Improbable Raises $150m to Establish M² Metaverse Network (09:15) The Metaverse is in its Infancy (14:50) Learn more about Into the Metaverse and Yon by visiting the website. Follow Yon: LinkedIn | Twitter Learn more about Supersocial by visiting the website. Priya is the host of the Emmy-award winning news discussion program, KQED Newsroom, and a longtime network news anchor and reporter who has most recently begun to focus her journalistic eye on emerging technology. Learn more about Priya David Clemens by visiting her website. Follow Priya: LinkedIn | TikTok | | Twitter

Yon is once again joined by Priya David Clemens to discuss the most important and interesting news stories related to the Metaverse in this edition of Yon & Priya Talk All Things Metaverse. In this episode, Yon & Priya go in depth on the release of Apple’s Vision Pro device, discussing its potential use cases, why Apple is smart to focus on entertainment elements first, the reasons behind calling it a spatial computer instead of a virtual reality device, and much more. Chapters: Apple Launch Takes Over The News (00:30) Use Cases for the Apple Vision Pro (02:25) Entertainment and Work Elements Smart Strategy for Apple (06:00) Gaming Partnerships and What They Mean (09:40) Apple’s Specific Use of Spatial Computer, Not Virtual Reality Product (11:55) The Future of Spatial Computing (14:40) Learn more about Into the Metaverse and Yon by visiting the website. Follow Yon: LinkedIn | Twitter Learn more about Supersocial by visiting the website. Priya is the host of the Emmy-award winning news discussion program, KQED Newsroom, and a longtime network news anchor and reporter who has most recently begun to focus her journalistic eye on emerging technology. Learn more about Priya David Clemens by visiting her website. Follow Priya: LinkedIn | TikTok | | Twitter

I had the absolute pleasure of being joined today by Cathie Wood, the founder, CEO, and CIO of ARK Invest. Cathie built a decades-long track record of success in the investment world by using thematic strategies focused on innovation before rising to national prominence when she founded her own firm in 2014, ARK Invest, where she and her team focus solely on investing in disruptive innovation while adding new dimensions to research. Through an open research approach, Cathie believes ARK can identify large-scale investment opportunities resulting from technological innovations.  During our conversation Cathie and I cover in detail the convergence of new technologies and the power and opportunity that convergence provides, how and why kids are the “R&D department” of humanity, digital leisure, the blurring of our physical and digital worlds, where the virtual economy is poised to go, and much more. Chapters: Introducing Cathie Wood (00:00) Apple Launches Mixed Reality Headset (02:50) What is the Metaverse and What Could it Become (07:20) What it Means When These Technologies Converge (10:34) New Educational Paths / Kids are the New R&D Department (18:14) Technology Creates Brand Synergies Across Generations (25:20) Digital Leisure and  Blurring the Lines of Physical and Digital (33:39) Size and Evolution of the Virtual Economy (42:31) Learn more about ARK Invest by visiting their website. To read ARK’s 2023 Big Ideas report visit here. Follow ARK: Twitter | Instagram | LinkedIn | Facebook | YouTube Follow Cathie: LinkedIn | Twitter | Facebook  Learn more about Into the Metaverse and Yon by visiting the website. Follow Yon: LinkedIn | Twitter Learn more about Supersocial by visiting the website.

Yon is once again joined by Priya David Clemens to discuss the most important and interesting news stories related to the Metaverse in this edition of Yon & Priya Talk All Things Metaverse. In this episode, Yon & Priya cover the decimation of Metaverse real estate values, the emerging job market in virtual design, why we all need to calm down about AI replacing humans, and much more.  Chapters: Episode Intro (00:00) Metaverse Real Estate Values Plummet (00:45) Different Motivations Bring Different Consumers (04:00) Emerging Job Market in Virtual Design (07:00) The Technological Revolution and Why We Should All Calm Down (10:52) NVIDIA’s Big Bet on AI Paying Dividends (17:05) Looking Towards the Week Ahead (20:50) Learn more about Into the Metaverse and Yon by visiting the website. Follow Yon: LinkedIn | Twitter Learn more about Supersocial by visiting the website. Priya is the host of the Emmy-award winning news discussion program, KQED Newsroom, and a longtime network news anchor and reporter who has most recently begun to focus her journalistic eye on emerging technology. Learn more about Priya David Clemens by visiting her website. Follow Priya: LinkedIn | TikTok | | Twitter

It’s a very exciting day for Into the Metaverse as Yon is joined by Priya David Clemens to launch a brand new segment of the show called This Week in the Metaverse. Priya is the host of the Emmy-award winning news discussion program, KQED Newsroom, and a longtime network news anchor and reporter who has most recently begun to focus her journalistic eye on emerging technology. Every week she will be joining Yon to discuss the most important and interesting news stories related to the Metaverse, with the goal as always of helping you better understand what the Metaverse is, how it will impact your life, and what opportunities it may unlock. In this inaugural episode of This Week in the Metaverse, Yon & Priya cover the imminent release of Apple’s new VR goggles, whether we should be calling the Metaverse by a different name, confront the narrative that the Metaverse is dead, and much more.  Chapters: Introducing New Weekly Show with Priya (00:00) Apple’s New VR Goggles Set for Release (05:00) Is Apple Bringing Any New Experiences to the Space (10:40) Why VR and the Metaverse are Different Things (15:40) Should We Be Calling the Metaverse Something Else (19:45) Confronting the Narrative that the Metaverse is Dead (23:11) Technology Developments in China (26:25) Final Thoughts for the Week (31:05)   Learn more about Into the Metaverse and Yon by visiting the website. Follow Yon: LinkedIn | Twitter Learn more about Supersocial by visiting the website. Learn more about Priya David Clemens by visiting her website. Follow Priya: LinkedIn | TikTok | | Twitter

Joining me today as we celebrate our 50th episode of Into the Metaverse is Justin Hochberg, founder and CEO of Virtual Brand Group. Justin is a metaverse brand builder focused on IP and fashion. He has had a multi-national career as a senior executive in technology and entertainment companies, with a proven track record in creating and leveraging content, IP, brands, and industry insights into new revenue streams through emerging technologies and partnerships. We cover in detail what are the right objectives that brands should pursue when entering next generation social platforms, connecting virtual identity to real life identity, the value of building a persistent presence, the future of decentralized platforms, the need for consumer friendliness to gain mass adoption, and much more.  Learn more about Virtual Brand Group by visiting their website. Follow Justin on LinkedIn. Topics Covered: Introducing Justin (00:00) Defining the metaverse (01:45) Role of 3D avatars in virtual worlds (03:30) Connecting virtual identity to real life identity (06:05) Brand objectives within next gen platforms (10:43) Best path to a persistent presence for a brand (17:20) Value of and potential adoption of decentralized platforms (22:55) The need for consumer friendliness and platform interoperability (36:57) The metaverse is the future (39:15) Learn more about Into the Metaverse and Yon by visiting the website. Follow Yon: LinkedIn | Twitter Learn more about Supersocial by visiting the website.

Joining me on this episode is Timoni West, VP & GM of Digital Twins at Unity, in what is likely one of the most fascinating conversations I had on the podcast. Timoni is responsible for Unity’s cloud apps and services in industrial, automotive, commercial, and business markets, delivering value for customers moving into real time, simulation, reconstruction, and rendering. She runs a P&L with a team of 230+ people. Prior to this role, she was vice president of emerging tools and augmented and virtual reality, among other roles. Timoni and I had a wide ranging conversation about virtual worlds, digital twins, ambient computing, artificial intelligence, predictive manufacturing, the future of industry, and why we’re only at the very beginning of a computing era that is smarter and more capable than we imagine. On the metaverse: "what we're really seeing here is that we're able to ingest massive amounts of data, often real time data, and then be able to record it, visualize it, or use it to power another device. And I think this has all kind of gotten swept up into what we're calling the metaverse today, but the old school, 1970s term was contextual computing where computers are able to take in contextual information from the world around them and able to do something cool. On digital twins: “with the Tyndall Air Force base, the large part of what they used our technology to do was to figure out how to make sure it did not get, Knocked down by a hurricane again because it was knocked down by a hurricane once. And hurricanes are also dangerous. So being able to not only take in the real-time information on the building site as they were building it out, but also be able to use historical data to figure out how to build the right thing in the future is I think a pretty great example of a digital twin. https://www.intometamedia.com/

Joining me today is Michael Kennedy, an advisor and public speaker on rapidly evolving metaverse and modern / hybrid work technologies and best practices. His focus is transforming the workplace to deliver increased productivity and business outcomes while improving organizational culture to attract and retain the best employees. "the way I define the metaverse is really around the enterprise metaverse - an evolving set of enabling capabilities. To create more immersive employee, customer, and industry experiences to foster engagement, inclusivity, collaboration, and digital integration helping people and organizations achieve more." https://www.intometamedia.com/