Page 27 - ADNews magazine March-April 2022

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Minsun Collier, national head of data & technology acceleration, MediaCom: “We define a ‘metaverse’ as a virtual environment, either a broad or narrowly-focused community, that supports real-time interactions com- parable to those in the real world – a workplace, education, gaming, or general community forum – through the integration of emerging technologies like AR, cryptocurrency, VR, and more, depending on the community.
“There is not and likely will not be one ‘the metaverse’. Each iteration of a Metaverse will have various ownership models and generate different value for consumers.”
Ben Hourahine, strategy partner, AnalogFolk: “The Internet is something we are used to interacting with, we look at it, we watch it, we listen to things on it. The best way to think about the metaverse is through a virtual reality lens. The metaverse is a place where we will experience the Internet com- pletely, not as an observer, but as someone inside it and within it. It’s not flat, one dimensional or just interactive, it is a complete spatial experience.”
Adam Krass, chief digital, data & technology officer, UM: “There are two main schools of thought for ‘metaversealists’. One is that the metaverse is a version of the internet that feels like a videogame, where the internet becomes a gameified virtual realm.
“The other sees the metaverse as fundamentally about digital identity, where a user can switch between virtual spaces through digital identities with a focus on experience. In this case, imagine virtually shopping in Milan followed by a Billie Eilish sunset concert on Bondi Beach.”
Joe Frazer, managing partner and head of growth, Half Dome: “The metaverse itself refers to the simple concept of a scaled 3D virtual world. The 90s kids will remember The Matrix, and aside from robots taking control, that is more or less the vision for the metaverse. A massively scaled and realistic platform for people to experience anything they really want. The reality of what is possible with today’s technology is found in platforms like Minecraft, which is the best example of a functioning metaverse oper- ating at scale.
“Facebook has gone all in on the metaverse with their rebrand to Meta,
and Zuckerberg is clear that he sees the future of social connection thriving in this type of interface. But perhaps more interesting than Meta moving Facebook from a phone to an immersive AR/VR experience, is the push from Web3.0 enthusiasts to use this move from an app and mobile based economy – which is where we are now - to completely rethink how the internet is built, and the control that a few players have (Google, Meta, etc.).
“The real story behind the push to the metaverse is who will con- trol it, and can we use this critical juncture to erode the control of the few and create an arguably better and decentralised version of the internet?”
Martin Beecroft, chief technology & innovation officer at Wunderman Thompson in Australia: “Firstly, let me clarify. The metaverse isn’t one thing, nor is there a single accepted definition of what it means. Whilst it sounds like one giant new place to be, there are many different metaverse iterations in use and more emerging daily.
“In simple terms, it’s a vast array of three-dimensional digital worlds