O MANNY's

“We could end up fucking up the real world only to desire to live in a virtual world 24/7.” - "Manny", Community Manager of a 30,000+ global founders community.

Attention, this content is meant to inspire, educate, and warn founders, entrepreneurs, & anyone from society, government, NGO, non-profit to businesses. There will be a version of the internet that order will be tremendously difficult to maintain. This generation metaverse may be the one.

The Team @ Founders Under 40™ Group + GreatestFounders™ want to thank you Freelancers, Founders, Entrepreneurs, Venture Capitalist, Angels, CEO, CMO, CIO, CTO,Sponsors, etc 

Thank you to all 30, 000+ founders and members that have stayed loyal to us for the past several years. Thank You, Please Enjoy!

***The following insights will be invaluable as you prepare for the next decade, post 2020 covid-19 era, of your personal and business journey. As always message Emmanuel “Manny” Omikunle via info@bjmannyst.com / LinkedIn or contact Jenn F (jenn@bjmannyst.com) if you need startup and SMB / SME assistance like getting a diverse business perspective or reaching Founders.

META SHOULDN'T BE IN B2C METAVERSE

Let us first begin with the obvious face of the metaverse hype today, …Meta a.k.a Facebook & a.k.a Mark Zuckerberg. In our opinion we don't think the Founder of Meta should be in a b2c business anymore or be shaping the next stage of consumer internet …talk less the metaverse. It’s social initiatives threaten the stability of the world.

If we had $1 Trillion US dollars to buy Meta Platform, we would buy it and take it to the back yard then shoot the daylights out of everything from FaceBook, Instagram, Meta, to Oculus to tiktok to twitter. Not because of dislike but because they are becoming soul-sucking…time sucking…social manipulating…disorderly hell holes. It and many social platforms will drag society to destruction in the metaverse era even though they may offer business value.

Question to founders, entrepreneurs, CEO and users… what possible value can you get from a b2c social metaverse world that's only transferring the nature of real society into it?  If you can imagine Facebook today in a 3D world with billions of users, I would say we all would be in the Disney Land for garbage. 

Hey Mark, you've done well with Facebook and the Facebook journey was fun for users. We are grateful for your humble beginnings however world social management is not your strength and it shouldn't be. The world is too complex to please everyone. Your metaverse if on a global scale is bound to blow up this planet.

We do believe the trend and examples of the metaverse is starting to indicate a 100x worse than Facebook. All content types, different qualities, and agendas, which Meta could never fully moderate---sounds like a social disaster. 

Democratic governments should be concerned when more and more of its population refuse to acknowledge / participate in the realities in their real neighborhoods, cities, family members, flesh friends, pets ….it's like a bunch of people live in cities but hardly anyone has at least three close friends to engage in an emergency accept in the avatar metaverse …where sometimes good people can anonymously body shame others for fun.

Metaverse is going to be web 2.0 meets web 3.0. A more advanced internet experience from text, images, audio, video, to 3D immersive…to touch. And in our opinion, no country or institution could 100% police a web3.0 powered metaverse unless maybe leveraging good crowds (a.k.a snitches).

Our founder, a marketer, community manager and business person says metaverse sounds very exciting especially incorporating AR/VR however it’s bound to create 100x more social downside in our founder's opinion if a better evolving regulation framework is not in-place prior to main-street existence.

It will likely erode more individual sense of empathy. Don't get me wrong, the metaverse will revolutionize how we navigate the internet and companies will make loads of money however Facebook's -meta - Mark Zuckerberg are not qualified to lead this.

●Facebook / Meta Platforms reputation in terms of social is done.
●Security and lack of transparency have been irresponsible
●Business model heavily consists of exploiting and manipulating to the max its users’ data.
●We all know most individuals would not pay to access the metaverse… surely a just model is needed
●Advertising business that treats people like chicken waiting to be used, forced fed, disrespected, etc.
●Privacy management is basically them trying 24/7 to keep encouraging disclosure of personal things. It's like a burger restaurant that sells several person servings of burgers to one obese customer.
●Hooking and addiction motive. It wants you to be addicted to its product.
●Un-empathetic and soulless sometimes. No empathy. Questionable values and priorities.
●Move fast and break things. Really has defined their values. Do they care about users on a human level and have good social practices?
●Setting a bad example for next generation of founders and b2c startups.
●Mark Zuckerberg is an inspiration to many founders and people however he seems to not had a good understanding of society’s nature offline. And the need to put in tools to reduce toxicity. Mark should go try a less b2c space for Meta.
●Some things and platforms shouldn’t be owned by one entity. Businesses desire competitive advantages that’s great but not at expense of not giving the market choice. 

THE EARLY METAVERSE USE IS NOT GOOD & EXAMPLES?

●The beginning of the internet was born in the early 90s …1992. Correct us if wrong.
●Science fiction writer Neal Stephenson coined the term “metaverse” in his 1992 novel Snow Crash, where humans, as avatars, interact with each other and software agents, in a three-dimensional virtual space.
●Bunch of things happened in-between all those years but the best example for what was an early comparison to what’s taking shape today is SecondLife. In 2003 Second Life was the perfect proof of a money making virtual 3D social world tool developed by Philip Rosedale and his team at Linden Lab. Second Life is still active.
●Roblox is the online platform that allows users to create and play games developed by other users. Since 2006 and present, Roblox is seems very appealing.
●In 2022 Meta’s metaverse called Horizon we have claims of women being harassed. ●There’s also Metaverse Group, which operates Decentraland, a virtual world that’s owned by its users.
●A movie that demonstrates the possibility of the metaverse is, “Ready Player One”
●Fortnite is another game world turning into a hangout via in-game concerts.

Early Metaverse are both filled with fun, possibilities, however it comes with a huge potentially long term socially destructive downside if steps are not taking to reduce the dark side. The post 2022 Metaverse is web2.0 on steroids. 

NO GO FOR PLATFORM COMPANIES WITH PAST BAD BEHAVIOR?

In some shape or form people will grow angrier about companies who only enrich those few at the top and exploit the masses for political or monetary gains. People around the world have express frustration with broken systems, for example the events of January 6, 2021, where a mob of 2,000–2,500 supporters of the U.S. President Donald attacked the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C or the convoy of demonstrators protesting COVID-19 restrictions and mandates around the world. Social & economic protest are a frequent occurrence since the 2008 great recession. 

●It seems more companies are showing more intense lack of empathy and human kindness
●Companies that are indirectly forcing some workers to call for anti-work (Redditt’s: r/antiwork) because of unfairness in capitalism or in systems
●Maybe the idea is for governments to require entities that use or manage a social platform to obtain license to run a social platform
●More companies’ leaders need to get educated in good responsible social behavior and management practices.

Note: Hey founders, to track global protests checkout Carnegie Endowment for International Peace website (https://carnegieendowment.org/publications/interactive/protest-tracker) .
***We're not paid or endorsed by this organization. Just sharing a resource that many may find useful

THE METAVERSE ACCORDING TO PWC

PWC's view on Metaverse

●The metaverse is an evolution, not a revolution. Businesses and individuals shouldn’t ignore it.
●”The metaverse may profoundly change how businesses and consumers interact with products, services and each other.”
●”Key metaverse concepts, including digital economy innovations such as cryptocurrencies, are business-relevant today.”
●The risks are huge compared to the web2.0 world. New web3.0 technologies require new standards, policy, strategies and skills.

***PWC was not involve in this content. SImply sharing their insights about the Metaverse

REQUIREMENT & CHALLENGES IN THE METAVERSE

●Heavy investment in back-end infrastructure like computing power
●More 5G like high-speed internet for the full immersive experiences
●Challenges will appear early and often and be costly
●The payout could be astronomical over time
●Expect regulation
●Supply problems like chips or protest or geopolitical
●Security. and privacy
●Identity theft is already a big enough problem in the real world. Its presence in the metaverse could be much harder to manage.
●Governance
●Jurisdiction
●Content control and legal rights
●Behavior norms
●Businesses will be expected to “pay to play”
●Blockchain and cryptocurrency will become necessities. Can’t avoid this anymore.
●Currency in the metaverse will be digital currency.
●Like cryptocurrencies? Metaverse will be awesome for you.
●Not being open-minded and ready to adapt.
●Few will make significant income in the virtual worlds
●Not everyone will be able to participate
●Sexual misconduct or anti-social acts will be more common
●It will blur the line between what’s real and what isn’t. This will be a problem.
●Companies not open-sourcing their propriety technology
●Decentralized metaverse versus centralized metaverse
●Governments would not be able to keep up with metaverse and the technology 

[“Building the metaverse isn't cheap. Meta, Facebook’s parent company, revealed, for the first time, the financial of its Reality Labs division in its fourth-quarter 2021 earnings report.
That’s the segment of the company tasked with building CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s vision for the metaverse. It also includes revenue from hardware, such as the company’s Meta Quest virtual reality headset. So, how's Zuckerberg’s big pivot to the metaverse performing so far?
As expected, Reality Labs reported massive, growing losses — more than $10 billion in 2021 alone. “]

Take a look at the net losses for Meta's Reality Labs for the full years 2019 through 2021:
●2019: Net loss of $4.5 billion on $501 million in revenue
●2020: Net loss of $6.62 billion on $1.14 billion in revenue
●2021: Net loss of $10.19 billion on $2.27 billion in revenue
… he expects operating losses to “increase meaningfully” in 2022. 

METAVERSE SIGNIFICANT UNCERTAINTY & BUSINESS MODEL

●The early adopters will win & lose so much that’s usually the price of the early users sort of like cryptocurrencies.
●People may just be uninterested any platform that’s out to just gather information and monetize it.
●Meta, a.k.a as Facebook reported 2020 revenue of about $86 billion is still yet to explain in detail how it will really make money in the metaverse outside of advertisement.
●Everyone on the planet knows the pros and cons of social platforms so companies should not expect same naivety in the meta metaverse or any metaverse platform.
●Will the price to use and access be out of reach for most in first world countries?
●Motion sickness
●Repetition
●Not physiological fulfilling
●Could be a waste of time
●Certain life stages may be avoided such as marriage, etc

IMPORTANCE OF 3D WORLDS & AVATARS

Just imagine one unique avatar for every person on the planet to navigate the metaverse? Imagine the ultimate metaverse OS (operating system). To access your restaurants, stores, places, people, information, folders like you do it in a Windows / Mac OS / Linux…world in 3D world. That would be so cool.

• I could walk to my virtual folder of pictures of Kim Kardashian mid level ankles : )
• Anyone could hug avatar Kim Kardashian or avatar Jesus Christ in the metaverse
• Interconnected digital worlds bits of your reality can be in your metaverse world
• An avatar for your long passed away dog or grandma
  
• Makes virtual face-to-face interaction better than screen starring -to-screen starring in real time
• Plus, there's almost no limit to what you can create in a 3D environment…no gravity, physics laws, unlimited wives..., an elephant for a pet, buy the statue of liberty, …yeah got carried away there.

EXPLORING & PREPARING FOR THE METAVERSE

Before you start making laws, arresting people, or shitting in the virtual toilet in the virtual Four Seasons Hotel …maybe do these first.

●Educate yourself
●Read up on the technology so you know
●Play some 3D video games
●Explore the many platforms already in the market
●When ready think how you will approach this new internet
●Think what would the internet be like in 3D?
●Find opportunities and the threats
●Try something of your own like designing a 3D object, sell digital versions of your products
●Maybe consider buying virtual land
●Maybe try having a metaverse meeting
●Now figure out where trust can be broken or compromised from consumers, shareholders, regulators and other stakeholders
●You may want to start partnering with others to experiment
●Whatever you do…try some sandbox experiment, pilots, real life.
●Hey the metaverse is the next evolution of the internet. Get in to do good.

EXPLORE USE CASES FOR THE METAVERSE

Types of possible metaverse use cases

●You can create basic applications of the web3.0 technology like blockchain, AR/VR, A.I Automation, Analytics, .etc. The objective is to explore and develop POCs
●Find bunch of tech savvy experts, industry players, peers who are already exploring and testing ask them to collaborate on something
●Create something that complements and connects to already existing digital experiences
●See if you can combine tools, tech, technical, processes, UI, etc. to create something for the metaverse
●Create a multi user experience and scale it
●Create a transaction element and a loyalty element to your creation
●Create a network effect so you can acquire users faster
●Once you are comfortable with the fundamentals, it’s time to find new ways to differentiate.

INVESTING IN THE METAVERSE AS VC, PE, INDIVIDUAL, COMPANY

Investors should see the metaverse as the next evolution of the internet. Fully developed, it could one day allow people to escape reality, discover, interact, work and play in immersive virtual area. “In fact, as these technologies evolve to create increasingly connected digital experiences, total VR/AR spending worldwide is estimated to reach $72.8 billion in 2024, from $12 billion in 2020. - (Morgan Stanley Wealth Management)

As always be very careful, do your homework and be alert of bad people using this gold-rush like event to do harm. Opportunities are in:

●Gaming & VR/AR
●Events & Live Events
●Movies
●Property Tours & Trials
●Car customization
●Try on new fashion style and purchase
●Gathering information
●Experiment and get feedback for a building design (simulation)
●Healthcare
●Education
●Industry
●Manufacturing
●Hiring
●Office
●Grocery Shopping
●Communicating
●Data management and  transmission
●Ultra-high-speed stable internet will be a prerequisite to reduce lag
●Applications needs to actually be useful and accessible
●Will it add value?
●Devices need to be designed and manufactured
●Cybersecurity
●Regulation & Laws
●Teachers

“The successes of the metaverse in the short term and long term will depend on adoption and comfort of users. “

“Gartner estimates that 25% of people will spend at least one hour a day in the metaverse — whether this is for work, to shop, to learn, or for entertainment. The metaverse is being touted as a technological revolution that will transform all of our lives — but new research might form disappointing reading to the companies betting big on virtual worlds.” Gartner

“For context, an estimated 35.6% of the global population used Facebook as of March 2021 — spending an average of two hours and 24 minutes a day on the site.
Gartner’s findings suggest it will take time for the public to appreciate the opportunities that the metaverse can bring, and levels of adoption will be slow at first.” Gartner Research vice president Marty Resnick

There’s no obvious path that will guarantee huge monetary ROI. Just like the Train companies, Dotcom companies, PDAs, cryptocurrencies offerings, etc. not everyone will be the leaders. There’s competition, big pockets and talents. The social long-term effect is still not clear however based on knowledge of web2.0 experience and smart phones we can see that the trend is worst social experience outcome.

***Hey you, this material has been prepared for informational purposes and a little entertainment only. Always seek professional advice before investing.

ORGANIZATION KNOWN TO BE CHASING: METAVERSE PLATFORM / LEVERAGE DREAMS

●South Korea's ICT ministry has launched an industry alliance to bolster the development of “metaverse” technology and ecosystems.
●A Shanghai city department released its five-year development plan, which included encouraging metaverse use in public services, business offices and other areas.
●Walmart appears to be venturing into the metaverse with plans to create its own cryptocurrency and collection of NFTs.
●Apple teased its metaverse ambitions on Thursday as CEO Tim Cook talked expansion of the company’s augmented reality apps
●Roblox Corporation, the American video gaming company that went public
●Microsoft Corp is going for the world of metaverse by building an “enterprise metaverse”.
●Facebook is already in with their VR environment called Horizon, which is accessible through the (OCULUS) Quest headsets.
●Nvidia Corp has already built its Omniverse platform
●Unity Software Inc, video game software development company
●Snap Inc., the owner of Snapchat aggressively improving its custom avatars and augmented reality filters
●Autodesk which creates programs that can be used by engineers and architects to design and produce buildings and products.
●Chinese tech giant Tencent Holdings Ltd
●Epic Games the makers of video games like Fortnite, etc.
●Amazon has not officially announced anything to our knowledge but we believe because they are in b2c they may do something.
●Playboy plans to build a new mansion in the metaverse
●Andreessen Horowitz, Coinbase Ventures, NGC Ventures, Dragonfly Capital, Hashed, Lightspeed Venture Partners, and others invest in company led by Everyrealm’s CEO Janine Yorio

●JP Morgan bank to enter the metaverse with a virtual 'Onyx lounge'

“As the virtual and physical worlds converge, the metaverse…is emerging as a first-class platform,”says Satya Nadella

“We see a lot of potential in this space and are investing accordingly,” said Tim Cook

BUSINESS USER BENEFITS

As you all know social media platform like Facebook have made it possible for the little guy to market effectively without paying a price different from the big companies. We assume metaverse platform owners will likely make it a affordable marketing offer. If curious, below are the additional benefits.

●Marketers can create digitized versions of their products or place storefronts in a shared virtual world
●Electronic commerce in the metaverse like a Amazon ecommerce in a metaverse or a wal-mart in the metaverse.
●The interactions and measurements will be far better than clicks, views, reach, etc
●It will be a shared digital virtual space…well it could be private just like Nike could have it’s own metaverse.
●Blockchain applications such as NFT, cryptocurrencies, tokenization, finance, identity, contracts, verification, etc will be evolving with the help of global users and experts
●There will be people and jobs for people who put together a great multiverse for companies
●Businesses can do more on web3.0 versus web2.0
●Even though the ROI wouldn’t be immediate, getting in early a little doesn’t hurt.
●This is not just for B2C
●No obviouse standardization and high unpredictability might be a benefit depending on your perspective
●Metaverse to drive deal-making with companies that advertisers & marketers need to master virtual reality.
●Real Estate professionals can leverage Metaverse
●Finding, networking and meeting people

MARKETERS SHOULD LEAVE THE METAVERSE ALONE

“Even though we are marketers ourselves, we believe for the greater good of society in the long-run all marketers should leave the metaverse alone.”- Manny of BJ Mannyst + GreatestFounders™

Why?

 
Because we have the power to shape views and actions for good or for evil.
Because in some cases no one checks our information, messages, images, tone, etc
Because we are in most cases just exploiting people’s “Lizard Brain” a.k.a limbic system. Which is in charge of fight, flight, feeding, fear, freezing up, and fornication.
 

Because at this point, what keeps society functioning healthty may be lost forever such as forming lasting bonds, finding real friendships. Finding love, communities, empathy, family, etc.

THE DOWNSIDE TO USERS & BUSINESS USERS

[“Tech companies are among the most profitable, most valuable and most powerful businesses in the world. They’re also front of mind for many Americans, who rate disinformation, conspiracy theories, social media-driven radicalization and hacking above other big issues, like racism and the climate crisis. More than 79% of respondents to one Ipsos poll, in September, said they were concerned with at least one of those tech issues, roughly tying with “crime and public safety” and “the economy and jobs.”

Ipsos data also found that Republicans, Democrats and independents largely agreed on the importance of these issues, with hacking, malware and data breaches scoring among the top three concerns from all three groups. “] - CNET + Ipsos surveys

●Implementation will require the introduction of advanced technologies.
●Current skilled tech workers may need to upgrade fast
●Some standards or protocols may need to be updated
●More investments in developing newer technologies
●Requires reliable data transmission speed, 5G+, because it is graphically intensive
●The price of higher speed network internet may be more expensive for most
●Some will feel alienated when they can’t benefit from metaverse.
●It will do more harm than good to humanity
●Imagine an A.I is behind the avatar you thought was human woman
●Transparency and safety of artificial intelligence
●Buying another device
●More serious privacy and security issues due to complexity, hackers, and human errors
●Could be more intrusive into peoples lives if spend more time in it
●Possibility of no ownership of your data or content or history
●Physiological and phycological effects could be huge from depression, confusion, cybersickness, dizziness, loneliness, panic attacks, poor diet, body strain, suicide, violence, misinformed, social anxiety and discomfort caused by prolonged use of virtual environment.
●What is digital consent look like in a immersive virtual world were people with the right devices could harm others?
●What are good behaviors?
●Data and cybersecurity threats in the metaverse will be as common as man needs water. If you haven’t notice, almost every day at every hour there’s someone trying to scam you via email, phone, mail, social media, etc.
●Avatars will be used as a form of identification. The avatar and the data could be copied, stolen, erased or manipulated.
●Spoofing is another risk.
●Delaying life milestones like marriage or child birth in nations
●Increased pressure and more social comparison
●Potential risk for addiction
●Cyber-bullying becomes worse
●Moderation becomes more difficult
●Data harvesting becomes greater desire by small – big organizations
●Fear of missing out
●Unrealistic expectation
●Unhealthy sleep patterns
●Group think and like-mindedness becomes more essential
●Too little restriction or too much may destroy the metaverse
●A more intense and aggressive herd mob
●Governments may not be able to keep the metaverse from threatening the real world

“All of the people who talk about metaverses are talking about worlds that are more satisfying than the current world.” And A.I is only creating a “giant false god” - Former Google chief executive Eric Schmidt 

Maybe Mr. Schmidt is for or against the metaverse. Either way, the metaverse is this new toy that will eventually impact mankind 100x web2.0. The extremes of today's internet experience. 

 “There will be significant wealth created in the web3.0 3D metaverse world, from: the devices - infrastructure - platforms - virtual products - experiences ,however many governments & institutions around the world will lose control of it once we incorporate advanced A.I, and quantum computing. Simply because only a tiny few will be able to monetize and exploit it for good / evil at scale” - Emmanuel“Manny”Omikunle of BJ Mannyst + GreatestFounders™