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- Tech Pundits Miss the Big Picture on Metaverse (and Its 600 Million Users)
Tech Pundits Miss the Big Picture on Metaverse (and Its 600 Million Users)
Plus: Amazon Anywhere Metaverse Shopping Bet, Improv Artist Fools Crypto Scammers in Marketing Stunt
Happy Friday! Welcome to The Web3 Marketer, where I help brands and marketers stay ahead of the web3 curve. Every week, I bring you top stories on web3 & digital collectibles across consumer & loyalty.
Today's write-up is 1,325 words, a 5½-minute read.
This week’s TL;DR:
Tech pundits miss the big picture on metaverse
Inflation-torn countries see the highest crypto adoption
Amazon “Anywhere" reveals a broader metaverse bet
PLUS: Barbie, Google, Alibaba, Alo Yoga, Disney, LACMA, FIFA, Panini, and more!
📅 Upcoming events: VeeCon, Indianapolis (May 18-20); GameBeat Summit, LA (May 22-24), Next Block Expo Warsaw Summit (May 24-25)
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The Big One
Media focus on demise of Meta’s “Zuckerverse”, fail to notice record popularity of the actual metaverse
While tech pundits continue to overindex on Mark Zukerberg’s failed pivot to metaverse, Roblox just disclosed a record $774M in sales of in-game currency, a 23% year-on-year increase:
Daily active users rose to 66 million, an “all-time-high.”
Users spend on average over 2.5 hours a day.
Two-thirds of them are under 16.
In response to the misleading article, CEO of Epic Games, the creator of Roblox competitor Fortnite, jokingly suggested that the 600 million users of digital platforms should gather virtually to “mourn.” Read more →
The Takeaway: The actual metaverse and the frontier of internet culture are forming in online multiplayer games such as Roblox, Fortnite, and Minecraft. Meta’s failure is not reflective of the broader adoption trend.
By the Numbers
Countries with high inflation and weak currency see local residents turning to crypto
Ownership of digital currencies in Turkey was the highest in the world at 27% followed by Argentina at 23% - compared to a global average of 12%. Much of the safe-haven buying has been of stablecoins pegged to US dollar, giving investors a digital alternative to scarce bills. Read more →
The Takeaway: Crypto adoption tends to be higher in countries with capital restrictions, financial instability, and political instability. Unfortunately, governments know this and some are beginning to clamp down on crypto.
Bold Strokes, Long Marches
Amazon unveils the broader metaverse bet by launching a shopping experience inside AR games
The “Amazon Anywhere” shopping experience lets users shop for real-world goods inside of games and virtual worlds. Amazon shared some details of the experience and piloted an integration with Niantic’s just-launched Peridot game. Read more →
The Takeaway: Amazon is expanding its metaverse shopping bet beyond the upcoming NFT marketplace by providing an easy path to purchase physical products on top of virtual assets or in-game currency.
On a Lighter Note
Improv artists angers a crypto scammer with a fake $455K transfer error… in a marketing campaign
Kit Boga, a popular “improv artist who calls scammers”, recently partnered Kraken crypto exchange. Kraken went as far as building a “dummy” custom environment which helped the influencer fake a transfer error after a year-long bait process… which really angered the scammer. Watch full →
The Takeaway: Possibly one of the best (and definitely most satisfying) viral marketing campaigns in crypto to date.
Top Headlines
🛍 Consumer & Mainstream
Mastercard, PayPal and Robinhood dive deeper into crypto as industry shows “promise”, while Stripe expands its crypto onramp.
Renault celebrates its 50th birthday with its second NFT collection: custom racing Shoe5 sneakers with digital twin NFTs at €265 apiece.
Barbie maker Mattel partnered with women-led web3 brand for “Boss Beauties x Barbie” NFT collection.
Ex-Coinbase product manager was sentenced to a two-year prison term for insider trading and netting $1.5 million.
🤖 Metaverse
Google announced Geospatial Creator powered by Google Maps to visualize, design, and publish world-anchored content.
Apple CEO Tim Cook gave a brief glimpse into company’s AI stance during the most recent earnings call.
Alibaba is building an end-to-end launchpad platform for companies to customize and maintain their metaverse spaces.
NHL announced a dynamic metaverse experience on Roblox.
“The Voice” show will offer auditions in the metaverse.
International Olympics Committee added Fortnite as an official Olympic esport for its inaugural Olympic Esports Week in Singapore.
Universal Studios is entering the metaverse and transforming the future of theme parks with its latest attractions.
💍 Fashion & Luxury Goods
Alo Yoga debuts in-store NFT claim experience with free “daily affirmation” collectibles for the Mental Health Awareness Month.
Coach’s new AR installation lets window shoppers try on the Tabby bag without stepping foot in-store.
Supermodel Eva Herzigová created an exact virtual copy of herself which she plans to delegate to campaigns, movies, and fashion shows.
Women tech trailblazers are leveraging AI to drive innovation in blockchain and digital fashion.
🎬️ Entertainment & Media
Disney partnered with an NFT platform for Star Wars limited edition 'Digital Toy' NFTs priced at $40 apiece.
LACMA is expanding NFT curation with an experimental interactive collection based on the 19th-century work of Eadweard Muybridge.
Gwyneth Paltrow’s team denies she invested in NFT marketplace startup as many celebrities are turning their back on crypto industry afraid of litigation.
Electronic Arts co-Founder Jeff Burton joins a play-to-earn web3 gaming guild board.
Gamers stand to win big with NFTs, they just don’t know it yet.
🏈 Sports
FIFA sold out its Quatar 2022 NFT collection of 8,000 packs at $10 apiece (after previously attempting to sell 500,000 packs).
Panini is pushing ahead with plans to create digital markets and collectibles in web3.
Warner Bros. Discovery Sports is debuting an NFT collection for its promoted sports.
McLaren Formula 1 team is providing fans with free NFTs for each race of the 2023 season.
International Ice Hockey Federation prolonged partnership with Škoda, which includes a feature in the automaker’s metaverse .
Stunning fall of NFL’s NFTs, a Patrick Mahomes-endorsed crypto venture.
🛠️ MarTech & CreatorTech
Ad Age announced an inaugural list of 20 web3 marketing and trailblazers.
Paytronix, a leading digital guest engagement solutions provider for QSR, partnered with web3 loyalty platform Flaunt.
From Louis Vuitton to Bottega Veneta, Ordre Group is powering luxury fashion metaverse.
Palm NFT Studio rolled out Unreal Engine plugin to help creators mint generative art collections on the blockchain.
Snapmuse launched as a web3 monetization platform for creators and influencers, featuring Mexican YouTube star Mariana Avila.
Solana Foundation launched NFT pitch contest for aspiring creators.
💰️ Deals
Pudgy Penguins raised $9M in funding to turn the profile picture NFT collection into a consumer IP brand. (It has also just signed with WME as the official talent agency)
Aether Games raised $4.5M in token and equity funding to expand its blockchain games to new media formats.
Vibe raised $4M in Seed funding to develop tools to help creatives customize and manage their NFTs.
Artifact Labs raised $3.25M in outside funding (after spinning out of the Hong Kong-based South China Morning Post) to enable tokenizing of historical artifacts.
Seed Club launched a $2M Consumer Crypto Accelerator to support startups at the intersection of blockchains, tokens, culture, and community.
NFT-TiX announced a multi-year partnership with Unum Festival to provide blockchain-based ticketing.
🤓 Guides and Tutorials
How we got to web3 with Chris Dixon. (📺 1hr 41 mins)
The case for onchain publishing and text NFTs.
Digital identity – assessing web3’s identity building blocks.
What are xNFTs, or tokens embedded with executable programming scripts?
🗃 Additions to the Web3 Tools database (301 total)
📚️ For the Weekend
Miami’s Love Affair With Crypto Is Souring as Bitcoin Faithful Flock to the City (WSJ)
Mr. Brainwash, 100 Influencers, and Web3 Walk Into a Museum (Decrypt)
As Hollywood Writers Strike, Momentum Grows for Creator Labor Movement (The Information)
Cultivating a Web3 Community for Go-Getters with Peloton’s Head Instructor Robin Arzón (🎙️Apple; 26 min)
Meme of the Week
That’s all. See you next week!
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Author Bio
Kuba Szewczyk is an NFT Product Strategy Lead at ConsenSys, helping build NFT tools for brands and creators. He previously worked at Bain & Co. Digital Assets and earned Harvard MBA.
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