The Immersive Wire - 17 July 2022 (Sunday edition)

The Immersive Wire - 17 July 2022 (Sunday edition)

July 17, 2022

17 July 2022 //

by Tom Ffiske

Metaverse and VR/AR analysis every Wednesday and Sunday

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TOP STORYMatthew Ball and the metaverse

After receiving an early copy of Matthew Ball's The Metaverse: And How It Will Revolutionize Everything, I devoured it in a local cave over a single weekend.

have their place, based on what the reader needs. Step into the Metaverse by Mark van Rijmenam gives a great overview, while Reality Check by Jeremy Dalton focuses on the enterprise side of VR and AR. Matthew Ball's book is much broader, focusing on the confluence of technologies that may come together to build the future of spatial computing, with an analysis of the companies that may (and may not) be primed to take advantage of it. Easy to read and engrossing, it's an excellent read that I recommend to any professional.

In later chapters

, Matthew Ball discusses suggestions for the future of the metaverse. One example is the role of decentralisation. I come across professionals who entrust the future to decentralised organisations like DAOs or communities, believing that it is a brighter future that is out of the hands of nefarious centralised organisations.

The Metaverse: And How It Will Revolutionize Everything

does no give a firm answer, but argues that it is more likely to be a spectrum rather than one or the other. Centralised organisations will be necessary for the protection and defence of metaverse users. I like this argument, and will likely cite it in the future.

That said, I do think the reader needs to be eased in more with certain chapters.

At times, the introductory components warranted further explanations. The payment rails section introduced the ideas of blockchain technologies and decentralised organisations, but even as an avid reader, even I felt that it needed a page or two of additional explanations before diving deeper. Once readers are eased in more, the section would likely be more accessible for more readers.

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What other books will you read this summer? Join the discussion and meet like-minded professionals on the

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Q&AA growth mindset

Hamza Khan, partner and co-leader of McKinsey’s Growth, Marketing & Sales practice in the UK & Ireland

What is your background?I support organisations with their holistic growth agenda. This includes helping them unlock growth opportunities that accelerate their core business through digital marketing and sales. It also includes exploring options for new business models and ecosystem plays for them to grow in adjacent opportunities. Over the last decade, I have had the privilege of serving – and learning from – clients across a range of sectors and regions.What are you working on, and what’s a key learning that you’ve had from it?I spend my time developing potential opportunities for digital-led growth for my clients. I recently supported a telecoms client introducing a new global platform business to the market, a retail client launching new ecosystem propositions in their home market, and helped accelerate social commerce and online community-building for a global brand.With its potential to generate up to $5 trillion in value by 2030, the metaverse is simply too big to be ignored. It will have a major impact on our commercial and personal lives, which is why businesses, policymakers, consumers, and citizens are well advised to explore and understand as much as they can about this phenomenon, the technology that will underpin it, and the ramifications it will have both for our economies and wider society.From a personal perspective, my work with the metaverse has impressed on me why organisations need to budget for moonshoots. For example, a business considering early exploratory steps to learn how it can generate brand value in the metaverse. This moonshoot approach is also applicable to individuals, for example carving out time to build a new skill or have an impact in your community. I try to dedicate time each week to a Tech for Good non-profit organisation I’m developing and mobilising support around. If you had to give one piece of advice, what would you give? I’ve been fortunate to work with incredibly sharp, determined people– and one of the things I’ve learnt from my experiences - and then learnt to encourage in turn – is to consciously adopt a ‘growth mindset’ (versus a fixed mindset).This means viewing intelligence, capabilities and talent as something that can be learnt and enhanced with time and effort. And applying that lens both to our own efforts, and to the efforts of others we work with. It has helped me on many occasions to develop patience with my own self, and to put in time and effort to support and build others around me. I think we can all benefit from helping others.If you want to know more about the work, then click here.

That's all for this week! Want to have a chat, let me know about a news story, or talk business? Either reply to this email, or contact tom (at) immersivewire (dot) com. Have an excellent day!