Is It Time to Remember the Metaverse? — with Matthew Ball
Matthew Ball, the CEO of Epyllion, a startup adviser, and the former Head of Strategy for Amazon Studios, joins Scott to discuss the updated version of his book, “The Metaverse: Building the Spatial Internet.” We hear where to be bullish, along with his thoughts on Starlink, streaming, and AI writ large. Follow Matthew, @ballmatthew.
Scott opens with his thoughts on the movie business, luxury, and the Olympics.
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What happened to the metaverse?
This week I’m talking to Matthew Ball, who was last on the show in 2022 to talk about his book “The Metaverse: How it Will Revolutionize Everything.” It’s 2024 and it’s safe to say that has not happened yet. But Matt’s still on the case — in fact he just released an almost complete update of the book, now with the much more sober title, “Building the Spatial Internet.”
Matt and I talked a lot about where the previous metaverse hype cycle landed us, and what there is to learn from these boom and bust waves. We talked about the Apple Vision Pro quite a bit; if you read or watched my review when it came out, you’ll know I think the Vision Pro is almost an end point for one set of technologies. I wanted to know if Matt felt the same and what needs to happen to make all of this more mainstream and accessible.
Links:
Fully revised and updated edition to the “The Metaverse” | W.W. Norton
Apple Vision Pro review: magic, until it’s not | The Verge
Apple’s Vision Pro: five months later | Vergecast
Is the metaverse going to suck? A conversation with Matthew Ball | Decoder
Interviewing Meta CTO Andrew Bosworth on the Metaverse, VR/AR, AI | Matthew Ball
Interviewing Epic CEO Tim Sweeney and author Neal Stephenson | Matthew Ball
An Interview with Matthew Ball about Vision Pro and the state of gaming | Stratechery
Tim Sweeney explains how the metaverse might actually work | The Verge
Fortnite is winning the metaverse | The Verge
Is the Metaverse Just Marketing? | NYT
Credits:
Decoder is a production of The Verge, and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.
Our producers are Kate Cox and Nick Statt. Our editor is Callie Wright. Our supervising producer is Liam James.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder.
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(TWTR SPC) Mathew Ball On The Metaverse And Jason Del Rey On Amazon After Bezos
Matthew Ball comes on to talk about his new book: The Metaverse: And How it Will Revolutionize Everything. Then, Jason Del Rey @DelRey talks to us about how Amazon has been faring in the post-Jeff Bezos era.
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How the Metaverse Might Actually Work — with Matthew Ball
Matthew Ball, a VC and author of “The Metaverse,” joins to discuss the winners and losers of the Metaverse, as well as some practical uses for the technology, such as in travel and defense. He previously served as the global head of strategy for Amazon Studios, so we also get his thoughts on streaming and potential acquisitions in that space. Follow Matthew on Twitter, @ballmatthew.
Scott opens with his thoughts on Amazon and the healthcare industry.
Algebra of Happiness: the last five minutes.
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Is the metaverse going to suck? A conversation with Matthew Ball
All right, let’s talk about the metaverse.
You probably can’t stop hearing about it. It’s in startup pitches, in earnings reports, some companies are creating metaverse divisions, and Mark Zuckerberg changed Facebook’s name to Meta to signal that he’s shifting the entire company to focus on the metaverse.
The problem, very simply, is that no one knows what the metaverse is, what it’s supposed to do, or why anyone should care about it.
Luckily, we have some help. Today, I’m talking to Matthew Ball, who is the author of the new book called The Metaverse: And How It Will Revolutionize Everything. Matthew was the global head of strategy at Amazon Studios. In 2018, he left Amazon to become an analyst and started writing about the metaverse on his blog. He’s been writing about this since way before the hype exploded, and his book aims to be the best resource for understanding the metaverse, which he sees as the next phase of the internet. It’s not just something that you access through a VR headset, though that’s part of it. It’s how you’ll interact with everything. That sort of change is where new companies have opportunities to unseat the old guard.
This episode gets very in the weeds, but it really helped me understand the decisions some companies have made around building digital worlds and the technical challenges and business challenges that are slowing it down — or might even stop it. And, of course, I asked whether any of this is a good idea in the first place because, well, I’m not so sure. But there’s a lot here, so listen, and then you tell me.
Links:
Matthew Ball on Twitter
Mark Zuckerberg on why Facebook is rebranding to Meta
Microsoft, Meta, and others are founding a metaverse open standards group
Android emoji will actually look human this year
Apple’s app tracking policy reportedly cost social media platforms nearly $10 billion
Microsoft and Activision Blizzard: the latest news on the acquisition
Microsoft HoloLens boss Alex Kipman is out after misconduct allegations
European Parliament Think Tank memorandum—Metaverse: Opportunities, risks and policy implications
Transcript:
https://www.theverge.com/e/23033211
Credits:
Decoder is a production of The Verge, and part of the Vox Media Podcast Network.
Today’s episode was produced by Creighton DeSimone and Jackie McDermott and it was edited by Callie Wright.
The Decoder music is by Breakmaster Cylinder. Our Sr Audio Director is Andrew Marino and our Executive Producer is Eleanor Donovan.
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Matthew Ball - A Manual to The Metaverse - [Invest Like the Best, EP.286]
My guest today is Matthew Ball. Matt is an investor, the former head of strategy at Amazon studios, and one of the brightest minds in the media industry. Through his essays and now his book, which launches today, Matt has established himself as the foremost authority on the Metaverse, which has stormed into the public eye since I first had him on the show two years ago. The Metaverse is the focus of our discussion and I hope you enjoy this encyclopedic tour through all of its details as much as I did.
For the full show notes, transcript, and links to mentioned content, check out the episode page here.
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This episode is brought to you by Canalyst. Canalyst is the leading destination for public company data and analysis. If you're a professional equity investor and haven't talked to Canalyst recently, you should give them a shout. Learn more and try Canalyst for yourself at canalyst.com/Patrick.
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Invest Like the Best is a property of Colossus, LLC. For more episodes of Invest Like the Best, visit joincolossus.com/episodes.
Past guests include Tobi Lutke, Kevin Systrom, Mike Krieger, John Collison, Kat Cole, Marc Andreessen, Bill Gurley, Anu Hariharan, Ben Thompson, and many more.
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Show Notes
[00:02:37] - [First question] - Which most represents the Metaverse: Minecraft, Ready Player One, Fortnite, or Facebook’s Horizon
[00:05:58] - Facebook trying to own the concept of the Metaverse by changing their name
[00:09:22] - Defining what the Metaverse is and a good working definition of it
[00:11:33] - The state of the engines behind 3D output and the history of them
[00:16:32] - The role IP played in bootstrapping the first Metaverses
[00:18:32] - Where the ability to create digital environments will lead, and what Unreal 7 could look like compared to Unreal 5 today
[00:21:03] - Natural limits of the Metaverse compared to real-world experiences
[00:24:16] - Other sensory inputs that will need to be improved for digital immersion
[00:26:59] - Why the initial excitement of trying something like Oculus wears off over time, both for casual gamers and those excited about this new frontier
[00:31:40] - Changes in technology and new projects that have him most excited that will empower the digital infrastructure for Metaverses
[00:37:14] - What interoperability means and why it has its own chapter in his book
[00:31:52] - How Roblox connects with Fortnite and how far down we need to go to build a bridge between digital worlds
[00:46:13] - What will drive commerce in the Metaverse and the possibility for a singular currency standard
[00:51:35] - Considering the demand for the Metaverse and whether or not it will be a constraint on adoption and success
[00:57:37] - What the modern equivalent of a lemonade stand will be in the Metaverse
[00:59:58] - The lower adoption rates for more participatory media consumption[01:03:19] - Potential pitfalls and the dark side of the metaverse
[01:06:14] - Who the categorical winners of the Metaverse might be
[01:14:15] - The top things he would suggest exploring to best understand the Metaverse
The Ultimate Guide to the Metaverse | Matthew Ball
In this episode of Empire, Jason is joined by Matthew Ball. Matthew is a strategist, technologist, investor, and metaverse expert. This episode is a masterclass on the future of the Metaverse, interoperability and the tech industry.
What defines the Metaverse? Who will build it? And will crypto be a key ingredient? Tune in to find out!
Highlights include:
- Defining the Metaverse
- What marks its arrival
- Why centralization forces will always exist
- How interoperability will work
- Why metadata is the tricky part of interoperability
- Open vs closed protocols
- Crypto's unique value prop
- 5 ways companies react to technology shifts
- Predicting how the world looks in 5 to 10 years
- Who will build the Metaverse
PS Matthew's new book The Metaverse and How it Will Revolution Everything is launching July 19th. This book is guaranteed to be the go-to guide for the Metaverse.
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Referenced in the show:
Matthew's website
https://www.matthewball.vc/
Pre-order Matthew's new book
https://www.matthewball.vc/metaversebook
McKinsey on investments in the Metaverse
https://www.thestreet.com/crypto/news/metaverse-mckinsey-2030
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(00:00) Introduction
(02:21) Defining the Metaverse
(06:46) What Will Mark The Arrival of the Metaverse
(13:01) Open Protocols Create Consumer Choice
(22:06) Paraswap Ad
(23:14) The Idealism of interoperability
(35:36) Who Will Control the Metaverse
(39:55) Crypto's Unique Advantage
(44:48) How Will The World Look In 5-10 Years
(48:55) Who Will Build the Metaverse
(52:31) Matthew's New Book
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Disclaimer: Nothing said on Empire is a recommendation to buy or sell securities or tokens. This podcast is for informational purposes only, and any views expressed by anyone on the show are solely our opinions, not financial advice. Santiago, Jason, and our guests may hold positions in the companies, funds, or projects discussed.