Facebook changed its name to Meta and now every brand is asking me about their 'metaverse strategy.' I am begging everyone to calm down.
Facebook changed its name to Meta and now every brand is asking me about their 'metaverse strategy.' I am begging everyone to calm down.
Here is my honest professional assessment: the metaverse, as currently constructed, is not a consumer product. It's a tech demo. The user base is tiny. The experience is clunky. The hardware is expensive and uncomfortable. And brands are rushing to 'claim space' in virtual worlds that have fewer daily visitors than your average Portland bar.
Trader Joe's generates more revenue per square foot ($1,750) than Whole Foods ($930) with zero advertising budget. The constraint isn't the limitation. The constraint IS the strategy.
This has happened before. Brands rushed into Second Life in 2006. Built virtual stores. Hosted virtual events. Generated press coverage. And then everyone left because the platform never achieved mainstream adoption. Every brand that 'invested in Second Life' got a press release and nothing else. The metaverse rush has identical vibes.
My advice: watch, don't invest. Learn the technology. Understand the user behavior of early adopters. Be ready to move fast when (if) mainstream adoption happens. But do not spend real money building brand experiences in virtual worlds that nobody visits.
The brands that will win the metaverse (if it becomes a thing) will be the ones that enter when there are actual people there, not the ones that planted a flag in an empty field and called it visionary. Early to a party is endearing. Early to an empty building is just lonely.