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NEWSLETTER 157
 
VIRTUAL EVENTS GROUP
 

Roblox, which now supports VR headsets, may be the closest thing to a working metaverse that we have. Roblox now has 70.2 million daily active users who collectively spent over 16 billion hours on the platform in Q3. It paid out $701 million to developers over the past 12 months.

 
 
 
 
 
 
DECEMBER 14 | 3PM EDT | ZOOM
 
The Changing Face of Work
 
Before the pandemic, we schlepped to the office. During the pandemic, we stayed on the couch. What now? Hybrid arrangements of all sorts. Join us on Dec.14th when Tracy Judge will unveil the results of the study her company did in partnership with Temple University, which looks at the rise of freelance workers. Then Chris Bent will show us how to draw together in Piccles. It’s like Bob Ross meets high-tech.
 
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FEATURED STORY
 
For Now the Metaverse Works Best IRL
 
 

Touring the virtual metaverse is a lonely pursuit. Whether you buy into Meta’s Horizon World, The Sandbox, Decentraland, or Apple’s soon-to-come VisionPro, you are very much alone in search of anything that’s not part of the landscape. 


That may change someday, but for now, our best training wheels for life in the metaverse take place in the real world. Ephemera is an immersive restaurant experience where you dine surrounded by the sea, jungles or even outer space. Astra Lumina, at the Queens Botanical Gardens in NY, lets you explore celestial pathways of light and cosmic visions using projection, lighting and sound. At Sphere in Las Vegas you are immersed in a story from the moment you set foot in the Atrium (aka lobby). In addition to the featured programs like the U2 concert and the Darren Aaronovsky movie, everything is meant to provide an interactive immersive experience. You are greeted by Aura, which is five humanoid interactive guides with each focusing on one fundamental aspect of human ability: connection, creativity, innovation, longevity and intelligence. The enduring success of the traveling Van Gogh and Monet experiences has introduced new audiences to masterpiece painters. Singapore’s Future World walks visitors through a shimmering universe of stars, lets them create digital artwork, and even lets them step into a digital waterfall. In Tokyo, teamLab Planets creates a museum that blends art and tech. Similarly, immersive game parks such as Two Bit Circus and Beat the Bomb provide immersive experiences with a focus on collaborative gaming.

 
 
Knee-high in in virtual goo. In Tokyo, teamLab Planet mixes art and tech for an immersive experience.
Image credit: teamLab Planet
 
 

What do these live installations have in common that most virtual [non-gaming] metaverses lack? 

  • Synchronicity — groups of people experience the same magic at the same time.
  • A destination — in a world of maximum screen time, people enjoy having a good reason to get off the couch to join a compelling real/virtual world.
  • Multisensory memories — walking, touching, feeling, and smelling add a depth of experience compared to the relatively limited world of the virtual metaverse.

Never say never. Metaverses will continue to evolve. But the hunger for physical spaces that immerse us in new ways has the upper hand for the moment.

 
 
Tools of the Week
 
 

Fireflies
What’s with the animal nomenclature? You’ve surely heard of Otter.ai, the smart AI that transcribes notes from your meetings. This week I had a look at Fireflies. It also records notes from your meetings, and lets you do quite a bit more including creating summaries. sending out copies, scheduling follow-ups, and searching your notes. It even does analytics on positive and negative sentiments based on the notes. It's overkill for some, but for meeting mavens it offers the full smorgasbord. 

 
 
Fireflies is an AI-powered meeting assistant on steroids.
Image Credit: Fireflies.ai
 
 

HeyGen 
HeyGen uses your physical likeness to create a virtual avatar. Once you’ve created your avatar (or used one of theirs) you can add text, PowerPoint slides, and videos to create synthetic-human-powered explainers and social media. The interface is not as sensible as a D-ID AI Video Generator or Synthesia, but the results are quite good. There’s a 7-day free trial.


Not to be Sinophobic, but one drawback of HeyGen is its murky ownership. The Information calls out the potential issues (including privacy concerns and geopolitical tensions) of using Chinese-backed AI programs. I posed the question of HeyGen’s ownership to Generative Alpha, another Chinese-owned company that specializes in offering AI-generated financial advice. Its answer is “HeyGen's ownership status is not explicitly stated in the provided sources, so based on the information available, it cannot be confirmed whether HeyGen is a Chinese-owned company.”

 
 
WEEKLY
 
Scuttlebutt
 
 

Event Trends
Sign up to hear about the twists and turns that events are taking. Spurred on by the post-pandemic revolt from isolation, there’s sure to be a focus on wellness, being present and feeling connected. Sign up for the Bizzabo trends webinar, which is on Wednesday Dec. 6th. 


No Surprise: It’s Authentic
In a world where we try to tell fakes from real and truth from lies, it’s no surprise that Merriam-Webster chose “authentic” as the word of the year. And if you’re not hip enough to know why “rizz” showed up on the list, then read the article.


Bargain Hunters Beware
We love our stuff. US shoppers spent a record-breaking $9.8 billion online on Black Friday, up 7.5% year-over-year, says Adobe. However, a survey conducted by the cybersecurity company NordVPN revealed that nearly 34 million Americans have fallen prey to online shopping scams on Black Friday or Cyber Monday (based on its 2023 data). Lesson? Don’t reveal the name of your firstborn to save a few dollars on that online purchase. 

 
 
On Our Agenda
 
UPCOMING EVENTS
 
 
 
6-7
DECEMBER
 
   
Meet Me in the Metaverse
 
Can you hold a successful event in the metaverse? We’re about to find out at the Metaverse Business Conference. Join me and some terrific colleagues representing all walks of metaverse life to see how we’re faring.
 
 
 
 
 
9-12
JANUARY
 
   
CES 2024
 
Sojourning to CES for the annual mecca of all things tech? Stop by and say hello at our fabulous sessions on Retail, Fintech and Lifestyle.
 
 
 
 
 
23
JANUARY
 
   
Silicon Valley Video Summit
 
Are we all in the video business now? You betcha. Find out how video is re-imagining live events as we host the live event production at the Silicon Valley Video Summit.
 
 
 
 
 
14-17
APRIL
 
   
NAB Show 2024
 
Are you putting your money on the creator economy to supply all of the jobs AI and automation will take away? We are. Join us at the NAB Show as we partner with Jim Louderback to build the Creator Lab.
 
 
 
 
 
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Robin Raskin | Founder
917.215.3160 | robin@virtualeventsgroup.org

Gigi Raskin | Sales/Marketing

917.608.7542 | gigi@virtualeventsgroup.org