As Zoom continues to add features for a post-pandemic world at the same time that it finds new competition in a burgeoning metaverse, it’s releasing its first avatars. Yes, with the latest version installed ,you can replace yourself with a 3D virtual animal. It’ll mirror your head movements and facial expressions. (You’ll find the toggle switch to turn on the Avatar feature under Account Management. Then hit Account Settings. Click on the Meetings tab and scroll down a super long list until you get to the Avatar toggle.) 

The new release also adds Zoom/Twitch integration so you can livestream straight from Zoom to the Twitch minions, the same way that you can livestream to Facebook or YouTube today. 

Zoom Chat, another new feature, lets you record and send asynchronous video messages to friends and colleagues, sort of like sending a quick slack video. 

You probably had a normal Saturday night. Mine was spent bumping into walls, overhearing bizarre conversations, walking through other avatars, trying on digital avatar outfits and getting lost. A lot. The real and the meta intermingled as the world of fashion entered Decentraland for its first Metaverse Fashion Week (March 24-27). Nearly 70 luxury and digital brands brought catwalks, presentations, activations, concerts, stores, after-parties and shopping fests—all were experimenting with the mashup of physical and digital fashion and retail. 

Tommy Hilfiger invited consumers to teleport their avatar to the virtual store and shop floating 3D renditions of its spring collection, buying them as NFTs and redeeming them for physical goods later. Forever 21 opened a 450,000 square-foot store in Decentraland where shoppers can buy one of 10 NFT outfits from sales associate avatars. Estée Lauder gave away 10,000 NFTs validating Proof of Attendance. The NFTs made their owners’ avatars glow. Grimes performed a DJ set in a waterfall chamber, with her avatar dressed in a bodysuit from fashion brand Auroboros. Even physical retailers like Selfridges were there with a metaverse department store. Did anyone make money at the show? Not really known yet, but they sure got brand recognition and earned the love of adoring fans who were not shut out of VIP runway tickets (at least for now). A lot of what I witnessed on this maiden metaverse fashion show could best be described as both important and inscrutable. Let the great experiment continue.

Proof of Attendance: best moment was when my avatar got to try on a dress without having to undress. Image Credit: XR Couture

ExpoPlatform did a yeoman’s job dissecting how the metaverse has the potential to change the eventscape. The bottom line? The metaverse is growing more quickly than you might think, and should be of interest to all as a place for future meetings. Luke Bilton, Chief Growth Officer of ExpoPlatform, targets 2024 as the year that VR becomes massively adopted. He discussed the ways that both AR and VR are beginning to appear at shows today. Nick Rosier, Content Director at 2Heads, demonstrated how AI-generated landscapes, digital humans, and persistent identities are already paving the way for metaverse events. As the tools become more affordable, virtual events will seem more lifelike and less uncanny. Plus the data generated, the ability to know your attendee, and the ability to tailor content for the attendees needs are just some of the metaverse benefits. The complete recording is well worth the watch.