Sometimes the gods align and you get the smartest people in the room to share their thoughts about the brave new world of web3. Join Valerie Vacante, Deborah Weinswig, Alan Smithson, Samuel Huber, Jonathan Vlassopulos and the Observer's editor, James Ledbetter as we embark on a crazy discussion that looks at how this monetization thing is going to work in web3. After their comments, we’ll head off on a metaverse trip with rooom.com, an enterprise Metaverse solution. To join the fun, register here. It’s virtual! 

This week it’s Rove iQ (formerly smartLink) and Klik (now owned by Bizzabo). Rove iQ is smart wayfinding software that can be used in event spaces to let you navigate more easily. Booth A264? How are you supposed to find it when more than ever booths are laid out in crazy quilt patterns, or they’ve cleverly covered the ugly booth number taped to their floor? Rovei Q guides attendees but also tracks who’s going where and then reports back to event managers.The software operates on indoor and outdoor interactive displays but also on mobile phones and computers. (No download necessary; it’s browser based.) 

Trade show lanyards haven’t changed, well basically since the first trade show, which arguably took place in 3000 BC. Klik, a Monteral-based company acquired by Bizzabo, developed a product that transformed the lowly lanyard into a networking device that can do everything from provide a seamless self=service check-in experience to allow the exchange of business cards at the tap of of tag. It’s a game changer for business-card fumblers.

Case in point: The Code Conference, produced by VOX media, is the Who’s Who of tech soirees, hosted (for the last year) by Kara Swisher. In-person tickets typically cost between $7,000 and $9,500. And they are only available by invitation, with only 20% of the executives who apply to attend getting accepted. 

This year, through a sponsorship with Zoom, virtual live tickets were also offered for $150. They sold out. (Though no one is reporting how many tickets were sold.) Zoom ticket holders could watch in real time and also on-demand after the event, a great way to widen the tent and decrease the elitism. But the big secret? Even if you didn’t fork over the $150 you can see most of the conference on YouTube, just minus the networking. Sshh… don’t say you heard it here.

Everyone watching the metaverse space knows that Roblox, the huge creator-infused metaverse-like world of block-like characters, would like to forget they ever created the product with children in mind. New advertisers like iHeartRadio, State Farm, and Intel, as well as NARS Cosmetics, Gucci, and Vans, are just some of the recent more adult-oriented sponsorships Roblox has landed. At last week’s developer conference, the now self acclaimed teen/tween gaming platform rolled out new features, including an age gate for more PG-13 content, new interactive advertising, and an update on the move towards more realistic avatars and experiences. 

That’s where things get juicy. With a younger audience in mind, WowWee is set to launch My Avastars , which are cute physical dolls (yes, they do look very Robloxy) for $30 each, along with an online fashion game created by a Roblox gaming partner. The physical doll was originally supposed to provide the entree to Roblox to play the game. Then, Roblox and Jazwares (the master toy licensee for Robolox) filed a copyright infringement suit against My Avastars alleging that the dolls looked like Roblox’s IP. WoWee claims they tried to resolve the dispute but wound up leaving Roblox and creating their own online fashion game. The product is set to launch in October. 

We find it sad that Roblox, originally developed as a metaverse for kids, with one of its basic tenets being an all inclusive creator economy, is now litigating with one of its creators. Sad too that Roblox’s orchestrated shift away from serving younger kids may partly explain why Roblox moved to litigate. When you’re trying to age your brand up to an older demographic, the last thing you need is cutesy dolls. My Avastars, by the way, is nominated by the Toy Association for this year’s Doll of the Year. Who’d have thunk that one of the early IP lawsuits in the burgeoning metaverse would be in the kiddie space? 

Roll Over Beethoven
Is AI going to make us all dumb, spectaculary uncreative, or both? I just played with my toy of the week: Beatoven. You upload your movie. Make a few choices and you’ve got a royalty free soundtrack. Free to try. Advanced features like storing your creations will cost you.

Did the Earth Move Under Your Feet?  
September 15th will become known as Merge Day. It’s the day when Ethereum, which is the second largest smart contract blockchain (BitCoin is the largest), changed how it worked. It moved from Proof of Work — a laborious energy-intensive process that allows coin miners to bid on the right to create a block on the chain — to Proof of Stake, a more equitable but less profitable way of building wealth for miners. As best as we can tell, the miners are pissed because of the potential income loss and investors are nervous because the merge may change how Ethereum is classified (digital asset or a security). As a result, the market for high-end graphic processor cards has collapsed, and global electricity usage may decline by 0.2%. Don’t get your pants in a bunch yet, but take a wait and see attitude.