Speaker 1: One of my favorite books is Ready Player one, and
Speaker 1: if you're a listener of this podcast, you would remember
Speaker 1: me saying that on the episode before. And if you're
Speaker 1: even an angling curious about the metaverse that everyone seems
Speaker 1: to be talking about, it's a book you should read
Speaker 1: or at least watch the movie. In short, it's set
Speaker 1: in the future where the metaverse is like where most
Speaker 1: people spend the bulk of their time. They tapped into
Speaker 1: the metaverse and their metaverse is one that we're really
Speaker 1: only dreaming about present day. They have not only the
Speaker 1: goggles that we are used to, but they have complete
Speaker 1: rigs that allowed in to to see field, taste and more.
Speaker 1: This past week at afro tech World in our own metaverse,
Speaker 1: we enjoyed our third installment of afro tech World in
Speaker 1: today's episode comes from afro tech World two and it's
Speaker 1: with Mary Spio, CEO and founder as seek vr Metaverse,
Speaker 1: which directly connects music artists, athletes, and other digital content
Speaker 1: creators directly with their fans in virtual worlds. In Ashley Simon,
Speaker 1: gaming entertainment host co owner of Exit, which is the
Speaker 1: world's most diverse, innovative and socially contents pop gaming e
Speaker 1: sports set Ever Assembled and Chris Barber, Director of a R, Content,
Speaker 1: Business Development and Partnerships at Meta Gaming and the Genesis
Speaker 1: of the Metaverse. Hi everyone, and welcome to Afro Text
Speaker 1: Gaming and the Genesis of the Metaverse session. I'm very
Speaker 1: excited to be here today with two industry experts are
Speaker 1: in Ashley Simon and Chris Barber to discuss the metaverse.
Speaker 1: So I'm Mary Spiel. I'm the founder and CEO of
Speaker 1: sek Vr. I'm a deep space scientist. I currently run Seek,
Speaker 1: the company that I founded, and we the Seek metaverse
Speaker 1: enables music artists and creators in general to be able
Speaker 1: to monetize their content in the metaverse through n f
Speaker 1: t s, through live events, and also through unique VR
Speaker 1: and a R experiences. Also on the board of Oculus,
Speaker 1: um VR for Good and on Amazon Sport for launch Pad.
Speaker 1: So super super excited to have this conversation here today.
Speaker 1: Aaron is the co founder of x set, which is
Speaker 1: an e sports team um Aaron is also a game
Speaker 1: in and entertainment host, and Chris, as the director of
Speaker 1: a R Content, Business Development and Partnerships and Meta Risk,
Speaker 1: leads the Meta a R develop a platform working with
Speaker 1: camera Effects, and prior to that, Chris was also head
Speaker 1: of Partnerships at Meta Studios, and way before that, Chris
Speaker 1: also was the lead Digital Global Strategies for Adidas. So
Speaker 1: now I'll let our panelists talk a little bit about themselves.
Speaker 1: So if Aaron, you could share your journey into um
Speaker 1: E Sports and then going to the Medal Verse and
Speaker 1: how you got to where you are today, and then
Speaker 1: the same with Chris. Yeah, absolutely, Well, thank you so
Speaker 1: much for having me and how I got into it.
Speaker 1: I've always been a gamer my entire life. That's been
Speaker 1: something that has always been a passion point for me.
Speaker 1: And eventually, you know, I I started in traditional media
Speaker 1: and traditional sports, worked in the music industry, and then
Speaker 1: made my way over into gaming as as a broadcaster.
Speaker 1: But then it's been it's developed a little more from there. Um,
Speaker 1: so I've been um you know. In addition to the
Speaker 1: prodcasting work that I do in the sports and gaming space,
Speaker 1: I'm also part of the ownership and executive team for
Speaker 1: ex Set and a lot of what we're doing is
Speaker 1: kind of that cross intersectional space between gaming and pop culture.
Speaker 1: And it's really interesting because the metaverse and what you know,
Speaker 1: Web three and all those conversations around that are very
Speaker 1: much intertwined with you know, pop culture and gaming. It's
Speaker 1: it's probably the best intersection within the gaming space. And
Speaker 1: um so I've been diving a little bit more into
Speaker 1: that through the work that I do through EXTA and
Speaker 1: then also personally as well. Excellent and Chris, what about yourself? Yeah,
Speaker 1: well thanks thanks for having me, Mary, and uh nice
Speaker 1: to be here with the aeron. Uh So, my my
Speaker 1: path to Meta was, as you noted, from Adida's prior
Speaker 1: to uh to joining Meta eleven years ago. And you know,
Speaker 1: at Adidas is where I first had the opportunity to
Speaker 1: truly um uh take advantage of on behalf of of
Speaker 1: a brand, the tremendous opportunities that the emerging Internet was
Speaker 1: bringing into the world. Um. You know, I won't date myself,
Speaker 1: but but I'm going back into kind of the pre
Speaker 1: mobile era when I was leading digital marketing for Adidas,
Speaker 1: and that opportunity to really be at the forefront of
Speaker 1: defining how people and brands build relationships through technology was
Speaker 1: really exciting. Um that me to Meta again eleven years ago,
Speaker 1: and um since that time, I've been working at this
Speaker 1: intersection of businesses developers, brands, and and technology as an
Speaker 1: enabler for relationships, and of course he held firmly within
Speaker 1: that is a belief that the relationships that we have
Speaker 1: between ourselves and the people around us are the strongest
Speaker 1: relationships um and enable us to have deeper and broader
Speaker 1: relationships with the companies who bring goods and services into
Speaker 1: our lives. That are important. Awesome, Thank you, Thank you
Speaker 1: both for your joining us today. So there's so much
Speaker 1: talk about the metaverse now, you know, why do you
Speaker 1: think there's all this talk now? Because there's been roadblocks
Speaker 1: and Fortnite and Second Life, and there's been a lot
Speaker 1: in terms of the metaverse, right, I would say meta
Speaker 1: verse one point oh two point oh event, Why do
Speaker 1: you think there's so much talk now? Sure? Sure, I'll
Speaker 1: jump in. Well, we like to think about the metaverse
Speaker 1: as the next evolution of the Internet. Right. We've lived
Speaker 1: in the era of the mobile Internet for for some
Speaker 1: time now, and and the natural kind of sway of
Speaker 1: the kind of of experiences that people people want to
Speaker 1: have are increasingly more immersive. You know, you think about
Speaker 1: text as a medium for communication and what that enables us,
Speaker 1: the kinds of shared experiences we can have through written text,
Speaker 1: and then you know, we emerged into photo being a
Speaker 1: medium for even more immersive ways for us to share
Speaker 1: our lives with one another and end to participate in
Speaker 1: each other's lives. Now we're friendly in the era where
Speaker 1: video is accomplishing much of how we have shared in
Speaker 1: immersive experiences. So we believe that the next evolution of
Speaker 1: that is an Internet that is immersive, so instead of
Speaker 1: looking at the Internet, you're actually within the Internet, and
Speaker 1: that you're able to therefore have even stronger personal relationships
Speaker 1: and connections with folks. So the timing is is kind
Speaker 1: of right for the technology to evolve to a point
Speaker 1: where these kinds of experiences are possible. We're not quite
Speaker 1: there for for that in the fullness of that vision,
Speaker 1: but we're very close and and gaming, of course is
Speaker 1: one of the use cases, if you will, that in
Speaker 1: which we're seeing some of the earliest um light of
Speaker 1: these kind of experiences. Mhm, absolutely, yeah. I think that,
Speaker 1: Like I mean, anytime we talk about metaverse, I always
Speaker 1: say and tell people gaming was already ahead of the
Speaker 1: curve when it came to that. It was the industry
Speaker 1: that was really trying to expand the consumers experiences when
Speaker 1: it came to utilizing the games themselves. I mean even now,
Speaker 1: you know, not only are we looking at a R
Speaker 1: and VR, but also you know, a lot more is
Speaker 1: being implemented when it comes to three D audio and
Speaker 1: having that audio experience be more dynamic than it was previously.
Speaker 1: And so you know, that interconnectivity, that immersion is something
Speaker 1: that is is being utilized in so many different shapes
Speaker 1: and forms in gaming um that we're seeing others outside
Speaker 1: of it taking it into a whole another level. I think,
Speaker 1: you know, even for the example of seeing Travis Scott
Speaker 1: having his whole concert in Fortnite and then having that
Speaker 1: the whole experience that people can interact with, and then
Speaker 1: taking that same content and then implementing into YouTube and
Speaker 1: putting that into the traditional web two which Chrissy were
Speaker 1: mentioning in terms of video um and so it's it's
Speaker 1: interesting that we're not quite there, like Christmas saying, but
Speaker 1: the fact that gaming is becoming that vehicle for so
Speaker 1: many different industries who want to get to that because
Speaker 1: we already have a lot of the tools and mechanics.
Speaker 1: I mean, also the fact that there are even like
Speaker 1: unreal engine you know that is a is a program
Speaker 1: in software that so many different UH industries use. The
Speaker 1: film industry even uses it for c g I and
Speaker 1: other components. So it's it's really interesting how we're in
Speaker 1: this kind of like strange metaverse space where it's like
Speaker 1: we don't really quite have all the technology or even
Speaker 1: the affordability in some shape and form for that tech
Speaker 1: for average consumers yet, but it's starting to be implemented
Speaker 1: in bits and pieces, and I honestly say gaming is
Speaker 1: going to be at the forefront when it comes to it. Yeah, absolutely,
Speaker 1: And I feel you know the same way as well, uh,
Speaker 1: in the sense that it's this evolution, right, so we
Speaker 1: saw Web one point oh with texts and photos, and
Speaker 1: Web two point oh with video social media, and then
Speaker 1: now we're evolving this movement to web three point oh
Speaker 1: with people wanting to be in the side of this
Speaker 1: three D metaverse and this you know, living the experience
Speaker 1: versus watching the experience. So it's very exciting. How do
Speaker 1: you each define the metaverse? UM? I mean I would
Speaker 1: just define as an immersive experience. I think that like
Speaker 1: when we discuss the metaverse and just seeing some of
Speaker 1: the other uh, just all these different examples of it.
Speaker 1: I think it's just to actually immerse yourself into this
Speaker 1: digital and virtual experience UM and get it to the
Speaker 1: point where literally when you're immersed in it, all of
Speaker 1: your senses are also activated in unison there, so it
Speaker 1: making it seem like you actually are there, even though
Speaker 1: you're you're not. I think that's kind of where everyone
Speaker 1: wants to go. I always use this movie in this
Speaker 1: book as a great example as Ready Player one. Everyone
Speaker 1: wants that experience to be that immersive metaverse uh situation
Speaker 1: that people can like literally put on headset or or
Speaker 1: get into some kind of you know, equipment and be there.
Speaker 1: But now it's like, okay, how can we interact with
Speaker 1: just the the whether it is VR headsets or whether
Speaker 1: it is just the screen that we have, UM, but
Speaker 1: tapping into all of our senses as much as possible
Speaker 1: so that people can actually feel in it versus just
Speaker 1: outside looking in. I think it's probably the best way
Speaker 1: that I could describe the metaverse. You know. In many ways,
Speaker 1: it's it's the the evolution of the Internet, right, and
Speaker 1: and it's an Internet that enables us to be within.
Speaker 1: But I would say that the defining kind of aspect
Speaker 1: of that is this sense of presence being present with
Speaker 1: people regardless of the distance you know between you and
Speaker 1: and not only people, things as well, you know, I'd
Speaker 1: like to think about it kind of philosophically as as
Speaker 1: collapsing space and time. You know, UM an example for
Speaker 1: a r you know, the ability to have an artifact
Speaker 1: and ancient artifact that you would never be able to
Speaker 1: touch in the real world present in your space, you know,
Speaker 1: is this collapsing of time, if you will. And for
Speaker 1: us to be on a holographic video call together or
Speaker 1: playing a game in in a completely immersive environment, is
Speaker 1: this collapsing of distance between us. So this, this notion
Speaker 1: of presence is really I believe foundational to what the
Speaker 1: metaverse will will be. And then all kinds of experiences
Speaker 1: can be built on top of that, gaming, shopping, learning, um,
Speaker 1: you know, all everything, everything, everything for sure, absolutely, Aaron,
Speaker 1: I love what you mentioned about this aspect of being
Speaker 1: in it versus outside watching in you know, for me,
Speaker 1: for example, my UM experience, right, my first experience with Oculus.
Speaker 1: I talked about the fact that as a child I
Speaker 1: watched this program on space exploration, which kind of changed
Speaker 1: my view of what was possible in the world, and
Speaker 1: I always felt like I wanted to know what it
Speaker 1: would be like to walk on the moon. But this
Speaker 1: was watching it on TV versus when I put on
Speaker 1: the Oculus and I was actually on the moon, and
Speaker 1: you know, I had this moment of Wow, now I
Speaker 1: know exactly what it feels like, says being outside watching
Speaker 1: an experience. And that's you know, some of the exciting
Speaker 1: things about the metaverse. So Chris, for you in a
Speaker 1: R and then also with social media, where do you
Speaker 1: see the intersection um of the metaverse with a R
Speaker 1: and then also with social media. So a R is
Speaker 1: one of the foundational technologies that that will enable the metaverse.
Speaker 1: You know, we think a lot about how people can
Speaker 1: come into the metaverse right now, you know, you come
Speaker 1: into the Internet largely on a device that that has
Speaker 1: a two dimensional interface, and so you know, what are
Speaker 1: the modes with with which people are going to come
Speaker 1: into the metaverse, And two of them are undoubtedly going
Speaker 1: to be a R and VR. And so from an
Speaker 1: a R standpoint, I think a lot about the kinds
Speaker 1: of experiences that are technology can unlock that help create
Speaker 1: that of presence that I spoke about. So one example
Speaker 1: again is bringing bringing objects into your physical space three
Speaker 1: D objects that aren't physically in your space, but being
Speaker 1: able to bring them into your space um and have
Speaker 1: an immersive or semi immersive experience with them. I mean,
Speaker 1: we talked a lot about gaming, and Aaron can I
Speaker 1: think attest to this. It's the fact that gaming happens
Speaker 1: within a social context between people. That's what kind of
Speaker 1: brings the power to to the experience. So we think,
Speaker 1: you know, there's gonna be a limitless number of social
Speaker 1: experiences that can be created. The last thing I'll say
Speaker 1: on on just the role of social media, I believe
Speaker 1: that that there's going to be an incredibly strong creator
Speaker 1: community that emerges um to to generate all of the
Speaker 1: content in in the Mata verse, and a creator economy
Speaker 1: supporting it, and a lot of the foundations of that,
Speaker 1: some of the decentralization that you noted, Marry, a lot
Speaker 1: of the you know, the ways that create, there's a
Speaker 1: thinking about their art and their creativity and how ownership
Speaker 1: looks for them. All of these things into the future
Speaker 1: are kind of the norms for that are being experimented
Speaker 1: with today in social media. UM So that's another area
Speaker 1: where the social media environment kind of intersects with the future. Absolutely, yeah,
Speaker 1: and I want to get back to decentralization and how
Speaker 1: digital currencies are going to enable you know, the metaverse.
Speaker 1: But before that, Aaron, what type of technologies do you
Speaker 1: think we're going to need in order for gaming to
Speaker 1: become more immersive? Um. One thing that we are actually
Speaker 1: starting to see, which is a little bit of a
Speaker 1: step in the direction, is you know, whether it's with
Speaker 1: Unity UM or utilizing the technology platforms as like Unreal
Speaker 1: Engine five UM. We're starting to see even the graphical
Speaker 1: elements of video games are enhancing UM and that graphical
Speaker 1: element actually helps more with that transition into three D
Speaker 1: from two D. Uh. And but I have to say
Speaker 1: we made such a big progress. I mean, gaming is
Speaker 1: actually a very young industry. It has not been around
Speaker 1: super super long, so to go from eight bit over
Speaker 1: into where we are now has been a bigger leap.
Speaker 1: I think that the more that we uh specifically in game,
Speaker 1: and the more that we utilize those technologies of Unity
Speaker 1: and Unreal Engine UM and add more of those graphical
Speaker 1: elements that increases the three D ability, it's gonna make
Speaker 1: it better. I mean now we're starting to see games
Speaker 1: where water actually moves and functions like water, or even
Speaker 1: the texture of people's hair and the way that sunlight
Speaker 1: in the game hits the hair and how it changes.
Speaker 1: That is actually the first necessary step before we even
Speaker 1: get to that immersive three D experience, because you wanna,
Speaker 1: like like we're talking about, you want to feel like
Speaker 1: things are real in in whatever area space that you're in.
Speaker 1: So that element of enhancing currently the model that we
Speaker 1: have from a graphical standpoint is going to be the
Speaker 1: first technology step that we need to make before we
Speaker 1: can even focus on, Okay, how do we put them
Speaker 1: into this game or how do we put it into
Speaker 1: this space? Because um, you know, those elements of reality, um,
Speaker 1: and also elements of just even fluidity of functionality and
Speaker 1: motion are are part of the reason why right now
Speaker 1: some people who are consumers and gamers aren't really into
Speaker 1: VR right now is because it's not as fluid and
Speaker 1: it's not as quite immersive as we want it yet.
Speaker 1: So those are the necessary steps that I feel like
Speaker 1: from a technological standpoint, that we'll have to get to
Speaker 1: before we even consider putting people in or maybe in unison.
Speaker 1: But you still need to have those you know, c
Speaker 1: g I and graphical elements be as realistic as possible
Speaker 1: before you can even really think about, okay, how do
Speaker 1: we get them into it? Yeah, and I think a
Speaker 1: lot has improved too, And maybe people's view of where
Speaker 1: VR technology, for example, was like when we created Seek
Speaker 1: on the d K one, you know, the way it
Speaker 1: looked looking at it now versus is you know an
Speaker 1: experience that I was in on Oculus just this weekend.
Speaker 1: It's it's a massive different, It's a massive leap. It
Speaker 1: looks so incredibly awesome. Um. I did a workshop um
Speaker 1: also on Oculus where you know we were it was
Speaker 1: so fluid, you know. So I think that a lot
Speaker 1: of people probably still haven't come back from their experiences
Speaker 1: from where things were, but there's definitely been leaps, and
Speaker 1: we hope to see you know, even more leaps happen
Speaker 1: for the graphics, as you said, especially when it comes
Speaker 1: to gaming, which is very high intensity versus maybe if
Speaker 1: you're in an experience like you seek watching a concert,
Speaker 1: which is more passive experience. So, you know, we hope
Speaker 1: to continue to see a lot more of those advancements. So, um, Chris,
Speaker 1: in terms of a R how do you see you know,
Speaker 1: the mechanics of that. So you know, it's likely that
Speaker 1: there will be uh spectrum of devices or that that
Speaker 1: people utilize to to interact with the metaverse. Surely, VR
Speaker 1: headsets and headsets generally that enable a completely immersive experience
Speaker 1: where you're you know, fully transported into into another environment
Speaker 1: will play a significant role. And and there'll be a
Speaker 1: lot of experiences that will will want to have in
Speaker 1: that way, concerts, performances, games, you know, uh, many many experiences.
Speaker 1: Then there will also be a place for other types
Speaker 1: of hardware. UM. I work on a R so I
Speaker 1: think a lot about a R glasses and the role
Speaker 1: that AUR glasses will play in enabling the metaverse and
Speaker 1: the ability to have experiences where again you you're you're
Speaker 1: transporting people and things across across space and time and
Speaker 1: visually UM enabling people to conjure content in the space
Speaker 1: that they are UM is going to bring really really
Speaker 1: powerful opportunities for for the metaverse as well. And then
Speaker 1: you know, mobile is not going anywhere. You know, somebody
Speaker 1: shared a quote with me recently that that was really powerful,
Speaker 1: which was, as a species, we don't move past technology,
Speaker 1: we build on top of it, right, Like, think about
Speaker 1: every technology that we have, it there was a precursor
Speaker 1: that we built on top of. So I don't imagine
Speaker 1: that mobile devices are are going anywhere, you know, I
Speaker 1: think they'll just have a role. That's that's kind of
Speaker 1: committed it with with this portfolio of devices that that
Speaker 1: we have. And then as Aaron noted, you know, we
Speaker 1: don't even touched on audio and all these kinds of
Speaker 1: other ways that we'll be able to interact with with
Speaker 1: the world around us under this broad umbrella the metaverse.
Speaker 1: M absolutely so going back to decentralization, Um, Aaron, we
Speaker 1: see a lot of Game five, we see I think
Speaker 1: that another a hallmark of the metaverse is going to
Speaker 1: be decentralization. How do you see all of this unfolding
Speaker 1: first with you know, from your purview, Chris, and then
Speaker 1: also from your viewpoint erin So, we're going to continue
Speaker 1: to invest in building products that support an infrastructure, if
Speaker 1: you will, foundational infrastructure for the metaverse. So our CEO
Speaker 1: announced last week that we are bringing n f T
Speaker 1: s to Instagram in the future. I think that's an
Speaker 1: example of the kind of things that will do to
Speaker 1: support creators where they are and and again building this
Speaker 1: infrastructure on which the metaverse can welsome okay, awesome erin
Speaker 1: where do you see the role of n f T
Speaker 1: s and also digital currencies in the work that you're
Speaker 1: doing and in gaming industry as a whole. Well, so,
Speaker 1: cryptocrcy is already starting to integrate itself into gaming already. UM,
Speaker 1: there are some games that have more of a reward
Speaker 1: system that implements cryptocurrency, and there's also been some creators
Speaker 1: that are starting to evolve from that. I think one
Speaker 1: of the things that's happening right now in gaming is
Speaker 1: actually there's a lot of game consumers that do not
Speaker 1: embrace n f T s right now, UM a little
Speaker 1: bit of cryptocurrency, but mostly they're anti n f T s.
Speaker 1: I think part of the problem is, you know, for
Speaker 1: my understanding from from those I know who developed games,
Speaker 1: the understanding of games, like how people understand game development
Speaker 1: is not really um connecting to those who are integrating
Speaker 1: themselves into the n of T space. I think that
Speaker 1: in terms of cryptocurrency, that space is where I feel
Speaker 1: like it's being more implemented and probably will uh move
Speaker 1: a lot more quickly versus n f T s. UM
Speaker 1: and then I think, uh, another thing too is part
Speaker 1: of it is how do we battle some of the
Speaker 1: systemic issues that are playing creators to begin with. I
Speaker 1: think that no matter what we do, whether we have
Speaker 1: a decentralized format, whether we have n f T, S
Speaker 1: B R, A R, if we don't fix the stomach
Speaker 1: issues that are happening now in Web two, it's gonna
Speaker 1: be the same issue later on in Web three. And
Speaker 1: part of that is education and information UM and also
Speaker 1: resources as well. So I think that basically, you know
Speaker 1: that the setup right now for gaming is that it's
Speaker 1: free to play, but you have to spend a lot
Speaker 1: of money on you know, uh, costumes, specific DLCs, which
Speaker 1: is downloadable content and so forth. I think that integrating
Speaker 1: cryptocurrency into that's gonna definitely be beneficial UM and also
Speaker 1: an opportunity for like, Okay, if you play a game,
Speaker 1: you can earn UM different currencies, right. But I think
Speaker 1: that personally, for me, I think that n f T
Speaker 1: you currently where it is, I understand the the concept
Speaker 1: behind it and the UM ownership and be able to
Speaker 1: have more of an authentication to your art or your
Speaker 1: projects or your pieces UM in the digital space However,
Speaker 1: I think right now there's disconnecting people understanding how game
Speaker 1: development actually works and figure out how that can be implemented.
Speaker 1: So it's it's it's a very unique space that's happening
Speaker 1: right now, um, and it's changing over time, and I'm
Speaker 1: really excited for it because you know, gaming is pretty
Speaker 1: much digital and kind of like Chris when you were
Speaker 1: mentioning in terms of mobile, mobile is actually one of
Speaker 1: the biggest areas for gaming and actually one of the
Speaker 1: most underrated right now, what we're seeing in the gaming
Speaker 1: space is essentially, um, it's not exclusivity anymore, it is accessibility.
Speaker 1: So people like all these companies, whether it's Microsoft or
Speaker 1: any of them, they want so that you play and
Speaker 1: you have access to their games and titles, and you
Speaker 1: play anywhere on any platform at any time. So basically
Speaker 1: be able to go from my computer, take a game
Speaker 1: for my computer, have my phone play on my phone
Speaker 1: while I'm going somewhere, taking a subway. Um. Also you know,
Speaker 1: having it be Okay I'm at a friend's house, Oh
Speaker 1: I can Oh you want to play a game with
Speaker 1: each other? Oh, we can take the game that I
Speaker 1: already started, go to my friends plays sign in So
Speaker 1: that's kind of like what we're seeing in terms of
Speaker 1: overall gaming. And I think that everything we're talking about
Speaker 1: it's going to be implemented in some shape or form.
Speaker 1: I just think that right now there's such a disconnect
Speaker 1: between how gaming is and just some of the tools
Speaker 1: and resources that we have in the web three space.
Speaker 1: I think people need to talk more with each other
Speaker 1: and work with each other more. I feel like in
Speaker 1: order for it to be integrated a lot more. Um.
Speaker 1: But it's it's going to happen because gaming is helping
Speaker 1: to drive the culture in so many different shapes and forms. Yeah. Absolutely.
Speaker 1: Could you touch a little bit on the systemic issues
Speaker 1: that um you're referring to. Yeah, absolutely. I mean we
Speaker 1: see it right now in terms of social media, and
Speaker 1: I can speak more to the for example, black creators,
Speaker 1: right there's a lot of different black creators who are
Speaker 1: literally driving the culture. I always say black creators are
Speaker 1: the backbone of the creator economy. A lot of the
Speaker 1: trends that are created are started by black creators. There's
Speaker 1: actually studies that show that TikTok creators uh and black
Speaker 1: content creators are are paid less than their counterparts. Um. Also,
Speaker 1: you know, I think even when it comes to streaming
Speaker 1: for for gaming on Twitch and YouTube, there are some
Speaker 1: amazing black creators, but they're still battling with the issues
Speaker 1: of racism or even sexism on the digital platform. So
Speaker 1: a lot of the same societal issues that we see
Speaker 1: in real life are still implemented in the digital space. Uh.
Speaker 1: And then you know, I think another thing too is
Speaker 1: going back to resources and information. So there's also that
Speaker 1: socio economic um part of it too, because you know,
Speaker 1: even though we do have the Internet, we have access
Speaker 1: to all information. If you don't know someone in this space,
Speaker 1: if you don't really have anyone around you that can
Speaker 1: help teach you it, you're not gonna know where to
Speaker 1: go at all. I mean, even now, there is certain
Speaker 1: information like okay, developing ll c s and basics of
Speaker 1: business even cond of creators don't understand, don't know, or
Speaker 1: don't have access to because some of these creators are
Speaker 1: very young. Like in the gaming space, there could be
Speaker 1: a creator who has millions of followers and they're only
Speaker 1: eight teen years old, So it's like, how can we
Speaker 1: expect them to understand what they need to do right? Um?
Speaker 1: And so some of these problems that we're seeing right now,
Speaker 1: and when it comes to the overall creator economy, it's
Speaker 1: still going to be the same issues that we're gonna
Speaker 1: see later on UM. So it's like, how can we
Speaker 1: best prepare all these different creators and prepare them to
Speaker 1: be able to increase different revenue sources, whether it is
Speaker 1: through UM the traditional currency standards of of dollars or
Speaker 1: whatever they're there, you know, currency is versus cryptocurrency, and
Speaker 1: how do they authenticate their art digitally so that people
Speaker 1: just don't steal it and all these different things. I
Speaker 1: think that as we grow this environment, you know, education
Speaker 1: and access are just going to be just as important
Speaker 1: as the technological advances that we're having. Absolutely, you touch
Speaker 1: on a very good point, right and I'm like sitting
Speaker 1: here super excited because that's actually the crux of what
Speaker 1: we do. Let's seek. Our mission is creating parody for
Speaker 1: all creators, no matter where they're located in the world.
Speaker 1: And you see a disproportionate amount of UM urban creators
Speaker 1: on our platform and then also international creators. And it's
Speaker 1: because even when it comes to music, a lot of
Speaker 1: them have expressed to us that they get paid less
Speaker 1: for their streams because it's considered like if it's urban,
Speaker 1: it's usually considered not being brand friendly. But a different
Speaker 1: artists can have the same lyrics and the same content
Speaker 1: if and even the same genre, but then because they
Speaker 1: look different, they will earn more and they're considered more
Speaker 1: brand friendly. UM And so for crypto, for example, being
Speaker 1: able to pay someone let's say one seek for no
Speaker 1: matter what their genre is, then the smart contracts can
Speaker 1: also automatically make that payment, so we don't see, you know,
Speaker 1: if that person is black, brown, green, it doesn't really matter.
Speaker 1: If the UH conditions met, then they're paid for their
Speaker 1: work and you know, and so that's also what decentralization
Speaker 1: can do, uh in terms of taking out some of
Speaker 1: these systematic biases. You know. So that's definitely touching on
Speaker 1: a very very key point, Chris. So what are you
Speaker 1: most excited about, uh in terms of the metaverse and
Speaker 1: your work that you're doing with meta and web three point?
Speaker 1: Oh yeah, Well, I'm incredibly excited about, um the future
Speaker 1: in which I can be close to the people who
Speaker 1: are important to me, no matter where they are. Um
Speaker 1: And And it sounds, you know, frankly, kind of like
Speaker 1: a simple principle because it's it's what we all desire, right,
Speaker 1: but technology is just now catching up to enable that
Speaker 1: in ways that today frankly are going to feel pretty
Speaker 1: magical in in like science fiction. But they're coming and
Speaker 1: and I'm excited about that. UM. You know, I talked
Speaker 1: about this idea of holographic communication and holograms and just
Speaker 1: that sense of real presence with another human being in
Speaker 1: in my space or you know, similarly through avatars in
Speaker 1: a completely virtual environment. That that feeling of being together,
Speaker 1: I think is is just something that UM is very powerful.
Speaker 1: I don't know if if you all have have played
Speaker 1: with the Horizon World on the Quest, but it's an
Speaker 1: environment where you can share time with with people within VR,
Speaker 1: and it's unquestionably the most powerful expression of presence I've
Speaker 1: I've had with technology, and I'm looking forward to more
Speaker 1: of that. And and then, as I described earlier, this
Speaker 1: Creator ecosystem I'm very passionate about. I love the conversation
Speaker 1: around equity, parity, transparency, safety, all of those things. You know,
Speaker 1: as Aaron noted, it's fundamental that they're baked in, uh,
Speaker 1: you know, from the ground up. My hat goes off
Speaker 1: to you, Marry and the work that you all are doing,
Speaker 1: is see, because it's sounds incredibly important towards ensuring that
Speaker 1: the Internet of the future is more equitable, inclusive, etcetera, etcetera.
Speaker 1: So those are a couple of things I'm really excited about. Awesome,
Speaker 1: Thank you, Thank you, Chris. What about you, Aaron, I'm
Speaker 1: just I'm really excited to see how the metaverse and decentralization,
Speaker 1: like how it's going to intertwine all the various industries
Speaker 1: and entertainment. I think right now we're we're starting to
Speaker 1: see not only the transformation of the gaming industry. You know,
Speaker 1: it's always been mainstream, but it's being embraced on a
Speaker 1: whole different level here in the United States than ever before.
Speaker 1: And then now we're starting to see it's not only
Speaker 1: just like gaming by itself or music industry by itself,
Speaker 1: or TV. They all are intermixing together. And so it
Speaker 1: actually because of that's going to create a lot more
Speaker 1: opportunities for all the different sectors and entertainment, but also
Speaker 1: all the creators in the space. Says well, and I
Speaker 1: know that you know these the two components, uh, you know,
Speaker 1: utilizing metaverse and you know, cryptocurrencies and decentralization, like that's
Speaker 1: gonna be a big play for how creatives will thrive
Speaker 1: and how they will develop, you know, the next transformational
Speaker 1: games or TV programs or things like that. So I'm
Speaker 1: really excited to see how things will be reshaping and
Speaker 1: restructuring within the next ten years. Awesome. So what's on
Speaker 1: the horizon for you, Aaron, oh Man, Uh, that's a
Speaker 1: good question. A lot, I I do. You know, I've
Speaker 1: been doing a lot of broadcasting and hosting work. Uh,
Speaker 1: there are some shows that are in the works that
Speaker 1: unfortunately I'm ending out the lawsoom, but I do have that.
Speaker 1: And then I'm been working in a lot with excet
Speaker 1: to UM utilize our organization and our resources and information
Speaker 1: to to assist with showcasing, highlighting so many friend creators
Speaker 1: in the gaming esports space, and also very much supporting
Speaker 1: unders our communities like you know, the line community, black community,
Speaker 1: women and l g bt Q. Plus We're very big
Speaker 1: on giving back and UM creating a more welcoming environment
Speaker 1: in gaming because I know the digital space sometimes it's
Speaker 1: not always welcoming because people can be anonymous. So we
Speaker 1: try to do our best to change the industry in
Speaker 1: what we can, and we're also keeping tabs on a
Speaker 1: lot of the different technology changes in advancements and gaming
Speaker 1: E sports and figure out way to integrate that with
Speaker 1: our work and our talents. So those are some of
Speaker 1: the things that we have coming up UM, and I'm
Speaker 1: really excited for people to see even more as Aaron
Speaker 1: the business woman, I'll be expanding beyond just what I
Speaker 1: what I do in the broadcasting and as an ORDO owner. Awesome, awesome, Chris,
Speaker 1: what's on the horizon and what can we expect five
Speaker 1: years from now? Well, I'm gonna predict five years from now,
Speaker 1: but what I'll say is, uh that they're clear, there's
Speaker 1: a clear trajectory on is UM. Many of the things
Speaker 1: we spoke about earlier UM the advancement of technologies that
Speaker 1: that are going to enable richer, more immersive experiences um
Speaker 1: A our glasses again very close to my my day today.
Speaker 1: So that's that's one area UM and and smart glasses
Speaker 1: and wearable devices generally speaking that will enable us to
Speaker 1: have new kinds of relationships with the world around us.
Speaker 1: I think is where UM We're just going to continue
Speaker 1: to see tremendous strides being made in in the short
Speaker 1: term and and I believe that you know, in in
Speaker 1: the not too distant future, UM, that that will have
Speaker 1: the opportunity to do ut light all these devices to
Speaker 1: to have rich experiences that that we probably could couldn't
Speaker 1: even imagine today. UM, which is why I'm dodging your
Speaker 1: five years. Okay, awesome, awesome, Thank you all so much.
Speaker 1: I think that's all the time that we have. It's
Speaker 1: been an in readible panel, and you know, I urge
Speaker 1: everyone out there to buy a VR headset, try it out.
Speaker 1: You know, look at all the sports, check out Errand's company,
Speaker 1: check out Meta Oculus, check out what you're doing in
Speaker 1: a r you know, for myself, I know that I
Speaker 1: went to a diversity event at UH then Facebook right
Speaker 1: at Meta and I got a chance to experience the
Speaker 1: oculus and the whole new you know, career was born
Speaker 1: for me in VR. That was the birth of SEEK.
Speaker 1: So you just have to try it out. You know,
Speaker 1: we're at a time where the rules are being written,
Speaker 1: it hasn't been written yet and you can be a
Speaker 1: part of it. So just step out there into the
Speaker 1: metaverse and see what develops. Thank you all so much
Speaker 1: for being part of this panel. Black Tech, Green Money
Speaker 1: is the production of blackt the Afro Tech Black Effect
Speaker 1: podcast network and iHeart Media. Is produced by Morgan Davon
Speaker 1: and me Will Lucas, with additional production support by Love
Speaker 1: Beat Him and Russell Lewis. Especially Thinking to Michael Davis,
Speaker 1: Jermaine Hall, and Vanessa Serrano. Learn more about my guests
Speaker 1: and other technics, weppords and innovatives to afro tech dot com.
Speaker 1: Enjoy your black Tech green money. Leave us a five
Speaker 1: star rating on iTunes. Go get your money, Peace and love,