[FRIAM] Metaverse blather

[Steve Smith]

I have been hearing a spike in the use of the term "Metaverse" in
popular media.   This article is the first I've read that seemed to have
a broad grasp of the phenomena and it's implications.   Many here are
"veterans" of some facet of this experience, so I am curious what your
experiences/thoughts/opinions might be:

https://venturebeat.com/2021/08/15/the-metaverse-will-not-look-the-way-facebook-imagines-it/

This concluding aspiration in the article was refreshing albeit likely
to be lost in the 'noise' of egos struggling for money, attention,
control, power:

    /We want technology in service of humanity. Privacy as a virtue.
    Amplification not emulation. Presence not escapism. And authenticity
    over influence./

I was "there" when "cyberspace" (1982) and "metaverse" were coined (in
the sense that I was reading the fiction they came from (Gibson,
Stephenson, et al) and followed the ensuing discussions in many venues
(including the closest things to an extant cyberspace/metaverse at the
time, being UUNET and various BBSs).  These concepts inspired (but not
necessarily constrained) my own engagement in online/virtual
presence/experiences up to and including my participation with this mail
list.   I could list of dozens of "phases" in the development/emergence
of this technology-mediated-shared-metaphorical-reality as well as many
more 'islands' of same (e.g. the WELL, USENET, AOL, YAHOO, MySpace,
FaceBook, etc.) that were really archipelagos which have merged somewhat
seamlessly into proto-continents, though the GoogleVerse and the
AppleVerse and the FaceBookVerse have had some tectonic-like collisions
along the way.

I prefer to ground MY apprehension of all this in the older, less
technological precursors as referenced in the work of folks like Joseph
Campbell ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Power_of_Myth
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Power_of_Myth> ) and Teilhard de
Chardin ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noosphere
<https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noosphere> ).  

As a fan/practitioner in VR/AR, I am jazzed (and alarmed) by the rate of
development (and adoption) of full-sensorium virtual/augmented/mixed
reality technology.   I use a $300 Oculus2 headset these days which
exceeds the $25K FakeSpace Wide5 of 25 years ago in virtually all
respects.   SGs work with Ambient/Surface computing as exemplified in
his SimTable product is a very early example of what will surely emerge
in the next few years (months?) with all the hype-energy behind it.

The widespread use of video chat meetings (e.g. Skype/Zoom/etc) expanded
by the shut-in of COVID has really familiarized many with the
higher-bandwidth/fidelity/sensorial possibilities of virtual
collaboration.  I don't indulge often or much in vFriAM but it seems to
have worked well for the hardcore attendees for well over a year now.  
I don't expect to see many/any of you/us appear in spatial.io or vrchat
rooms anytime soon, but one never knows...

- Steve

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