The Future is a Dead Mall - Decentraland and the Metaverse

Folding Ideas・2 minutes read

AMC proposed to establish a theater in Decentraland, enabling users to buy tickets with Mana and enjoy movies, pizza, and socializing within the game. Despite its focus on ownership and development, Decentraland faces criticism for lacking essential features like VR and failing to meet user expectations.

Insights

  • Decentraland, a virtual world, funded through token sales, emphasizes scarcity with limited LAND tokens, sparking discussions on virtual land value.
  • Despite the hype around the Metaverse concept, practical applications like Decentraland face criticism for lacking essential features like VR and failing to deliver interactive experiences as expected.
  • Governance in Decentraland's DAO relies on weighted voting based on token ownership, allowing wealthy voters to significantly influence decisions, raising concerns about fairness and accountability.

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Recent questions

  • What is Decentraland?

    Decentraland is a virtual reality world created by Argentine developers, offering a decentralized metaverse owned by users.

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Summary

00:00

AMC Theater in Decentraland: Virtual Reality Integration

  • Proposal to have AMC establish a theater in Decentraland, combining online experiences with physical theater visits.
  • Tickets purchasable with Mana, enabling users to order pizza, watch movies, and socialize with friends within the game.
  • Decentraland, a virtual reality world created by Argentine developers, offers a decentralized metaverse owned by users.
  • Decentraland's launch involved an initial coin offering in 2017, raising $24 million through MANA token sales and $28 million through LAND token auctions.
  • The concept of scarcity is central to Decentraland, with limited LAND tokens sparking discussions on virtual land value.
  • Initial buyers of Decentraland land focused on cryptocurrency, financial services, and renting out land.
  • Decentraland's vision emphasizes ownership, development, trading, and genuine connections in a fully immersive platform powered by blockchain.
  • Various definitions of the metaverse exist, with differing visions ranging from a reified digital space to an augmented reality overlay on the physical world.
  • The metaverse concept is often used as a rhetorical device to discuss the future of technology, rooted in present political and social values.
  • Fictional depictions of technology, like Neal Stephenson's Metaverse in Snow Crash, blend speculation with narrative necessity, influencing real-world technological developments.

14:31

"Metaverse: Hype vs Reality in VR"

  • The Metaverse requires 3D dimensions to distinguish it from the current internet, as noted by Matthew Ball in his book.
  • Virtual Reality (VR) faces limitations due to the human body's discomfort with virtual movement.
  • In Stephenson's metaverse, characters can navigate as desired, contrasting with the restrictions of VR.
  • Users may find traversing distances in the metaverse inconvenient, preferring teleportation.
  • VR experiences often involve static movements due to physical constraints, leading to teleportation within virtual spaces.
  • The gap between pundits' metaverse discussions and the reality of VR applications is stark.
  • Many metaverse discussions lack tangible products, with Lindt USA's 3D virtual store being an example.
  • Lindt's virtual store description contrasts with its actual subpar quality, highlighting the gap between hype and reality.
  • Decentraland's attempt to be the Metaverse faces criticism for lacking essential features like VR.
  • Decentraland's shortcomings in delivering interactive experiences reveal a disconnect between expectations and reality.

28:12

Virtual world complexities and legal mishaps discussed.

  • Tripped and dropped grandmother's ashes due to roommate's rake, leading to a criminal defense lawyer referral.
  • Metaverse's practicality questioned, comparing website and Facebook utility to the inefficiency of virtual worlds.
  • Text's importance in business communication highlighted, contrasting with the metaverse's limitations.
  • Virtual world construction and maintenance complexity emphasized, with lower information density.
  • Eashoo Law's reliance on conventional text-and-image websites for efficiency underscored.
  • Decentraland's virtual workspace functionality ridiculed, questioning its practicality.
  • NFT World City's Comedy Club recommended for relaxation, funded by Decentraland DAO.
  • WonderMine meteor mining game's success in Decentraland noted, attracting players solely for its gameplay.
  • Dragon Rush and Knights of Antrom games in Decentraland critiqued for simplicity and lack of originality.
  • MetaGamiMall's $220,000 grant for a gamified mall project detailed, highlighting its flaws and bot infestation.

44:08

Decentraland Report: Token Value, Populism, Misinformation, Compensation

  • The Decentraland Report focuses on token resale value to encourage participation.
  • The editorial agenda of the Decentraland Report is available for purchase, promoting a radical populism disguised as neutrality.
  • Kevin's rhetoric aligns with conspiratorial thinking, leading to trust in misinformation found on flagged Facebook pages.
  • The Decentraland Report advocates for fact-based reporting over biased-based reporting.
  • Reporters for the Decentraland Report are paid in REPORT tokens and a portion of the organization's monthly revenue.
  • The reporters receive minimal compensation, averaging around $10 a month, and must provide their own equipment.
  • The Decentraland Report's build, the Metaflower, showcases web3's ability to dissipate money with little utility.
  • Kevin received grants from the Decentraland DAO for various purposes, including building a reward system.
  • Brands like Hershey, Atari, and JP Morgan are entering the metaverse with unique experiences, often temporary and dispersed globally.
  • The metaverse experiences offered by brands lack meaningful content and tend to be promotional campaigns rather than permanent fixtures.

58:19

Decentraland: Brand Activations and User Scrutiny

  • The Meataversity of Steak-umm lasted about two months before being replaced by an office for MoZeus Worldwide.
  • Digital ad agencies are now driving the interest in Decentraland activations, with brands following suit.
  • The Nissan experience allows users to book a test drive in Italy by opening their existing website.
  • The Atari store in Decentraland mirrors Atari's actual store.
  • The Pedigree Fosterverse enables users to create digital duplicates of real dogs from partnered shelters.
  • Decentraland's user base has faced scrutiny, with varying reports on daily active users.
  • Decentraland's value is questioned, with comparisons to other MMOs like Lord of the Rings Online.
  • Decentraland's speculative nature overshadows its current product, focusing on future potential.
  • Users in Decentraland prioritize brand activations to enhance legitimacy, even defending lackluster events.
  • Major events in Decentraland, like the Metaverse Music Festival and Fashion Week, have faced criticism for their execution.

01:11:45

Metaverse Fashion Week: Virtual Reality Disappointments

  • Tech startups are creating 'screen wear' that allows users to wear digital clothing through AR filters.
  • Metaverse Fashion Week aimed to showcase the future of fashion in virtual reality.
  • The event in Decentraland's 'Luxury Fashion District' fell short of expectations, lacking immersion and inspiration.
  • Brands and musicians involved downplayed their participation in Decentraland due to the underwhelming experience.
  • Despite the lackluster event, the narrative surrounding Metaverse Fashion Week remained positive.
  • Wearables promised at the event were not immediately available, leading to disappointment among attendees.
  • Decentraland's development is focused on future features and potential, rather than its current state.
  • Decentraland's appeal lies in its system of governance, where users have direct control over the virtual world.
  • The Decentraland DAO, responsible for governance, faced internal issues like power abuse and bias.
  • The DAO's governance site revealed absurd and trivial disputes, undermining its credibility and seriousness.

01:25:30

Decentraland DAO: Governance Challenges and Influence

  • Candidates in the example agreed that DCL was apolitical but would support politics if voted in.
  • Governance philosophy in Decentraland minimizes individual authority but gives committee members absolute discretion.
  • Weighted voting in DAOs is based on token ownership, with 1 MANA equating to 1 vote power.
  • Wealthy voters can influence decisions significantly due to the weighted voting system.
  • A proposal on Voting Power Distribution in the DAO saw a 78% support in real votes but 73% against when Voting Power was considered.
  • A single wallet held a significant portion of Voting Power, influencing decisions.
  • The DAO's management has faced challenges, including issues with grant oversight and accountability.
  • Committees like the Grant Revocation Committee have significant power without clear accountability or appeals processes.
  • Various squads and work groups have been introduced to expand the DAO Committee, increasing human involvement.
  • The Foundation holds significant legal rights in Decentraland, contradicting the idea that users own the platform.

01:39:52

Virtual worlds raise ethical, political, and social questions.

  • Vanzo raises moral dilemmas regarding autonomous cars, liability for bot malfunctions, and neuro-security for brain-to-brain interfaces.
  • Decentraland is envisioned as a virtual world based on open standards and blockchain, influenced by Snow Crash, The Matrix, and Ready Player One.
  • Decentraland was conceived as a test bed for political and liberation movements, but is controlled by elites who dismiss challenges to their power.
  • Second Life was hailed as a future vanguard, with predictions that humanity would prefer virtual worlds over reality.
  • Johan Huizinga's concept of the "magic circle" delineates play space from reality, creating unique meanings within games like Dungeons & Dragons and soccer.
  • Decentraland is criticized as a collective fairy tale, with its decentralized premise being a fantasy and its value to businesses absurd.
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