Why Meta Dropped 70%

Meta's dramatic fall from the top, and the reasoning behind it.

How will businesses use the metaverse?

The metaverse could offer multi-trillion-dollar opportunities for businesses in the long term, with the potential to transform many aspects of daily life.

Why Microsoft's Bet On a HoloLens Metaverse Isn't Paying Off

Microsoft debuted its HoloLens augmented-reality headset seven years ago. But despite that head start,it has struggled to succeed in the market for the metaverse. 

WSJ tech reporter Aaron Tilley joins host Zoe Thomas to discuss why, and what it can teach other companies making a play for the new digital realm.

Tech Leaders Discuss the Metaverse’s Future

It’s one topic that came up again and again at WSJ Tech Live: the metaverse. While Mark Zuckerberg is spending billions on the virtual platform, tech leaders from Snap CEO Evan Spiegel to Oculus creator Palmer Luckey explain why they’re metaverse fans or skeptics.

Meta’s Flagship Metaverse Is Glitchy and Mostly Empty

Nearly a year after CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced the rebranding of Facebook as Meta and a shift in strategy to focus on the metaverse, internal documents show the company falling short of its goals. 

WSJ tech reporter Meghan Bobrowsky joins host Julie Chang with the details.

Read the latest Edition (#131) of the Citadel Advantage News Digest

NEWS about Banking, Fintech, Payments, Business, Blockchain, Crypto, Money and more…

Read the newsletter HERE (with links to all the below mentioned articles).

Contents of this edition;

• Is it time to unbundle ESG?
• Et Tu, Muske?
• 6 Keys to Data Center Planning
• How banks can personalize financial wellness
• Consumers Expect Personalization at Every Banking Touchpoint
• Creating a Secure Mobile App: Main Vulnerabilities and Security Practices
• 4 Ways Citizens Bank Keeps 'Human' in Its Digital Banking Experience
• Your Complete Guide to Getting A Job On Blockchain
• Why Banks Need to Fix Their Poor Digital Onboarding Experience
• Artificial Intelligence in AP Automation – A Look at What Really Works, and What Doesn't
• High Rates & Tight Housing Spells Bleak Outlook for Mortgage Lending
• Making the branch relevant by design
• Electric Vehicle Lending: How Green Loans Can Accelerate Growth
• Nigerian Commercial Banks ‘Apathetic’ Over CBDCs, says Governor
• A Lifetime's Consumption of Fossil Fuels: Visualized
• What Happened to Terra Luna?
• Are We Having 1929 Again? - Warren Buffett
• What happens to investors money when a cryptocurrency exchange goes bankrupt
• How Blockchain Technology Is Revolutionizing Fintech in 2022
• How Payment Businesses Deal with Fraud and Data leaks
• The Importance of IoT Security
• Organization and metaverse privacy concerns

You can read/subscribe/get all the back issues HERE

U.S. vs. China: A Metaverse Divided Over Design and Rules

The metaverse race is heating up in China. Just like Meta and Microsoft in the U.S., Chinese firms such as Baidu and Tencent are investing in the nascent industry, but strict tech regulations mean China’s virtual worlds are set to offer very different user experiences.

Don’t Fall For The Hype in Cryptocurrencies

It’s impossible to avoid - even if you tried - the words cryptocurrency, NFT, and the metaverse. It's as if these futuristic concepts are knocking – no, banging – on our front doors. The world is abuzz with thoughts, curiosities, and judgments about the industry, both in theory and in practice; turning once-fringe ideas into cultural talking points, the punchline of a million jokes, and the booze-fueled party conversation that everyone hates to love.

Is there a decentralized financial utopia beyond the hype of meme coins, billionaires, speculation, and clickbait?

Find out more HERE.

A Complete Guide To The Corporate Metaverse

Ever since Facebook’s rebranding to Meta, forward-thinking entrepreneurs have been wondering whether they can use the metaverse for business. Not surprisingly, an array of tech vendors are now adding metaverse development services to their portfolio, looking to cement their place in the emerging technology market and help their clients ride the wave of the metaverse hype.

But what is the metaverse exactly? How does the metaverse work? Most importantly, what are the metaverse business opportunities? Find that out HERE!

Top Blockchain trends

2022 is shaping up to be an exciting year for the blockchain industry. 

There are a number of developments in the use of the blockchain such as the growth of blockchain gaming, central bank digital currencies (CBDC's), the mataverse and entertainment, and NFTs. 

All of these point to transformation for the blockchain landscape, which should boost the use of this technological concept across the board. There is a lot that inventors and others should consider as the blockchain continues to be more involved in daily life.

Find out more HERE.

Remember Second Life? It’s Now Taking On Big Tech’s Metaverse

Second Life – yes, the virtual world from the ‘00s – is staging a comeback to challenge tech giants like Meta that are throwing billions into the metaverse. Its creator explains to WSJ how he plans to refresh the platform – no VR headsets required.

Ways to Start Using NFTs in Your Business

NFTs may have been floating around since 2015, but they only gained massive popularity in 2021. Some NFTs sold for millions of dollars!

Although an emerging technology, NFTs in business have become a hot topic. 

This article explains how to use NFTs for your business and what to know before delving into these digital assets.

Want to know more? Click HERE. 

Investors Buy Up Metaverse Real Estate in Virtual Land Boom - WSJ

Real-estate transactions in the metaverse are reaching record highs. The WSJ spoke with companies investing in digital real estate to understand the economic model, and why investors are spending millions on virtual property. 

So, is the metaverse real or just some great big scam? 

Below are just a few comments on the WSJ piece.

• People are out their minds, the reason actually land in the real world has had an increase of price over time is due to it being finite and on the other hand you’ve got a digital online space where you can create as much virtual space as imaginable.
• This is just a hype. Similar concepts had happened on virtual world of various games in gaming industry since 90s and is still on going. Sure, some addicts with the money would spend to acquire virtual land, goods, items, services, and etc. However, once the honeymoon period is passed, either the developer or users leave.
• This is basically a new iteration of the Pyramid Scheme...none of these videogame real estate assets would have any value if the scheme doesnt put on a show to recruit new investors to prop up and legitimize the values...
• What stops other “Metaverse” being made. Crypto Marvel Multiverses. Why would people be stuck in the one place if it can be replicated and people move to another. Like how people jumped in early social media. People moved from Friendster to MySpace then to Facebook and so on. The same happened with online gaming. Ultimate online, RuneScape, World of War Craft. People will get bored. It will stop being the cool place to be over time. What is the draw card to lock people in?
• I love how this screams the Investor class has absolutely zero perception of quality, as long as they can sell a tall tale that makes them a new type of money they'll lie in order to sell it.
• This is never going to work. Only for rich people with nothing else to spend their money on. No one is going to go to a plot of land to see an NFT. Concerts will always be better live. And shopping at Rodeo Drive is better than shopping in a virtual Rodeo Drive, lol I still prefer amazon for my online shopping experience. Don't need headset and an avatar to go buy my wife a louis vuitton. Playstation had this yearsssss ago and it sucked. Poeple will get bored of this. This is only temporary. Want to invest in a better risk, buy BTC or ETH.

 YOU be the judge...

Who will secure the Metaverse - and how will they do it?

With the metaverse being talked up everywhere — even though the concept still seems to be a bit vague — concerns about safety have bubbled up, and you wouldn’t be along in wondering what cybersecurity challenges may come with it.

The metaverse, a concept of the next incarnation of the Internet, an immersive virtual 3D world connecting all sorts of digital environments, has been gaining a strong foothold in the media and has quickly become one of the hot topics in the digital landscape. You can even consider it as a new decentralized marketing ecosystem, characterized as social, live, and persistent, as it will contain a lot of user-generated content. It will also be easy to join and contribute to for hardware-agnostic users.

Just like in any other digital landscape where authentication plays a key role, cybersecurity will play a significant role in keeping the parties safe. No matter how sophisticated the technology and techniques of circumventing security measures will be, businesses will need to stay one step ahead of cyber criminals. So, the armaments race in cybersecurity that we’ve known for years will get even more intense.

And what will actually happen to the cheaters? Will they be sent to a sub-universe where they’re free to cheat where cheating is accepted as part of the rules? How will users in the metaverse be monitored to ensure any removal of possible illegal operations, morally corrupt conduct, and hate speech? By private companies themselves or by some governmental cyber-police?

There are a lot of open questions to be answered and certainly an interesting challenge for the metaverse community as well as the cybersecurity providers.

Find out more HERE. 

 

A Visual Guide to Profile Picture NFTs

How do you represent yourself on social media? For most people it’s a selfie, a photo with their friends, or a picture of their pet—but what about a digitally-created character?

Profile picture NFTs are pieces of digital artwork that people use to express themselves online. Each item is a depiction of a character’s face, and has a unique mix of attributes that gives it a sense of collectability.

Like other NFTs, they’re secured on a blockchain and can be bought and sold for cryptocurrency. And while there’s nothing to stop you from screenshotting an NFT and using it for your own profile, the market for these items continues to grow.

To learn more, check out this infographic HERE. It explains how three well-known profile picture NFT collections were created.

Nick Clegg's first interview in the metaverse - FT Interview

Step inside the Metaverse as the UK's former deputy PM takes on avatar form to talk to the FT's Henry Mance about the future of technology, immersive digital worlds, the challenges of regulation, and his own role within the company. 

 

Trapped in the Metaverse: Here’s What 24 Hours in VR Feels Like

Everyone is blabbing about the metaverse. But what does this future digital world look like? WSJ’s Joanna Stern checked into a hotel and strapped on a virtual-reality headset for the day. She went to work meetings, hung out with new avatar friends and attended virtual shows.

 

“TOP READS OF THE WEEK” (for week 30 October to 5 November)

This is the final edition of TOP READS OF THE WEEK in this format.

However, you can still get all the top reads in banking, fintech, payments, cybersecurity, AI, IoT, risk management by reading / subscribing to the “Citadel Advantage News Digest”.

The Citadel Advantage News Digest is published at least twice a week with all the latest news on Banking, Fintech, Payments, Operations Risk and much, much more. Check it out!

Subscribe to our newsletter click HERE. Under the topmost item “Newsletter” click on “Start reading” to access.

In this weeks selection;

Top Reads

• Meta CEO Zuckerberg predicts the metaverse will be mainstream in 5-10 years
• Banks' green pledges under scrutiny
• What We Can Learn From The Sub-Saharan African FinTech Infrastructure
• Sorry, Mark. You Don't Own the Metaverse
• Starling CEO says open banking a flop: Other fintech chiefs beg to differ
• Citi makes COVID-19 vaccine mandatory for 65,000 US employees
• Regulator previews coming crypto, stablecoin policy
• Fintech Apps Still Depend on Old-School Banks to Move Money
• A Battle for Earth: 5 Ways IoT Can Help Save Our Planet
• Elon Musks Lessons In Business Scaling
• The advantages of an AI/ML-enabled search engine for FDA records
• UK regulators warn financial sector still failing to account for key climate risks
• Protecting The United States' Critical Infrastructure From Cyberattacks
• Global rule maker created for ESG disclosure standards
• Pandora Papers highlight the importance of PEP checks as part of AML armoury

From our Blog

• The Great Resignation: Why Millions Of Workers Are Quitting
• Facebook Name Change Signals High-Stakes Race for 'Metaverse'
• China's Race for AI Supremacy
• Understanding and Responding to Bribery & Corruption Red Flags
• See what three degrees of global warming looks like
• The Cost to Reduce Global Warming? $131 Trillion Is One Answer

Facebook Name Change Signals High-Stakes Race for 'Metaverse'

A tech industry battle is taking shape over the “metaverse.” WSJ tech reporter Meghan Bobrowsky explains the concept and why tech companies like Facebook, Roblox and Epic Games are investing billions to develop this digital space.