Into the Metaverse: The Essential Guide to the Business Opportunities of the Web3 Era

It’s time for businesses to dive into the metaverse, argues Hackl (The Augmented Workforce), co-founder of design consulting company Journey, in this solid primer. She urges readers to think of the metaverse as “the intertwining of our physical and digital lives” with a “full-fledged economy of goods and services,” and suggests that companies establish chief metaverse officer positions, or CMOs, a role that’s “part marketing/communications expert and part business, strategist, and part technologist.” (Hackl is one of the world’s six CMOs). The CMO would manage “virtual goods, avatars, non-fungible tokens (NFTs), gaming, [and] extended reality,” and thus require an understanding of “cryptocurrencies, blockchain, cloud computing, gaming engines, and digital design.” The author advises such leaders on marketing (brands should have “avatar representation” to connect with consumers), how to monetize (NFTs are essential here), and more. Her examples of the revenue possibilities are astounding (the global fashion market is expected to double thanks to sales of digital clothing), and her insistence that “the Metaverse must be built on collaboration” is encouraging. Though the world’s CMO population may all fit in a small conference room at the moment, Hackl’s fascinating account of the metaverse’s potential should be required reading for tech-savvy leaders. (Jan.)