web3 with a16z crypto

The Metaverse, Crypto, Virtual Society

Episode Summary

with @hermannarula @virtualelena @smc90 A deep dive on all things metaverse -- what it is, what it isn’t; how VR, videogames, sports, fashion, communities play here; where crypto comes in, including trends in DAOs, on-chain gaming, etc. We also go well beyond technology, into science fiction, the arts, narratives, and more in this wide-ranging conversation.

Episode Notes

This episode is a deep dive on all things metaverse, defining what the metaverse is, and what it isn’t; covering frequent misconceptions (and nuances) around how VR or virtual reality, videogames, and other applications relate (and don't relate) to the metaverse; and discussing how communities, fashion, sports, and more play here.  

We also go into where crypto comes in -- including discussing trends in on-chain gaming, DAOs; themes like interoperability, composability; etc.  But we also go well beyond technology -- and into science fiction, the arts, low-fidelity design, narrative, and much, much more -- in this wide-ranging, hallway-style conversation between:

• Herman Narula, author of the new book Virtual Society: The Metaverse and the New Frontiers of Human Experience; Narula is also the CEO and co-founder of Improbable;
• Elena Burger, deal partner on a16z crypto (where she focuses on games, NFTs, web3 media, infrastructure, and more); Berger also wrote a thoughtful review of Narula’s book;
• ...and host Sonal Chokshi (who also shares writings on topics such as "narrative collapse" and more as well as past episodes of the a16z Podcast with Narula on distributed systems at scale, gaming, and more).

For more on metaverse from the a16z crypto, please see this piece.
To order Narula's book, please select from here.

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web3 with a16z is a show about building the next generation of the internet, from the team at a16z crypto. As a reminder, none of the content is investment, business, legal, or tax advice; please see a16z.com/disclosures for more important information, including a link to a list of our investments.