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Procurement & the Metaverse

When Zuckenburg made the announcement of Facebooks name change to Meta I was intrigued but the short promo video of cartoon characters that already looked dated chimed in the wrong way.  Is this really the future of technology?

Waitโ€ฆ recap, what is a metaverse.

The metaverse will feel like a hybrid of todayโ€™s online social experiences, sometimes expanded into three dimensions or projected into the physical world. It will let you share immersive experiences with other people even when you canโ€™t be together โ€” and do things together you couldnโ€™t do in the physical world. Itโ€™s the next evolution in a long line of social technologies, and itโ€™s ushering in a new chapter for our company. Mark shared more about this vision in a founderโ€™s letter.

Itโ€™s interesting that people have FOMO and are piling into buy real estate in the Metaverse.  Yes, this is a thing. Iโ€™m sure years down the line someone may pull up this article and smirk at the days people were writing about being on the fringe of the metaverse, I mean whatโ€™s the big deal. https://metaverse.properties/

Decentraland is a decentralized virtual reality platform powered by the Ethereum blockchain. Within the Decentraland platform, users can create, experience, and monetize their content and applications.

From conference or commercial spaces, to art galleries, to family homes and hangout spots, Metaverse Properties offers land in premium locations for individuals, enterprises and institutions.

Youโ€™ll find our land in five districts in Decentraland including:

Crypto Valley

Dragon City

Aetherian City

Vegas City

Fashion Street

District X

And moreโ€ฆ

Wait, why do we even need to own Real Estate in Metaland, surely thatโ€™s absurd. 

According to Forbes

https://www.forbes.com/sites/nicolelapin/2022/01/23/should-you-invest-in-metaverse-real-estate/?sh=2f70b8eb62a9

Recently, piece of digital real estate in Decentraland sold for 2.5 million. That sale was through cryptocurrencyโ€” specifically the mana coin, which is the currency of choice in Decenraland. Why was it valued at 2.5 million? Well, that plot of digital land has been designated as the downtown โ€œfashion districtโ€ in Decentralandโ€”and the hope is that real-life luxury brands will want to lease space in that district, or at least, put up ads.

Letโ€™s Consider the ROI

There are really two questions here. The first question gets to whether you can make money from digital real estate. From this vantage-point, you want to ask yourself: what is the trajectory of the metaverse? Does it have room to grow?

Which leads me to the questionโ€ฆ will procurement have a role as professional buyers in the metaverse? Itโ€™s not inconceivable. For us non metverse digital natives, it sounds odd but hey the future is always unpredictable. When I think back to using my first Packard Bell we have come a very long way.

What does the profession think?

Hmm slightly light at the moment. I think itโ€™s still a bit too new for the commercial function to act as the first movers in this space. However according to 4 week MBA they think there will be some movement for the metaverse and the supply chain. https://fourweekmba.com/metaverse-facebook/

Here are some quotes on the Metaverse

  • โ€œWeโ€™re heading toward a future where AI will make the majority of our buying decisions, continually surprising us with products or services we didnโ€™t even know we wanted. Or, if surprise isnโ€™t your thing, just turn that feature off and opt for boring and staid. Either way, itโ€™s a shift that threatens traditional advertisers, while offering considerable benefits to the consumer.โ€ ~Peter H. Diamandis
  • โ€œI believe the metaverse is the next chapter for the internet.โ€ ~Mark Zuckerberg
  • โ€œPredicting the future isnโ€™t magic, itโ€™s artificial intelligence.โ€ ~Dave Waters
  • โ€œIt seems probable that once the machine thinking method had started, it would not take long to outstrip our feeble powersโ€ฆ They would be able to converse with each other to sharpen their wits. At some stage therefore, we should have to expect the machines to take control.โ€ ~Alan Turing
  • โ€œA simple way to describe the metaverse is being inside the Internet. Itโ€™s the evolution of the Internet where we become part of it.โ€ ~Dave Waters
  • โ€œThis may sound like science fiction, weโ€™re starting to see a lot of these technologies come together. In the next five to 10 years, a lot of this is going be mainstream.โ€ ~Mark Zuckerberg
  • โ€œThe Metaverse is the ideal playground in which the AI can let off steam. The more humans lose themselves in it, the more the AI will take control. That much is certain.โ€ ~Murat Durmus
  • โ€œThe metaverse is barely being born. The opportunities to capitalize in this area are immense.  Get involved and learn about it quickly.โ€  ~Dave Waters

To round it off you donโ€™t need a quote from me but my personal opinion is that at some point in the future procurement will have a role in the metaverse.

(part of the metaverse series and buying)