#28: What the Metaverse means for non-profits
A breakdown from WPP's VP of Emerging Technologies, Andy Hood
Pass It On is a bi-weekly newsletter bringing the tech and non-profit sectors closer together through knowledge sharing, written and edited by Lauren Crichton.
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Happy 2022 and welcome back to Pass It On! I had a lovely and restful three weeks off, but I'm glad to be back at the writing desk—which is ironic, given that this week's newsletter involves minimal writing from me. Instead, all the heavy lifting is by Andy Hood, VP of Emerging Technologies at WPP, one of the world's most prominent agency holding companies.
I've known Andy since 2014; we worked together at AKQA, one of the global digital agencies owned by WPP. I had joined the then 2000-person company fresh out of a Master's degree, whereas Andy had been one of AKQA's earliest members, knocking out award-winning solutions for the likes of Nike, Heineken, and H&M for fifteen years. Despite holding one of the most senior technology roles in the company, Andy was—and still is—distinctly non-technical in his approach, always simplifying complex ideas and leading with the underlying human behaviour or truth. Consequently, I could think of no better person to trial Pass It On's new takeover format and guide us through one of this year's most hyped yet ill-defined tech trends: the Metaverse.
Right, what the hell is the Metaverse?
The Metaverse is a very broad term, and there are many ways to define it. At its simplest level, the Metaverse is about virtual worlds. You may have heard about games such as Fortnite, Roblox, Minecraft, and League of Legends, among others. These games all have tens of millions of active players represented by their own avatars. The games take place in 'open worlds,' where all the players can see, chat, and interact with each other. These virtual worlds have become places where companies sell virtual products such as outfits for players' avatars; concerts have taken place in them, with millions of fans attending. You can even buy virtual real estate in some of these worlds to build retail units and hold events. While you can do these things with your phone, tablet, or laptop, it is the rise of virtual reality headsets that has really crystallised the metaverse concept. This, in a nutshell, is the metaverse phenomenon. Billions of people and billions of dollars are already involved, and it will only get bigger. See my short video on the 6-Minute Metaverse for more of a primer.
Why should non-profits care about the Metaverse?
The short answer is: you need to help shape it for the better.
Just because a technology or experience is new doesn't mean it will be or remain fundamentally different from our real, physical-world experience. If left to develop without guidance, the darker side of human nature will surface in the Metaverse just as it does everywhere else. In fact, it already is.
So we need collective guidance and action. And we need it now. The more individuals and organisations contributing to the Metaverse's development, the greater the likelihood that it can be an empowering and inspiring place for us and future generations.
What can the Metaverse do for non-profits?
Create new fundraising opportunities
In the Metaverse, you can go far beyond describing a particular issue taking place in the world. You can let people experience it—have them walk through it in a very direct and meaningful way. Creating this kind of empathy could be a tremendous help in raising awareness and funds.
It's also possible to stage traditional events in these virtual worlds for staggering numbers of people to experience simultaneously. The ability to fundraise in such a scenario is enormous.
Another fundraising opportunity comes in the form of NFT auctions. NFT stands for "non-fungible token." The idea is that when a token gets applied to a single digital image, the image becomes unique. (Usually, a digital image could be one of any potentially infinite number of identical copies, but with the token attached, one of them becomes a single, unique asset.) Uniqueness creates scarcity; scarcity provides value, gives meaning to ownership, and gives rise to trade. So, a digital image with an NFT has value, and NFT auctions are already generating vast sums of money, such as this one at Sotheby's.
Provide additional marketing spaces
Marketing opportunities in the virtual world mirror those in the real world. Posters, advertising boards, branded t-shirts, placards: you name it, you can put a virtual message on it in the Metaverse.
How can non-profits start exploring the Metaverse?
Encourage play
Learn what it feels like to be present in the Metaverse—to experience it directly, understand how it feels to meet, interact, and be immersed in it. If you can, start by purchasing an Oculus Quest 2 virtual reality headset. And join virtual worlds like Fortnite, Roblox, and Decentraland to understand how people meet and interact.
Run a few meetings with Mozilla Hubs
It's a completely free and open social virtual environment that works on every device. These days of remote and hybrid working are the perfect opportunity to experiment and become more familiar with these environments.
Learn from Metaverse non-profits
Like AvaCon, a non-profit dedicated to developing the Metaverse and its related technologies. If your organisation has charitable or foundation status recognised by the US Internal Revenue Service, they can even provide you with free virtual land!
Set up your virtual wallet
Things can be bought and sold in the Metaverse using virtual currencies known as crypto. You may have heard of Bitcoin; this is very similar. Each virtual world has its currency. To buy anything with crypto in the Metaverse, from tickets for events to outfits and accessories, you will need a special wallet for crypto transactions. That may sound complex, but it isn't, and it won't cost you to set it up either. Check out services like MetaMask or Coinbase.
The Metaverse is bold, exciting, and inspiring. It is certainly emerging quickly, and it will be a powerful platform for experience and engagement for years to come. However, it will not be all that we hope it could be without action and input from those who would see it flourish as a safe and inclusive space. And we all have a role to play in that.
Still muddled about the Metaverse? Andy’s kindly offered to host a follow-up Q&A via Substack comments or even a live session. If you’re keen, reply to this email and let me know; if we get enough interest, we’ll make it happen! In the meantime, you can catch Andy in the LinkedIn and Twitter-verses.
See you in two weeks,
Lauren 👋
Hey Lauren, this comes at a perfect time for me! would love to chat more - Ben wise :)