The Metaverse: And How it Will Revolutionize Everything by Matthew Ball
Tim Sweeney, Founder and CEO of an American video game, software developer and publisher Epic Games, said of the book The Metaverse: And How it Will Revolutionize Everything:
“Matthew Ball’s essays have defined, analyzed, and inspired the Metaverse for years. His book is an approachable and essential guide to the strategic, technical, and philosophical foundations of this new medium.”
That’s about all the validation you need, I’d say.
Taking us on an expansive tour of the “next internet,” Ball — the CEO of EpyllionCo and the former global head of strategy for Amazon Studios — demonstrates that many proto-Metaverses are already here, such as Fortnite, Minecraft, and Roblox. Yet these offer only a glimpse of what is to come. Ball presents a comprehensive definition of the Metaverse before explaining the technologies that will power it — and the breakthroughs that will be necessary to fully realize it. He addresses the governance challenges the Metaverse entails; investigates the role of Web3, blockchains, and NFTs; and predicts Metaverse winners and losers. Most importantly, he examines many of the Metaverse’s almost unlimited applications.
Talking exclusively to the Metaverse Insider, Ball had this to say about his work:
My book explains what the Metaverse is and isn’t, where it comes from, why it matters (and why now), how it’ll be built (and what it needs), what sorts of experiences it’ll enable, where it’s going, the businesses that will be built for it, who is likely to lead it, the likely regulatory response, as well as what we can’t know for now. But the purpose of the book was to make it easier for everyone — consumers, voters, developers, users — to positively affect the trajectory and future of the Metaverse.
For an expert who has written essays that have appeared in the New York Times, the Economist, Bloomberg and on his popular website, MatthewBall.vc., Ball is — like Kathy Hackl (more about her a bit later) — one of the most preeminent thought leaders in the Metaverse space.
