Will Meta Be Better?
When the oldest member of the Amplify family first started out in recruitment, LinkedIn was a Rolodex and sending a CV to a client involved willing them to be at their desk to take your call on their landline followed by an insistence that they then go and stand next to a fax machine.
The thought of instant messaging and file sharing was still a dream and the concept of a global professional network all on one social platform, in the palm of your hand, sounded like something from an H.G. Wells novel!
Yet, today, we balk at download speeds of less than 10mbps and shudder at the idea of a desk stacked with physical documents to sift through. Surely then, with this advancement in mind, it’s advisable to start getting our head around the metaverse?! Not just for interaction with friends and family as a quirky giraffe-like avatar, playing computer games and watching films etc, but actually as your place of work!
You don’t have to look far to find content, views, stats, opinions about the Office Vs WFH. The recent pandemic forced businesses to adapt to survive and in a lot of industries they are continuing to operate a flexible working policy as part of their future business strategy. But what about the Office Vs WFH Vs The Metaverse? Or the meta-versus if you will… Does this discussion now become redundant as it’s all one and the same?
As Mark Zuckerberg described “...think of it as an embodied internet that you're inside of rather than just looking at...” So will we essentially be the tools that we use to do our job? Will LinkedIn be a gargantuan virtual WeWork where you can stroll up to someone’s desk (as a giraffe of course) and chat about doing business with them in one capacity or another? There is already an app developed by Oculus which enables colleagues to meet in virtual offices to participate in real time meetings and collaborate in a way that Zoom / Teams doesn’t allow. So, has the transition already started?
You’ll be able to hang out with your colleagues after work, attend concerts, go to the cinema and even go shopping. The creative minds in adland are already agog with the opportunity to get their clients‘ brands in the heads of consumers.
One thing is for sure, the possibilities, opportunities, un-answered questions and not yet thought of questions are endless. But will the metaverse be a betterverse? Who knows at this stage. What I do know is that technological advancements are a certainty and if that means embracing them to succeed in ones work and professional life, then so be it. What I also know is that my kids will be laughing at how I try and lug my massive giraffe neck around the virtual world as I now laugh at my parents trying to make a WhatsApp video call.