First business conference to take place in the metaverse exceeds expectations!
On October 25, 2022, the Metaverse Spectrum Business Conference & Expo successfully became the first business conference to take place in the metaverse.
While other more established brands were having competing metaverse events, attendance at the Metaverse Business Spectrum Business Conference exceeded expectations.
The hundreds of attendees were pleasantly treated to a packed day of educational tracks, product showcases and keynotes from leading thought leaders in the industry. They were also able to meet and learn about the top technology providers.
Keynote Tomasso Di Bartolo – Serial Entrepreneur, Startup Investor, Author, Advisor, and Faculty at the University of California Berkeley kicked off the conference with his insights on how the Metaverse brings new opportunities for people and brands to interact and exchange in a digital frontier. Tommasso stressed that in a (virtual) world where anything is possible, companies have limitless possibilities to define the future of engagement and create wholly new revenue streams”.
In the marketing track, Amanda Edelman COO of Edelman Gen Z Lab said that in this new web 3.0 world, you need to understand Gen Z and here are 3 musts to be successful targeting Gen Z’ers:
- Whatever you do, it must seamlessly integrate the physical with the digital world
- You need to create a community around your brand
- Safety and security is a must and is a big thing with Gen Z
In the same session, Eve Weston CEO of Exelauno explained that you need to first think about your goal and your desired user experience before you start creating your metaverse environment.
And speaking about safety and cybersecurity, Dr. Joseph Williams Cybersecurity Partner of Infosys Consulting had this to say about what actions you can take now:
- Take inventory of your metaverse business locations and activities
- Establish a project team to identify and assess any cybersecurity risks that could arise from those locations and activities
- Quantify those risks
- Convene the stakeholders to discuss the risks and recommend mitigation approaches.
- Document everything
As far as trade show strategies for the Metaverse, Brian Zisk Founder of BuzzMakers had this to say:
“Create what you think people want to get out of the event and ways to keep them happy. You need to keep your audience engaged without burning them out.” In the future Brian sees a hybrid approach to trade show events. Shows in the metaverse will compliment in-person experiences.
And there was plenty of talk about NFT’s and how they fit into a brand’s marketing strategy. Sir Lord Travis Wright CMO of CCP Digital gave a nice overview which included applications for gaming, ticketing & events, music & video rights, IP Deeds and titles, counterfeit protection and more.
There also was a fascinating fireside chat with the 13 year old NFT wonderkid Benyamin Ahmed and Ying Cao CEO of LIYT. Ahmed shared that he learned about NFT’s from Twitter, Discord and YouTube. “Anything you need to know, you can find it online”. From his online digging and conversations, he made millions off his NFT creations. The two discussed what the future of web 3.0 might bring and Ahmed stressed that Gen Z’ers will seek more decentralized platforms.
Adryenn Ashley, Blockchain Influencer and Lee Richter of Richter Communications talked about monetizing your IP and stressed that when creating NFT’s and other web 3.0 content you must legally protect your IP.
As for how the metaverse is revolutionizing education, Danny Stefanic CEO of Mootup and Mazier Farzam CEO of Enhance Digital talked about how employees can “walk” into different seminars and co-working spaces for projects and experience a range of virtual-reality environments –learning applications, lectures and more.
Participants were able to easily navigate the conference with just their PC or mobile device – and signage and maps were well done with click-to-areas of interest capabilities. It was easy to start up a private or group conversation just as you would in a live event. You could simply tap a person’s avatar or find them in the chat box and request a video call right in the event.
Some attendees reported seeing Snoop Dog’s avatar cruising by them! Perhaps he was heading towards the music industry session with:
Greg Ol Skool Gre – Manager, Abstract Mind State
Bryon Booker – CEO, RAG Music
Brooklyn – Founder, On The Blocc
Bam – Founder, Hackerhouse
Danny Hamilton – Founder, Dynisty MusicVerse/New Era Entertainment
The closing keynote Jon Fisher CEO of ViciNFT gave a few tidbits about enterprise best practice approach to NFT’s and tokens.
And then it was off to the after party! Attendees were able to relax and mingle in a tropical setting while enjoying lively music by Tribe XR.
Stay tuned for our next event!
