Intentions on Display: The Art of Being Purposeful in the Metaverse Pt. I

Who are you building for, what do you hope to accomplish, how are you tracking progress, and why do you exist?

Be careful, your intentions are showing. What do yours say about you? It has never been more important to be authentic in an age where tweets and toots bear announcements of grand Metaverse innovations every day. We are still amidst debates over the definition of the Metaverse, the division of the technologies, and the quest for Metaversal truth.

Why MR is better than VR, is the new why AR is going to be better than VR. Mixed Reality (MR), Augmented Reality (AR), Virtual Reality (VR), web3, video gaming: It’s all the metaverse, baby! But, if your business model is predicated on locking down AR as supreme, you may benefit from advocating for a difference between MR and VR. The general public may not have the same understanding, and raising awareness could be beneficial to us all. Yet, you choose to divide: why?

The thing is we see you. We see each other every day. The Metaverse is a big idea, but a small close-knit community. Many builders have been working on this for over 30 years. When the last boom of Metaverse fandom popped off in 2021, “thought leaders,” emerged vehemently debating the definition of the Metaverse. Two writers who I respect very much had a years-long war on Twitter over the definition. The noise that was caused rocketed a few “thought leaders” to the “top” despite their complete lack of understanding just a few years prior. See the people who have been building the Metaverse for so long, generally aren’t the best at communicating their progress in a way that resonates with a larger audience.

The Metaverse has a PR problem, and the problem is largely based on intent, being intentional, and reflecting on where you are, where you want to be, and what is in your way.

On intent, and being intentional

Being intentional refers to the act of having a clear and deliberate purpose in mind when making decisions, taking action, or designing something. In the context of building new technology like a Metaverse platform, being intentional is crucial because it helps ensure that the platform is aligned with the goals and values of its creators and that it serves the intended users in a meaningful and fulfilling way.

For example, if the creators of a Metaverse platform are intentional about building a safe and inclusive community, they may design features and policies to prevent harassment and promote diversity. If they are intentional about building a platform that supports creativity and collaboration, they may design tools that enable users to easily create and share content, and to collaborate with others on projects. If their intent is to “just build bro,” they prioritize moving fast. If your intent is to move fast to learn fast, then you must have an honest conversation with your team every 2-4 weeks about what is and isn’t working.

If your intention is to trick people into thinking that your company is building the Metaverse, then you may spend billions on ad campaigns and walled-garden product launches to try and lock down the narrative before too many competitors emerge. If your intent is to play by your own rules, you may claim to be building (and this is somehow worse) a metaverse. If you are a writer, you may stir the pot with hot-takes that spur conversation. This may create a lot of noise and confusion, but if your intent is to grow your audience, you may not care about noise and confusion. If your intent is to educate the public, you may not care so much about stirring the pot. Maybe you don’t know the error in your ways. Ignorance is bliss.

Are you building a Metaverse platform that is token-gated, and calling it the open Metaverse? Are you leveraging open-source technology and completely ignoring the part where you credit your sources? Are you making promise, after promise, about what your platform can do without showing any real progress? If someone else in the Metaverse builds something similar to your product, are you attacking them, ignoring them, or trying to find ways to work together? After all, the Metaverse is the sum of all digital parts. Are building for the Metaverse, or do you think you’re the only person who has read the Art of War?

True story - a failed Metaverse State

I mean, I was once part of a PartyDAO where we bought an NFT of Matthew Balls’ whitepaper on the Metaverse. We would split the NFT, and use the funds raised to create a small investment DAO we were calling OpenMetaDAO (nope, not that OpenMetaDAO…) that would fund open metaverse technology and startups. Dozens of us answered the call, and I felt relief that this was going to be handled by experienced individuals. In the end, we were outbid by Polygon - they outbid the entire PartyDAO at the last minute.

Polygon reached out, excited to share with us that they were the ones who outbid us, and why they outbid us. The reason: they were thinking about starting a Metaverse investment DAO as well so they thought they should outbid us to collaborate.

WHAT.

What was their intent? If you wanted to invest with us, why did you bid against us? I asked this very question, and it stumped them. Who says we have to work with you? We can just take our funds and do this without you, and nobody needs the ceremonious NFT you won in that auction, just to start an investment DAO. They offered to fully fund our efforts in spinning up this investment DAO and said they would work with us to find the best structure.

We met a few times afterward, as a group, to establish core values that would rally the entire party and leverage Polygon’s tremendous resources. Suddenly, a counterpart of mine affiliated with another Metaverse collective decided to immediately roll out a placeholder landing page and a Twitter for the “OpenMetaDAO”. Maybe it was a coincidence, but at the time I did not think so. Why they had to start their own OpenMetaDAO is beyond me, especially since they never even reached out to us. What was their intent? Their landing page literally said coming soon. I haven’t seen that since 2004. Maybe being first, and locking down the name was more important than working together.

No worries, we would be called the MAD DAO now. We rallied around our core values and started to prepare to launch. Polygon said they needed a little bit of time to get things in order, and then - crickets. Nothing else ever came of the effort.

In the end, Matthew Ball got his cut from selling his NFT, and none of us ever even questioned it. We were refunded our “investment” but were all out the gas fees of placing a bid (and gas fees for getting our refund) which at the time - gas was VERY expensive. Polygon accidentally shut down our progress on the MAD DAO by promising to fully fund the effort and then going ghost, and after a few disappointing crypto meltdowns, the entire effort washed away. To date, I am still a fan of Polygon, I even wrote a piece about them a few weeks ago. But this was a disappointing failure for the Open Metaverse across the board. All because of misalignment of intent and actions.

Why being intentional matters for product iteration

Being intentional is critical for iterating a product because it helps ensure that each iteration is aligned with the overall vision and goals of the product. It also helps to ensure that each iteration is based on a clear understanding of the needs and wants of the target audience and that it is designed to deliver meaningful and valuable improvements.

When a product is iterated without intention, it may end up going in directions that are not aligned with the original vision, or that do not meet the needs of the target audience. This can result in a product that is disjointed, confusing or fails to deliver real value to its users.

By being intentional during the iteration process, product creators can ensure that each iteration is aligned with the overall vision and goals of the product and that it is based on a clear understanding of the needs and wants of the target audience. This can help to ensure that each iteration is focused, and meaningful and that it delivers real value to the users.

In short, being intentional is critical for iterating a product because it helps ensure that each iteration is aligned with the overall vision and goals of the product and that it is designed to deliver meaningful and valuable improvements to the target audience.

Where are your intentions for your Metaverse startup, product, or community?

Warning: This entire section consists of questions. I challenge you to have an honest conversation with yourself.

Do you want to find your place in the Metaverse, or are you still claiming to be building “a” Metaverse? Are you leveraging and contributing toward open standards of interoperability, or are you working in isolation? Did you release an NFT and never follow up on that “utility” you promised? Is your company pivoting to an “AI startup” now? Did you snub another author because you don’t like what they said about your Metaverse book or article? Have you openly shamed other builders and now you are entering lawsuits? The Metaverse knows all.

Did you burn bridges at your last startup? Did you take credit for another builder’s work? Do you subscribe to the term “just build bro” but what you mean is, just buy my NFTs bro, this is the open Metaverse.

Are you faking it til you make it? Are you building alone but claiming to be an entire community? Did you create your community because there was a gap in the market, or did you refuse to do any research about existing communities because you were too scared to find out that you weren’t the first to have your idea?

What does for all really mean to you? Are you stuck on being the first and not the best? Do you play well with others? Are you creating content that tells a story, or are you just asking chatGPT to make you famous?

Did any of these questions make you think of someone you know, or have observed in the Metaverse? The Metaverse is watching.

Conclusion

Being intentional when building a Metaverse platform, product, or community is important because it helps ensure that the work is aligned with the goals and values of its creators and that it serves its users in a meaningful and fulfilling way. This can help Metaverse entrepreneurs to be successful and to foster positive communities and experiences for their users.

Thanks for reading this far! I am still getting comfortable writing and creating these videos. Sometimes I make mistakes, but I am learning! This article has attempted to promote why you should care about being intentional in your Metaverse efforts. In my next article, “Intentions on Display: The Art of Being Purposeful in the Metaverse Pt. II” we will talk about what you can do to be more intentional.

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