If Mark Zuckerberg gets his way, then 2022 is gearing up to be the year of the Metaverse.
The “metaverse” buzzword is all the rage right now and everyone – including brands – is starting to map out what their experience may look like in the brave new world of virtual reality.
It has the potential to change life as we know it over the next decade or so, at least digitally, but there are some serious considerations marketers may want to keep top of mind, alongside their excitement for what lies ahead.
Cheetah Digital will be holding an exclusive sit-down interview with Cambridge Analytica whistleblower, Christopher Wylie, (you can register for it here) to draw on his extensive experience with Facebook’s user data and discuss the major issues marketers must consider when it comes to the safety and security of how the Metaverse will be constructed.
Here are some of the highlights from Cheetah Digital’s upcoming video event.
• The Metaverse is being built by unregulated engineers hired by a for-profit entity that has a history of consumer data abuses and, even if unintended, has created unsafe environments for many of its users, that persist even today. From issues like hate speech, algorithms spreading misinformation or even basic bullying, Facebook and brands on the platform have taken a few punches due to the platform’s inability to identify and quell major issues. Like the auto, airline and food industries, does the Metaverse need a building inspector to ensure there are fire escapes, sprinkler systems and ejection seats for its user base?
• Consumer privacy has been a huge topic lately, mostly focused around the methods of collecting, storing and using personal data for advertising. But are cookies and ads the real issue, or a distraction? What if consumer data was used to literally augment and skew their reality in the Metaverse to a degree that psychologically harms the user? What if racists only saw people who looked and acted like them in the virtual world? We explore other scenarios, too.
• What are some other pitfalls marketers and brands need to address before they launch their own experiences in this new virtual world? And should they unite to demand a safer, more secure platform than what
Has Facebook delivered to date? Will your brand and your consumer audience be safe in the Metaverse?
Register now for Cheetah Digital’s exclusive online video event on Thursday February 17, 2022, to hear how and why Christopher Wylie sounded the alarm at Cambridge Analytica, what he learned about the power of using data for harm and why society may need to step up and demand a safe, secure Metaverse that puts people before profit.
