The Metaverse – A Reading List


The Metaverse (or more technically, Web 3.0). Suddenly everyone’s talking about it. While that probably has something to do with a few high-profile announcements by a few tech companies (Epic Games, Facebook Meta, and Microsoft, just to name a few), the idea of the Metaverse has been around since Neal Stephenson’s 1992 book “Snow Crash”.

One of the biggest challenges with any new(-ish) terminology and technology is to get around the hype and figure out what it really is. And that’s what I’m going to try to do here. I’ve one of those (weird) people who has been working on a specific aspect of the Metaverse/Web 3.0 for the last 15 years or so.

Note: This is an evolving list that is updated frequently! If there is a good article or reference that I’ve missed, please let me know!

Suggested Reading List:

  • The 7 Rules of the Metaverse by T. Parisi (2021) – a great starting point. This is what those of us who are researching web 3.0 expect of companies that are trying to do Web 3.0
  • The Metaverse: What is it? M. Ball (2020) – a great series that of posts that explains the Metaverse in more detail and who the players are.
  • VentureBeat Interview with Tim Sweeny (Jan. 2021) – The Unreal Game Engine is one of the key components of building the Metaverse. Tim is the CEO of Epic Games, which owns Unreal Engine
  • Adweek’s Metaverse Marketing Podcast hosted by Cathy Hackl (Sep. 2021) – A gentle intro to the Metaverse and what it will mean for businesses.

Early Examples:

In case you are interested, my research is in the field of how people learn in virtual worlds (what we called the Metaverse a few years ago). If you would like to chat, contact me for consulting, or a speaking engagement, send me a message at DrBurton@BurtonsMediaGroup.com

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