Things are moving fast in the metaverse, and in the wider world of Web3 as a whole. Depending on who you ask, this futuristic, blockchain-based space is either the next big thing for marketing — and for almost everything else — or an overhyped fad. Here’s what you need to know from this past week:
NFT.NYC takes over midtown Manhattan
Thousands gathered in New York City this week for the fourth annual NFT.NYC, an event designed to bring together some of the best, brightest and most eager minds from the NFT community. The whirlwind, four-day event — running June 20-23 — included NFT galleries, appearances from Web3 celebrities, exclusive parties and massive digital billboards in Times Square displaying new NFT projects (the number of oversized, digital QR codes competing for one’s attention was a bit overwhelming). The event conspicuously took place the same week as the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity — undoubtedly the world’s biggest and most prestigious annual event for marketers — which returned this year after a two-year pause due to the pandemic. While Cannes Lions in many ways symbolizes the old guard of creativity, NFT.NYC seems to represent the new.
Meta showcases new VR headset prototypes
Meta founder and chief executive Mark Zuckerberg gave an…