Table of Contents

1. Cover
2. Title Page
3. Preface
4. Introduction: Five Stories about Five Core Metaverse Concepts
5. PART I: Conception
   1. CHAPTER 1: Crash Course—A Simple History of a Complex Idea
      1. Creating the Metaverse Immediately after Snow Crash
      2. Reclaiming the Metaverse's Definition Taken from Its Source
   2. CHAPTER 2: Second Life and the Mystery of the First Metaverse Platform
      1. Part 1: Rise and Fall
      2. Part 2: Postmortem
      3. Part 3: Second Life Forever
   3. CHAPTER 3: How Facebook Became Meta (But Lost the Metaverse on the Way)
      1. The Second Life of Oculus
      2. Acquisition Bias
      3. Horizon Lines
      4. Ingrained Identity
      5. The Second Life of Horizons?
6. PART II: Realization
   1. CHAPTER 4: Kid Stuff: Minecraft, and the Rise of Roblox
      1. Minecraft, the Metaverse Generation, and the Rise of Metaverse TV
      2. How Blocky Avatars Encourage Creativity
      3. Portrait of the Artist as a Young Jamaican Woman
      4. The Trouble with Children in the Metaverse
   2. CHAPTER 5: Battle Royale for the Fortnite Metaverse
      1. Inside the Alliance
      2. Advice for Brands
      3. Advice for Creators—Especially Women
   3. CHAPTER 6: Neal Stephenson Enters the Metaverse—Lamina1, Blockchain, and the Utopia of Ownership
      1. Imagining the Metaverse-as-a-Service
      2. Redefining the Metaverse with the Metaverse's Creator
      3. A Brief History of the Cryptoverse
      4. Lamina1's Theory of Value
      5. A Literary Arc to Lamina1
   4. CHAPTER 7: VRChat and Finding Furry Anime Utopia
      1. Knuckling Under
      2. Game of Trust
      3. Communities Create Community
      4. A Community Endlessly Creating
      5. EAC and the Ironic Challenge of Metaverse Community Management
      6. VRChat Swallows the Internet
      7. The Lure of the Market and the Future of VRChat
      8. Getting Started
7. PART III: Promises and Perils
   1. CHAPTER 8: VR, Interoperability, Web3, and Other Metaverse Myths
      1. Myth: VR is essential to the Metaverse
      2. Myth: The Metaverse must incorporate augmented reality
      3. Myth: Web3 is part of the Metaverse! (Or vice versa.)
      4. Myth: Photorealistic human avatars and world graphics are the Metaverse's end goal
      5. Myth: The Metaverse must interoperate across the Internet
      6. Myth: The Metaverse is for everyone!
      7. Myth: There is only one Metaverse
   2. CHAPTER 9: Sex, Abuse, and the Eternal Content Moderation Challenge
      1. Ever-Perennial Metaverse Problems: Sex, Trolling and Harassment, and Underage Users
      2. Building a Better Moderated Metaverse
   3. CHAPTER 10: Metaverse Real-World Use Cases—Separating Substance from Hype
      1. Understanding Real Metaverse Use Cases: A Checklist
      2. Use Case: Live Music/Entertainment—Pros and Cons
      3. Untapped Opportunity: Classic IP Extension
   4. CHAPTER 11: Overcoming the Metaverse Age Cliff and the Immersion Funnel
      1. Aging Out
      2. Inside the Immersion Funnel
      3. Widening the Funnel
      4. Bridging the Age Cliff
      5. Journeying Across the Age Cliff with Jenova Chen
      6. Metaverse Mindshare and a New State of Play
8. PART IV: A Metaverse Worth Fighting For
   1. CHAPTER 12: Future Paths
      1. Jenova Chen and the Metaverse Theme Park
      2. Connecting Across Generations
      3. AI and the Metaverse
      4. Streaming the Metaverse in Our Hands
      5. Looking for a Lean-Forward Metaverse
   2. CHAPTER 13: Future Pitfalls—Manipulation, Takedowns, and the Experience Machine
      1. The Dangers of an Unregulated Metaverse
      2. Confronting the Experience Machine
   3. CHAPTER 14: Metaverse Lessons for the Next 30 Years
      1. Community Creates Value—Not the Other Way Around
      2. Accessibility Isn't Optional; It's Fundamental
      3. A Game First and Foremost
      4. Collaborative, In-World Creation Remains the Gold Standard
      5. Time Shifting and Social Media Are Essential to the Metaverse
      6. Avatars Shape Culture
      7. Community and Company Must Grow Together
9. Afterword: Where in the Virtual World the Platforms and People from This Book Are Now
10. Glossary
11. Appendix A: Rules for Avatar Radicals and Reformers
12. Appendix B: Advice for Metaverse Reporters
13. Acknowledgments
14. About the Author
15. Index
16. Copyright
17. Dedication
18. End User License Agreement

List of Illustrations

1. Introduction
   1. FIGURE I.1 Charles Bristol, 88, performing live in Second Life
2. Chapter 2
   1. FIGURE 2.1 AM Radio/Jeff Berg in The Far Away in Second Life.
3. Chapter 4
   1. FIGURE 4.1 Intrance and LAGurlz in their Starving Artists experience in Robl...
   2. FIGURE 4.2 Roblox's “Starving Artists” art auction.
4. Chapter 5
   1. FIGURE 5.1 “The Faraway” of Second Life re-created in Fortnite Creative by A...
   2. FIGURE 5.2 Jeff “AM Radio” Berg with his son Cary (ion right)
   3. FIGURE 5.3 Mackenzie Jackson's Fortnite avatar “MackJack” and Alliance's Dor...
5. Chapter 7
   1. FIGURE 7.1 Syrmor greets an alien in vrchat
6. Chapter 9
   1. FIGURE 9.1 Avatars in Sky: Children of Light
7. Chapter 10
   1. FIGURE 10.1 Popstar AURORA performing in Sky: Children of Light for 4,000 si...
   2. FIGURE 10.2 Cohosting a conference with Philip Rosedale (avatar in the black...
8. Chapter 11
   1. FIGURE 11.1 The Metaverse Age Cliff: From Metaversed's 2023 Q1 Demographics ...
9. Chapter 13
   1. FIGURE 13.1
10. Afterword
    1. FIGURE A.1 Fran Swenson/Fran Serenade
    2. FIGURE A.2 Jeff Berg/AM Radio

Guide

1. Cover
2. Title Page
3. Copyright
4. Dedication
5. Preface
6. Introduction: Five Stories about Five Core Metaverse Concepts
7. Table of Contents
8. Begin Reading
9. Afterword: Where in the Virtual World the Platforms and People from This Book Are Now
10. Glossary
11. Appendix A: Rules for Avatar Radicals and Reformers
12. Appendix B: Advice for Metaverse Reporters
13. Acknowledgments
14. About the Author
15. Index
16. End User License Agreement