Why Did Silicon Valley Serial Entrepreneur Focus on the VR Lifestyle Survey?
Silicon Valley serial entrepreneur “Kiyo Kobayashi” has kindly introduced our “VR Lifestyle Survey” to the English-world audience on Twitter!
I had the opportunity to speak in person thanks to the interest he showed in our report. The “Pseudonymous Economy” he is aiming to realize in his ventures is very close to the concepts I advocate for, such as the “Dividual Economy” and “Economic Cosplay.” In this article, we have compiled the content Kiyo introduced, as well as the reactions to the introduction. It’s very intriguing to see what points Kiyo focused on, so please take a look!
Silicon Valley Serial Entrepreneur “Kiyo”
Kiyo Kobayashi
Kiyo is a serial entrepreneur including a successful exit. He was the co-founder and CEO of Nobot, the 2nd largest mobile ad network in Japan.
In addition, Kiyo founded the largest web3 social DAO in Japan with 8000 members. And he’s invested in 40+ startups and VCs including crypto funds.
Source : linkedin
Kiyo Introduced VR Lifestyle Survey!
*The following is quoted from Twitter. The bold parts are what Nem particularly focused on.
A recent study by @nemchan_nel and @BredikhinaL analyzes responses from 2,000 VR users worldwide and offers insights into lifestyles within the rapidly growing metaverse.
In this thread, we’ll highlight some key learnings, stats, and trends from the report!
Before diving into the details, let’s first understand why it’s crucial and relevant.
This study offers a glimpse into the current state of Social VR and hints at the evolving dynamics of our digital identities and the pseudonymous economy.
The report could be a window into a future where our digital selves are as important as our physical presence, affecting how we connect, work, and even perceive reality.
It’s a journey into learning how these virtual identities might shape our future in profound ways.
Focusing mostly on VR communities, identities, and economies, they investigate these key themes, especially how users represent themselves online.
The study serves as an introduction to the complexities of the evolving virtual universe and its future!
Starting with demographics, Japan leads with the highest survey responses, closely followed by North America, Europe, and Asia.
Responses mostly come from VRChat users, highlighting the importance of their opinions in shaping the future of Social VR.
The report then analyzes the lifestyle and community of VR users. Though male users have generally dominated usage over the years, there has been a gradual female increase!
Many users reported that they use VR for social activities, like events, chatting, and dancing!
After looking at communities, the report jumps into the identity of users and how they portray themselves online. According to the data, over 85% of people use pseudonyms!
Female avatars also dominate, with male users often opting for a more feminine look.
In terms of physical presence and voice, over 55% of people use full-body tracking, while 75% use their own voice to chat. The cost of these types of tracking and voice tools can run into the thousands!
Based on this pic, you can see there’s a ton of fun avatar options!
The report then dives into various communities and engagement between users, specifically how and why people find connection with one another.
Data shows that over 67% of people feel a closer connection with others in VR!
The study also shows that after 2–3 hours of daily usage for a year, users tend to get closer with each other.
This includes falling in love!
41% say they have. Those that do have attributed personality as the main reason, alongside voice and their avatars’ appearances.
With a ton of users creating and engaging with their community comes some spending!
Most users spend over $35 in social VR, with 42% of them purchasing a physical product after testing it digitally!
Some of these expenses include content tipping, music, and merchandise.
The final bit of data this report analyzes is the idea of “phantom sense,” or experiencing pseudo sensations that should only be audiovisual.
Around half of users with over 500 hours of use experience these sensations, which mostly occur in the face and hands.
And that’s a wrap!
Thanks for reading, and be sure to check out the full report here!
*The above is quoted from Twitter. The bold parts are what Nem particularly focused on.
Responces
Social VR Lifestyle Survey 2023
To visualize lifestyles in the Metaverse, we have published a report of a large-scale public survey conducted among users worldwide. This second survey has reached a new record with 2,000 responses, making it the largest to date. Thank you for your cooperation. We focused on highly requested themes: “changes due to rapid population growth,” “community,” and “economy.” To stimulate open discussions about the future of humanity and the Metaverse, we are offering the complete 80-page report for free. We are welcome for your feedback.
Peported also on Japanese blog
This is also reported on our Japanese blog post.
