Join The Movement for an Open Metaverse: The Open Meta DAO
The Open Meta DAO is working to ensure that the problems inherent to Web 2.0 become a thing of the past as the world transitions to Web 3.0 and the Metaverse. Its community-first approach will provide a platform for individuals from diverse backgrounds, skills and interests to work together to make the Metaverse a place of safety and opportunity.
The evolution of the World Wide Web era is at a crossroads.
Expansion of the Web and increased global connectivity have created opportunities for many involved. Whether it’s video streamers, online sellers, international businesses, or innovative digital entrepreneurs, the Internet era has helped to elevate the standings of millions of people and ushered in new sources of wealth creation. It has also become a boon for social connections, charitable giving, and more.
But these benefits have come with massive tradeoffs. Corporations have hijacked the Web, creating an online world built on data harvesting and algorithmic silos.
This has trampled all over the notion of privacy. User data is collected from every online interaction: from computers to phones, digital assistants, and more. That data is then sold off to the highest bidders. This has led to massive centralization and allowed a small number of companies to amass trillions of dollars on the backs of their users, with very little of that trickling down.
Web 2.0 Is Centralized and Problematic
The two-dimensional, algorithm-curated nature of Web 2.0 has taken a toll on the collective psyche. Interactions with others are behind screens, walls of text, and static images. People struggle to communicate, understand, and be heard. Every topic becomes highly politicized. Cyberbullying and censorship are rampant. Younger generations are exposed to tidal waves of information and lack the context and experience to process it all in a safe way.
A large part of traffic on the Internet flows through just a few companies. Twitter, Meta (formerly Facebook), Alphabet/Google, Amazon, Microsoft, and Apple own the lion’s share of social media platforms and the hardware infrastructures that support them.
Now, the Internet is about to change: from a mostly two-dimensional experience consumed through cell phones and computers, to a three-dimensional one that extends to new augmented, mixed and virtual reality devices.
The Metaverse will be the Internet as if it had been rebuilt by game developers: an immersive place where users can work, socialize, play and create.
But as the Metaverse emerges, there are massive incentives for the corporations of the Web 2.0 era to build a version of the Metaverse in which they can continue treating every user as a product, owning their data and controlling the narratives.
The result will be the same corporate control, but with higher resolution and better graphics. No change.
Lack of Developer Collaboration
The advent of blockchain technology has led to the creation of smart contracts, Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs), Decentralized Finance (DeFi), Decentralized Autonomous Organizations (DAOs), and Self-Sovereign Identities (SSIs). The combination of these nascent technologies allows for the removal of corporate gatekeepers, unnecessary intermediaries, and ultimately shifts power back to the users.
The emergence of the blockchain is running parallel to the creation of incredible cross-platform game worlds with millions of concurrent users.
Fortnite, Minecraft, Roblox, and others have created digital worlds in which people play games, socialize, attend concerts, and become members of robust virtual economies. These elements have transcended normal gaming and become digital extensions of the physical world.
But the cross-disciplinary communication between gaming and blockchain is weak. Consider games: while NFTs can help players become owners and stakeholders in their experiences, there is cultural resistance to the idea. Often viewed inaccurately as a new variation on the “loot box”, traditional gamers often push back on crypto-related innovations.
Education is key. But an even more pressing issue is the lack of cross-disciplinary development, joint ventures, and easy plug-and-play options for the technology.
Game developers build games and blockchain developers build blockchains. Blockchain gaming and Play-to-Earn projects are trying to bring the two sectors together, but it still leaves a lot to be desired in terms of creating a usable Metaverse.
Open Meta DAO: The Key to an Open and Decentralized Metaverse
If the Metaverse is going to reach its full potential as the next trillion-dollar market without creating new forms of digital serfdom and oppression, it needs to be built for the community, and by the community.
This is the promise of Open Meta DAO.
Open Meta DAO is a non-profit, decentralized community-driven governance engine powering a movement that welcomes all people interested in building an Open Metaverse.
The lack of privacy and self-sovereignty with Web 2.0 is unsustainable and destructive. Open Meta DAO is working to bring community discourse and governance into the Metaverse building process in a proactive manner. By having a diverse community and opportunities for feedback and collaboration, the Open Meta DAO can help to guide the Web 3.0 ship to a new horizon.
The Houses of the Open Meta DAO
The Open Meta DAO has a framework for different community Houses. The goal of these Houses is to facilitate specific conversations and guide community discourse around topics that are integral to the building of an open and inclusive Metaverse.
There are many different aspects to consider when building out the Open Metaverse, so Open Meta has established thirteen Houses as a starting point, ranging from technical matters like game modding and virtual production, to Houses covering ethics, well-being and future generations. This list is fluid and evolving based on community feedback and identified needs.
The Houses are already active on the Open Meta DAO Discord server, and each House will have a Head — or Heads — that look after that specific community. Discord has become a kind of two-dimensional proto-Metaverse with enormous communities building up in different servers for a multitude of reasons. It has gone far beyond a social site for gamers and is the perfect place for the Open Meta community to work on the collective blueprints for the digital future of humanity.
HIRO Scores and User Reputations
Another key aspect of the Open Meta DAO is the reputation score (called the HIRO Score), which increases through positive participation in the Open Metaverse by making proposals and engagement in governance. Because HIRO is based on reputation, it means that governance of the DAO is not driven by background or wealth.
Tokenomics and Participation
Interaction and participation for Open Meta DAO governance will be divided into two categories: Agora and Quorum. To gain access, users will need to hold $OMETA governance tokens.
The Agora can be thought of as an open space where ideas are shared and discussed. You simply need to hold $OMETA tokens to participate and stay up-to-date on what’s happening in the DAO.
Meanwhile, the Quorum allows $OMETA holders who stake a minimum quantity of $OMETA tokens and hold HIRO to participate in DAO governance.
By allowing this level of access, participation, and contribution, Open Meta DAO is laying the groundwork for a Web 3.0 environment that doesn’t repeat the mistakes of Web 2.0.
Closing the Technical Gaps With Crucible and Emergence SDK
One key piece of technology that will help extend the Open Meta DAO into the Metaverse itself is Emergence. This is a product developed by Crucible for the Open Meta DAO that allows game developers to add a digital trust layer.
Imagine being able to enter the Metaverse and be able to easily change personas. And imagine that those personas linked back to your web3 wallets.
Emergence provides simple-to-use functionality to connect to Web 3.0 technologies and create the infrastructure for an Open Metaverse. It acts as an in-game overlay, a mobile application, a browser extension, and even works with VR/AR, providing an ever-present interface to manage portable digital identities, secure credentials, fiat and crypto payments, digital property, and more.
The ability to securely login to the Open Metaverse with your web3 identity will open up a whole range of experiences for end users. From easy wallet management to displaying NFTs, it announces a shift in how much control users have over their digital personas.
The Open Meta DAO can take advantage of these features to provide a technical underpinning to its efforts, in addition to the governance and community structure of the DAO itself.
The Metaverse is too important to get wrong. It takes thought, leadership and many voices to direct it towards a future that does not repeat the mistakes of the past.
Be a part of Open Meta DAO, join our Discord, and add your voice to the community that’s shaping the future.
