3 reasons I’m going all in on VR
Recently I’ve shifted my entire business to virtual reality. I’m even re-branding myself as a “futurist” (aka — someone who figured out how to monetize philosophy) and a virtual reality expert.
All of that last sentence is debatable but here’s what’s not, virtual reality (VR) tech is the future of literally everything.
Yes everything.
The “experts” estimate the VR market to be anywhere from $50–100 billion annually by 2020. I think they are way, WAY wrong, by a factor of 10.
At least.
Pokemon Go did almost a billion in just its first 5 months all by itself! That’s just one company with one simple idea and not really a great monetization strategy. When the average Joe has the simple tools to make experiences like that themselves, and knows how to use them, the world is going to change dramatically.
What’s missing so far is the curation of creators into something useful by small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs). Think Wordpress but for VR/AR (AR means “augmented reality” — think “on top of reality” graphics like Pokemon Go). The tools are out there but the education component is missing.
Apple is going to break the AR market wide open with the release of the next iPhone and their own smart glasses in early 2018. They have over 1000 engineers working on JUST that. Think they know something?
Infinite Business
Virtual reality technology is creating a vacuum of leading-edge developers and creative types. This is a symptom and a huge opportunity.
We are having the same conversations about VR/AR as I remember having back in the early days of the Internet. The shift is happening the exact same way just a lot faster this time.
Marketers are just starting to wake up to the opportunities for creative selling in VR/AR. AR alone is going to be the next giant wave marketing and customer engagement.
All of those things are creating infinite billion dollar business ideas. This is the early “wild west” days so get in now. The next Google, the next Facebook and the next education system are all coming from this wave. The quick-buck arbitrage opportunities are all over the place too if that’s your bent.
No matter what, DO NOT invest a boat load of money into a new slick website. Websites in general are already not much more than a brochure or business card. In less than 5 years, they will be less than that. Take heed.
Those that do will create fortunes. The VR blockchain tech coming from my team is just one branch that’s teed up to yield like the world hasn’t seen before.
Infinite Creativity
Hollywood is slowly waking up the fact that technology is about to pass them by (if not already) but some pioneers are breaking out of that mold and investing HEAVILY into VR/AR content.
IMAX just raised over $50 million that’s all going into VR content creation (games and movies). Location-based VR installations are the next wave of movie theaters no question. IMAX just recently launched their pilot location in Hollywood showcasing IMAX VR.
Google’s “Pearl” was nominated for an Oscar this year. This is just the beginning. Within just a few years ALL movies will be done in VR. Movies the way we experience them now will be a like black and white movies are to us now.
Volumetric video (video with depth information) is the game changer. It’s already creating a virtual land grab like the world has never seen. Think the SEO virtual real estate play that created Google was big? Volumetric video is several orders of magnitude larger.
8K resolution volumetric video is the creation of a real life Matrix world that’s indistinguishable from reality. This is already being done with live video but so far it creates files of over 400GB PER SECOND, so next-gen storage, compression and processing solutions are in the works.
Sound familiar? It should. The early days of YouTube carried the same concerns and technology advancements. It’s happening all over again but faster. Notice the shift and get in front of it.
More than a decade ago I was on the leading edge of website development. I built bad ass, cutting-edge websites for a lot of TV shows and celebrities including Dr. Phil, World Poker Tour and The Real World. During that time I was preaching a very similar message about Internet marketing.
Since then website development has become a commodity and therefore really boring. The next wave of creativity is coming in VR/AR technologies. The early marketers and creators that get it will bank big.
Infinite Education
There’s no question the entire education system in the United States is a mess. Even graduating from a high end university only guarantees one thing, a lot of debt. Forget about early education, it’s even worse.
The United States is 39th in the world rankings for education. It’s our fault. We allowed it to happen. See the documentary “Waiting for Superman” if you really want to see how bad it is.
The cool thing is that VR/AR tech is going to revolutionize education completely. Not only have we learned how gamification has a huge impact on engagement and learning, but using 3D gaming engines to teach visually is proving to take education to the next level. We are just scratching the surface of what’s possible with education.
Using VR/AR tech has shown a lot of promise in real clinical studies with curing PTSD, on the job training, treating autism with social VR, and a lot more. Even live EEG and real-time gamified brain scans are coming out for mobile apps. The possibilities are endless.
One particular area of interest for me is the rehabilitation of felons coming out of prison. Using AR/VR educational tools will reduce recidivism dramatically once its mainstream. VR creates the perfect empathy engine which only leads to lower crime and happier lives.
The Future Is Here
I could go on all day about all the cool things coming in the VR space. Just consider this a warning shot. Our world is changing extremely fast and for the better.
The next wave of technology is going to shake things up even faster than the shift to the Internet and mobile did. I’m in early and positioned well to take advantage of this. I hope you join me.
