RIP Metaverse, an $80 Billion Dumpster Fire Nobody Wanted Highlight

I remember the metaverse, crypto, web3 Venn diagram of hype very well—in fact, I remember sitting in meetings where VICE executives proposed renting land in the crypto-focused Decentraland metaverse to build a virtual VICE headquarters (where we all worked before 404 Media). I noted at the time that Decentraland was stupid, and that far fewer people were on Decentraland at any given time than were reading even a failed blog post on the website of our failing company. It didn't matter. The people “willing to stand up and say ‘this is the future we want’” wanted a virtual building in a virtual dead mall, and they got it. Was it because they were so brave and forward looking? Or was it because they were rich and powerful and could say this is the future we, the business people, the business knowers, want?