Ready Player 2?
Everything a Parent Needs to Know about Web3 and the Metaverse By Zach Hirsch
W
hat should you do when your kids are spending hours immersed in Fortnite or seemingly in another world with their Oculus on, playing Beat Saber? The answer is simple: join them! Today’s internet has already revolutionized the world of work, games, and social interactions. Web3, the next iteration, will offer a much more immersive way to meet, play, and earn a living in the near future. Today’s games, along with the NFT’s and avatars your kids have been talking about, are a gateway to the future Metaverse and coming Meta-Economy. My Background
To introduce myself briefly, I’m Zach Hirsch, @instagram ipickwins, a Web3 entrepreneur, social influencer, and podcaster. I’m also only two years out of high school, and a member of Generation Z.
My journey into the virtual world started by playing VRChat seven years ago. This gave me a taste of what it’s like to build both a world and identity online, while contributing to the experience of others in the same community. I first came across the term ‘Metaverse’ when I read Neal Stephenson’s classic book, Snowcrash. After seeing the 2018 Spielberg movie, Ready Player One, I was all in. The Travis Scott Fortnite concert in April 2020 proved to me that the Metaverse would someday be a reality. I knew it was my destiny to help build it, and started looking for others to build it with. I met my co-founder, Danny Mozlin, the CEO of Mozverse, and found he had a different story. Danny is a noted kid inventor who conducted AR and VR experiments in middle school. By age ten, Danny was spending hours playing Nintendo’s Virtual Boy,
the first gaming console that allowed you to immerse yourself into your own universe. Our two paths may have been different, but we were both undeniably headed towards the future in Web3, and your current gamer, NFT collector, or 3D artist might be headed there as well. A Crash Course
Unlike some trends that come and go, Web3 and the Metaverse are here to stay, eventually affecting everything we do in the future. As a parent, encouraging your kids’ immersive activities is the first step to helping them participate in this new tech revolution. While your kids might think it’s cringe when you try to decode their lingo, in this case it’s important to understand the language of Web3. Here are my definitions of the most basic terms that are often thrown around. bcparent.ca • summer issue 2023 25