HUMANS FOR SALE –
Oct. 29, 2021 – Consumers have seen those downfalls before. They remember John DeLorean promising to create the coolest car in history, instead ending up bankrupt and in court defending himself against cocaine trafficking charges. They know about Coca-Cola launching its “New Coke” with such a big publicity blitz that 80% of consumers heard about it within days . . . and started protesting with so much anger that the company’s own bottlers launched a lawsuit. And there are still a few people alive who remember Ford’s fiasco with the Edsel car. Is Zuckerberg risking a similar fate?
I admire his boldness, but I think he is making the wrong bet here. I’m not saying that the metaverse will be a total failure—in fact, I can imagine some consumers embracing it with enthusiasm. But these won’t be the cool kids who wear the hottest new fashions and buy the trendiest new gadgets. Instead, the Metaverse will almost certainly become associated with losers. I’m not surprised that the jokes started within minutes of Zuckerberg announcing the change.
