Good Morning! – For those wondering where week 43 is, my apologies. Last Sunday, I was out with Blind Eye Soup Kitchen, walking around the city centre providing hot drinks and breakfast to those sleeping rough. Therefore didn’t have an opportunity to write about Week 43.
But here I am… Week 44! Lots happening! So I’ll share my Top Two Tech Stories of the Week!
- First up… Facebook becomes Meta!
So… as Facebook become Meta… and it’s all about the Metaverse, what is it?
To the outsider, it may look like a souped-up version of Virtual Reality (VR) – but some people think the metaverse could be the future of the internet.
In fact, the belief is that it could be to VR what the modern smartphone is to the first clunky mobile phones of the 1980s.
Instead of being on a computer, in the metaverse you might use a headset to enter a virtual world connecting all sorts of digital environments.
Unlike current VR, which is mostly used for gaming, this virtual world could be used for practically anything – work, play, concerts, cinema trips – or just hanging out.
Most people envision that you would have a 3D avatar – a representation of yourself – as you use it.
But because it’s still just an idea, there’s no single agreed definition of the metaverse.
Hype about digital worlds and augmented reality pops up every few years, but usually dies away.
However, there is a huge amount of excitement about the metaverse among wealthy investors and big tech firms, and no-one wants to be left behind if it turns out to be the future of the internet.
There’s also a feeling that for the first time, the technology is nearly there, with advancements in VR gaming and connectivity coming close to what might be needed.
Facebook has made building the metaverse one of its big priorities.
It’s invested heavily in virtual reality through its Oculus headsets, making them cheaper than rivals – perhaps even at a loss, according to some analysts.
It’s also building VR apps for social hangouts and for the workplace, including ones that interact with the real world.
2. Up next… Imagine getting paid in Bitcoin….?!
Well, guess what…. Eric Adams, mayor-elect for New York City, has said he would like his first three pay checks in bitcoin.
The former police captain was elected this week to take over at the end of mayor Bill de Blasio’s term in January.
Mr Adams said on social media that he wanted to signal his intention to make New York the “centre of the cryptocurrency industry”.
The value of bitcoin, the world’s largest cryptocurrency, has been highly volatile, since it was created in 2009.
Mr Adam’s comments appear to be an attempt to one-up the mayor of Miami, Francis Suarez, who had already said in his own Twitter message that he would take his first pay check in bitcoin, after he was re-elected.
Mr Suarez has already said he would like to establish Miami as a hub for cryptocurrency innovation.
Mr Adams upped the stakes by asking for three months’ pay in the cryptocurrency.
“In New York we always go big, so I’m going to take my first three pay checks in bitcoin when I become mayor,” Mr Adams wrote in a Twitter post.
“NYC is going to be the centre of the cryptocurrency industry and other fast-growing, innovative industries! Just wait!”
Mr Adams, a Democrat, was elected on Tuesday, and will become the city’s second black mayor.
In August Mr Suarez helped established a cryptocurrency called MiamiCoin run by a nonprofit organisation, CityCoins. It sends 30% of the value of the currency that is created on a person’s computer to the city and has raised $7m for Miami, according to the Washington Post.
Mr Adams told Bloomberg radio that he would like to do something similar in New York.
If Mr Adams, who ran on a pro-business platform, wants to establish New York as a hub for cryptocurrencies he may run into opposition.
The cryptocurrency has been heavily criticised in the past over its environmental impact.
And New York Attorney General Letitia James, who will stand for election as governor of New York, recently launched a crackdown on unregistered cryptocurrency companies.
So there you go… getting paid in Bitcoin and all about the Metaverse. Would you get paid in Bitcoin?