CCB Magazine

Simon Graff: "The Metaverse describes a vision, not a product"

Photo: © Privat

Established reality or hype? The Metaverse is in everyone's mouth. But what does it actually mean and, above all, how can creative professionals use it for themselves? Simon Graff founded FOR REAL?!, a Metaverse consulting company, and comes from the digital scene. In an interview with us, he explains what it's all about - today and in the future.  
 

INTERVIEW  Boris Messing

CCB Magazine:Hello Simon. You are an Extended Reality Specialist with a focus on the Metaverse. Please introduce yourself: How did you come to do what you do today? What is your expertise?

Simon Graff:I came to it like the virgin to the child, so to speak: I studied media and communication sciences in Hamburg and was very interested in immersion. In particular, I investigated the effects of presence experience in virtual reality in my final thesis. This was still a pretty new thing in 2014. So new, in fact, that I was getting more and more inquiries from companies about exactly how this VR technology worked. A few months later, I had job offers and speaking gigs, and decided to discontinue the master's degree I had started at the same time. 

CCB Magazine:So you slipped into that.

Simon Graff:You could say that. My passion for immersive technologies led me to become a consultant for VR, AR and other digital tools. But I also built prototypes of immersive 3D worlds myself, and still do when I have the time.

CCB Magazine:With FOR REAL?! you founded your own Metaverse consulting company in 2021. Who is the main target group for the consultancy?

Simon Graff:Very different. Primarily companies. From German industry to beauty companies, it's all there. Whoever comes knocking on my door. Creative agencies and networks are also among them, with whom I am in constant dialog regarding immersive technologies. Creative agencies in particular have a high pressure to innovate vis-à-vis their clients.

CCB Magazine:Asked in general terms, where do we currently stand in terms of Metaverse - is it more hype or established reality?

Simon Graff:The Metaverse primarily describes a vision and not a concrete product. In a broader sense, it's about the Internet go in. Now the question is, what does one already allow to pass as a Metaverse? Does it require VR goggles or none? How immersive does this world need to be? That depends on the particular perspective. For example, is a 3D world on the screen enough? In my opinion: yes. Others are much more dogmatic about this, for whom VR glasses are an absolute must. One thing is certain: the grand vision of a walkable Internet that plays a central role in everyday life is not yet a reality - neither on the software side nor on the hardware side.

The Metaverse primarily describes a vision and not a concrete product; in a broader sense, it is about the Internet to go in. What is certain is that this vision does not yet play a central role in everyday life today

CCB Magazine:Now that you mention it, according to a report in the Handelsblatt, experts don't expect a fully developed Metaverse for another twenty years because of the immense computing power involved. Shouldn't we have this conversation another time then? 

Simon Graff:Maybe. There are always technological hype waves. In the past ten years that I've been involved with this, there have often been such hypes, which then died down again. VR, AR, artificial intelligence, blockchain, NFTs, etc. To some extent, this is due to an artificially created pressure to innovate, fueled by the media. That said, I'm convinced that the walkable, immersive Internet is coming. Mark Zuckerberg is probably one of the best-known Metaverse visionaries who is putting a lot of money into this development right now. He may be the loudest, but he's not alone. We already have many building blocks for the vision, but not yet a Metaverse per se.

CCB Magazine:Please give us an example: How can creative professionals already use the Metaverse for themselves?

Simon Graff:Basic 3D human-computer interactions already exist. The Roblox gaming platform would be an example, Fortnite is often mentioned. There are already some digital proto-metaverses, just called by different names. Virtual reality, augmented reality, mixed reality, omniverse - at their core, they are all about spatial computing, a form of augmented reality. In this sense, creative people can use the Metaverse for themselves to market themselves better or to sell their art etc. Just as you can build a homepage today using the building block principle, you can already build your own Metaverse. There are many 3D creation tools available for anyone to use: from Blender to Spline3D to Unreal Engine, Unity Engine, etc. All available legally and free of charge. Creators can scale their reach with these tools.

Simon Graff posing with his avatars. Photo: © Privat

CCB Magazine:But the majority of creative people don't come from the digital scene. What do you recommend as an approach to these new 3D technologies? 

Simon Graff:The great thing is that today you can simply try out these technologies, quite playfully. We live in a time of great democratization of freely available technology. I recommend just giving it a try. It takes some time and patience. It's not rocket science, and you don't have to be afraid of it.

CCB Magazine:What do you think is the biggest benefit of the Metaverse so far?

Simon Graff:What I don't even have to mention anymore with corporations and large companies, because it's clear to everyone, are the expanded opportunities for virtual learning and collaboration. Things that would otherwise require being present in person can be learned or shared in the Metaverse. This applies to all work processes, and it can be applied to cultural institutions and creative professionals as well. The pandemic has naturally given a boost to this type of communication. Digital communication in a 3D space or virtual training are already commonplace at many companies. Especially since it saves costs.

Building a Metaverse is not rocket science, the tools to do it are all available for free. We live in a time of great democratization of freely available technology

CCB Magazine:What about, say, the human aspect of this kind of collaboration - isn't something lost there?

Simon Graff:The closeness we can feel in the Metaverse is much more intense than via Zoom, for example. I think it's important to understand that it's not about replacing reality and being human, but using other digital means of communication. Immersion, presence experiencing, feeling together in one place by means of these technologies - there's an extreme amount of potential in that. That is also the reason why Mark Zuckerberg and others are investing in this vision. 

CCB Magazine:Speaking of which, estimates put the market potential of the Metaverse at around $800 billion by 2030. Will any of this remain in the creative and cultural industries at all, or will  big tech firms like Meta or Microsoft end up grabbing it all? 

Simon Graff:Not all of them, but they will continue to play a big role. As an individual creative, I can develop great digital tools, but then, as is often the case, a big company like Meta takes notice and poaches me or buys my company. Many exciting technologies first take decentralized, confusing paths and then whittle down to a few big players that dominate the field. After all, this makes sense for the user. It simplifies the use of these technologies, it simplifies consumption. Most creative people don't want to program their own homepage and are happy if they can do it using the modular principle or pay someone to do it for them. The same is true for creating a Metaverse for my purposes. The question is not only what do new media do to us, but also what do people do to media. It's always a correlation. People usually welcome simplification of technologies. That's also one reason why only a few big players prevail. Because they have understood this game.

CCB Magazine:How do you think the Metaverse will evolve?

Simon Graff:The walkable Internet is coming, and interest in it is growing. The only question is: does it make sense for everyone? As with all media, different models will run in parallel at the same time. There will be the old, two-dimensional Internet used today, and at the same time there will be virtual 3D spaces that offer new communication and collaboration possibilities.

Category: Innovation & Vision