Reflecting on a Year of Innovation in the Metaverse – Part 2
As we wrap up 2024, we’re closing out an incredible year for Into the Metaverse with the second installment of our "Best Of" series. This year has been filled with groundbreaking conversations, a major milestone of 100 episodes, and a community of listeners who’ve made it all possible. To everyone who has tuned in, shared an episode, or helped spread the word—thank you for being part of this journey!
In this final episode of the year, we’re bringing you highlights from another four exceptional guests whose insights have truly shaped our understanding of the metaverse. These clips capture the essence of what Into the Metaverse is all about—pushing boundaries, exploring transformative ideas, and imagining what’s possible in this evolving space.
From conversations about interoperability and AI to the challenges and opportunities of virtual worlds, this episode revisits the moments that sparked the most engagement and left a lasting impact. Whether you’re reflecting on the year with us or tuning in for the first time, we hope these insights inspire you as much as they’ve inspired us.
Thank you for being a part of this journey. Here’s to an exciting 2025 filled with more innovation, curiosity, and progress in the metaverse. Let’s keep building the future together!
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Segment Details:
From E91 with Krystal Hauserman
How Interoperability Unlocks Marketing in the Metaverse
Full episode with Krystal: YouTube | Spotify | Apple
Follow Krystal: LinkedIn | Website
From E96 with Charlie Fink
How Generations of Tech and People Have Interacted and Influenced Each Other
Full episode with Charlie: YouTube | Spotify | Apple
From E97 with Marcus Holmstrom
Entertainment IP Coming Into and Out Of Roblox
Full episode with Marcus: YouTube | Spotify | Apple
Follow Marcus: LinkedIn
From E103 with Stephanie Hirschmiller
Digital to Physical Feedback Loops
Full episode with Stephanie: YouTube | Spotify | Apple
Follow Stephanie: LinkedIn | Instagram
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Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
01:35 Krystal Hauserman
06:06 Charlie Fink
18:59 Marcus Holmstrom
27:05 Stephanie Hirschmiller
What a year it has been for Into the Metaverse!
As 2024 comes to a close, we’re taking a moment to celebrate what has been an incredible year of conversations, milestones, and, most importantly, growth in understanding the ever-evolving metaverse. This year, we crossed the 100-episode milestone—a huge achievement that wouldn’t have been possible without your support. To everyone who’s tuned in, shared our content, or simply joined the conversation, thank you from the bottom of our hearts.
We’ve had the privilege of hosting some of the most innovative minds in the metaverse space. To reflect on this extraordinary year, we’re bringing you not one but two special "Best Of" episodes featuring clips from the conversations that sparked the most engagement, generated the most insight, and helped us all better understand where the metaverse is headed.
In this first of two episodes, you’ll hear from four amazing guests whose perspectives and expertise have helped shape our understanding of this transformative moment in tech and culture. Each clip highlights ideas and predictions that are driving the metaverse forward, and we hope they inspire you as much as they’ve inspired us.
Segment Details:
From E84 with Alvaro Velilla, SVP New Business at Universal Music Group
Building a Sustainable Relationship Between Roblox & Music
Full episode with Alvaro: YouTube | Spotify | Apple
Follow Alvaro: LinkedIn
From E95 with Matthew Ball, award-winning author and metaverse expert
Four Major Ways AI Impacts Future of the Metaverse
Full episode with Matthew: YouTube | Spotify | Apple
Buy Matthew’s award-winning book, The Metaverse: Building the Spatial Internet
Follow Matthew: Website | LinkedIn | Twitter
From E98 with Cathy Hackl, tech & gaming executive, futurist, and speaker
Our Current Technological Convergence Point
Full episode with Cathy: YouTube | Spotify | Apple
Follow Cathy: LinkedIn | Instagram
From E101 with Liam Broza, Chief Innovation Officer for Infinite Reality (iR)
Why the Web and Browser Is the Place to Build the Metaverse
Full episode with Liam: YouTube | Spotify | Apple
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
01:24 Alvaro Velilla
08:36 Matthew Ball
18:16 Cathy Hackl
25:02 Liam Broza
Unlock the potential of 3D data and discover why it’s the next frontier of innovation with Paul Powers, Founder & CEO of Physna. In this thought-provoking episode of Into the Metaverse, Paul explains how his pioneering work in "Physical DNA" is transforming industries by bridging the gap between the physical and digital worlds. From optimizing supply chains to revolutionizing engineering processes, Paul highlights how 3D data holds the key to accelerating AI development, enhancing design, and creating a more seamless and efficient metaverse. Whether you’re curious about the intricacies of 3D AI or seeking practical applications for emerging technologies, this conversation sheds light on how Physna is leading the charge.
Chapters:
Paul’s Education (00:00)
What Living Abroad Taught (10:39)
Physna and Three Key Use Cases (12:55)
Current Users and Impact (21:22)
Technology At Play (24:34)
From First Pitch to Now (31:43)
Excited Next 12 Months (34:08)
Paul Powers is the Founder & CEO of Physna, the industry leader in geometric search, 3D AI, and owner of Thangs. Paul was listed in Forbes 30 Under 30 in 2019, and is regularly featured in national and international media highlighting his perspective on the next generation of software, AI and the growing role of 3D.
Check out all things Physna
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Learn more about Into the Metaverse by visiting the website.
Learn more about Supersocial by visiting the website.
Welcome to Into the Metaverse. In this week’s episode, Yon sits down with Jacob Loewenstein, Senior Vice President of Business Development and Strategy at Spatial, to explore how Spatial is reshaping the 3D internet and user-generated content landscape.
Jacob takes us through his journey from early investments in AR/VR to leading Spatial’s evolution from an enterprise-focused tool to a user-driven platform for immersive 3D creation. Highlighting Spatial’s mission to bridge generational divides in the virtual world, Jacob discusses how Spatial enables creators and companies alike to design interactive spaces accessible across all devices—from VR headsets to web browsers.
Join the conversation as they delve into the unique challenges of building a cross-platform metaverse, the importance of democratizing virtual creation, and why a 3D internet accessible to all may be the key to future digital engagement.
Jacob Loewenstein is SVP, Business Development & Strategy at Spatial, an online gaming platform that brings the Roblox model to millions of Unity devs. He leads strategic partnerships, marketing, and developer relations. Jacob was previously Spatial’s investor at Samsung NEXT NY, where he led AR/VR investment and business development. He received his MBA from MIT, where he co-founded the VR/AR hackathon at the MIT Media Lab.
Follow Yon: LinkedIn | Twitter
Learn more about Into the Metaverse by visiting the website.
Learn more about Supersocial by visiting the website.
Welcome to Into the Metaverse. In this week’s episode, Yon sits down with Stephanie Hirschmiller, a consultant, creative strategist, and content specialist in luxury and tech, to explore how the worlds of beauty, fashion, and virtual identity are converging in the metaverse.
Stephanie shares insights from her work with major brands and platforms, diving into why beauty and fashion brands are moving into virtual spaces like Roblox and Fortnite and how digital identities are reshaping self-expression for younger generations. They discuss the rise of 3D avatars, hyper-personalization in the virtual realm, and what it means for traditional beauty and fashion industries as more people invest in their digital appearances.
Tune in as Yon and Stephanie examine the future of identity, self-expression, and brand engagement in an increasingly digital world.
Chapters:
(00:00) Stephanie’s Background
(04:53) When Will Virtual Be Bigger Than Physical
(09:57) Digital to Physical Feedback Loop
(16:41) Innovation in How Brands Interact Virtually
(22:38) Brands Doing It Best So Far
(27:03) Interoperability
(31:15) Blurring the Lines
Stephanie is a brand consultant and editor working at the intersection of luxury beauty, fashion and innovation. She is also co-founder of The Future Face which hosts experiential workshopping events matchmaking beauty industry decision makers with tech providers.
Read all of Stephanie’s writing.
Follow Stephanie: LinkedIn | Instagram
Follow Yon: LinkedIn | Twitter
Learn more about Into the Metaverse by visiting the website.
Learn more about Supersocial by visiting the website.
Welcome to Into the Metaverse. In this week’s episode, Yon sits down with Yemel Jardi, Co-founder of Decentraland and Executive Director of the Decentraland Foundation, for an in-depth conversation about how Decentraland is shaping the future of virtual worlds.
Yemel shares his journey from developing open-source Bitcoin tools to building one of the most influential decentralized virtual worlds, highlighting the core principles of self-custody, user-generated content, and open-source collaboration. The two discuss the challenges and opportunities of building an open metaverse, the role of major brands like Dolce & Gabbana and Netflix, and why interoperability is crucial for the future of digital ownership.
Tune in as they explore the next phase of Decentraland’s evolution and what it means for users, creators, and brands in the open metaverse.
Yemel Jardi is a co-founder of Decentraland, and the Executive Director of the Decentraland Foundation. With a passion for blockchain technology, Yemel began building open source tools for Bitcoin development in 2014, and later co-founded Casa Voltaire, which has incubated significant blockchain projects such as Decentraland, OpenZeppelin, HardHat, and Muun. He is currently the Executive Director of the Decentraland Foundation, leading the organization's efforts to build a decentralized virtual world in the open metaverse.
Immerse yourself in Decentraland
Chapters:
Follow Yon: LinkedIn | Twitter
Learn more about Into the Metaverse by visiting the website.
Learn more about Supersocial by visiting the website.
In today’s episode, Yon welcomes Liam Broza, Chief Technology Officer at Infinite Reality, to dive into the impressive work Infinite Reality is doing in pushing the boundaries of the web and creating immersive and social 3D experiences.
During their conversation, Liam fills Yon in on how he came to be at Infinite Reality and what the companies main set of goals are, before discussing why web based will win, the current set of obstacles facing Infinite Reality, how to scale the audience, the role of AI and blockchain, and much more.
Liam Broza is the Chief Innovation Officer for Infinite Reality (iR), an innovation company powering the next generation of digital media and ecommerce through AI and immersive technologies. Liam leads the company’s platform team building iR Engine, a no-code cutting-edge spatial web platform that empowers creators and brands, regardless of technical ability, to build immersive web experiences with ease.
Liam has spent the last 15 years working at the intersection of spatial computing, computer vision, and data sovereignty. A lifelong engineer and entrepreneur with a deep bench of data learning and immersive computing skills, Liam co-founded, expanded, and ultimately led Ethereal Engine, a creator of end-to-end frameworks for web-first, social immersive experiences, to its successful $75 million acquisition by Infinite Reality.
Check out everything Infinite Reality is working on.
Follow Liam: LinkedIn | X | Blog
Chapters:
Follow Yon: LinkedIn | Twitter
Learn more about Into the Metaverse by visiting the website.
Learn more about Supersocial by visiting the website.
Welcome to the 100th episode of Into the Metaverse! In today’s episode, Yon welcomes Matthew Ball back to the podcast to continue their discussion on the future of the metaverse and the convergence of so many new technologies.
During their conversation Yon and Matthew dive into four of the major themes and categories that Matthew wanted to update with the second edition of his book which includes crypto currency, head mounted displays, artificial intelligence and the two frames of convergence. Then they spend the second half of the conversation diving into the potential of Roblox and why it is still so underestimated.
Ball is eponymous for his writings on the evolution of the media landscape and the metaverse with his award-winning best-selling book, The Metaverse: Building the Spatial Internet. A second, updated edition of the book was released earlier this summer, which you can purchase now on Amazon, or visit here for more info and purchase options.
Follow Matthew: Website | LinkedIn | Twitter
Chapters:
Follow Yon: LinkedIn | Twitter
Learn more about Into the Metaverse by visiting the website.
Learn more about Supersocial by visiting the website.
Welcome to Into the Metaverse, in this week’s episode, Yon welcomes back the Godmother of the Metaverse, Cathy Hackl, to continue their conversation of the metaverse, this time with a focus on the race to capture the AI and VR hardware markets, touching on recent events and announcements from Apple, Meta, Snap, and Roblox.
Cathy Hackl is a globally recognized tech & gaming executive, futurist, and speaker focused on spatial computing, virtual worlds, augmented reality, AI, strategic foresight, and gaming platforms strategy. She’s one of the top tech voices on LinkedIn and is the CEO of Spatial Dynamics, a spatial computing and AI solutions company, including gaming. Hackl has worked at Amazon Web Services (AWS), Magic Leap, and HTC VIVE and has advised companies like Nike, Ralph Lauren, Walmart, Louis Vuitton, and Clinique on their emerging tech and gaming journeys.
During their conversation, Yon and Cathy get into the underwhelming Apple announcements, Meta’s opportunity for a hardware breakthrough, Snap’s new developer only Spectacles, Roblox’s new goal, and more.
Chapters:
Intro & Agenda (00:00)
Apple Underwhelms (00:39)
Meta’s Hardware Opportunity (04:24)
Snap’s Developer First Approach (08:25)
Roblox’s Ambitious New Goal (14:14)
Roblox Remains Underestimated (22:49)
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Follow Cathy: LinkedIn | Instagram
Read Cathy’s Free EBook, A Wearable World
Learn more about Into the Metaverse by visiting the website.
Learn more about Supersocial by visiting the website.
Welcome to Into the Metaverse, in this week’s episode, Yon welcomes the Godmother of the Metaverse, Cathy Hackl, to the podcast to discuss the convergence point of many new technologies and how they are shaping the metaverse in the near term future.
Cathy Hackl is a globally recognized tech & gaming executive, futurist, and speaker focused on spatial computing, virtual worlds, augmented reality, AI, strategic foresight, and gaming platforms strategy. She’s one of the top tech voices on LinkedIn and is the CEO of Spatial Dynamics, a spatial computing and AI solutions company, including gaming. Hackl has worked at Amazon Web Services (AWS), Magic Leap, and HTC VIVE and has advised companies like Nike, Ralph Lauren, Walmart, Louis Vuitton, and Clinique on their emerging tech and gaming journeys.
During their conversation, Yon and Cathy discuss her time at Magic Leap and how she originally got hooked on the metaverse, before going into who and what are leading the way in spatial computing, some innovative work being done by major brands, the types of investments and timeframes CMOs should be pushing for when coming into the metaverse, and much more.
Follow Cathy: LinkedIn | Instagram
Read Cathy’s Free EBook, A Wearable World
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Chapters:
Introduction (00:00)
How Cathy Got Hooked on the Metaverse (02:15)
What Her Time at Magic Leap Taught Cathy (04:51)
Our Current Technological Convergence Point (07:35)
Who’s Leading in the AI and Spatial Computing World (14:35)
Brands and Consumer Companies Doing Innovative Work (18:49)
The Need to Invest and Learn Now (22:38)
Future of Marketing & Engagement (27:39)
Most Excited for Next 12 Months (33:20)
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Learn more about Into the Metaverse by visiting the website.
Learn more about Supersocial by visiting the website.
Welcome to Into the Metaverse, in this week’s episode, Yon welcomes Marcus Holmström, Founder and CEO of The Gang, for a conversation centered around their experiences building a game studio for Roblox and the wider metaverse.
Marcus discusses the inception and growth of The Gang, the success of their branded experiences like Vans and Shrek on Roblox, and the future of integrating real-world commerce into virtual worlds. The two then discuss the importance of being an early adopter and continuously learning from the community, before touching upon the challenges of adapting to Roblox's unique audience and social components, the strategic growth of the company, and the role of new technologies and brand partnerships in shaping the future of the platform.
Learn more about The Gang and all their current and upcoming games
Follow Marcus: LinkedIn
Chapters:
Most Excited About in Year Ahead (39:58)
Learn more about Into the Metaverse by visiting the website.
Learn more about Supersocial by visiting the website.
Welcome to Into the Metaverse, in this week’s episode, Yon welcomes Charlie Fink to the podcast. Charlie writes the weekly Forbes column "This Week in XR" and co-hosts its companion podcast. He is the author of the critically acclaimed AR-enabled books Charlie Fink’s Metaverse (2017), and Convergence, How The World Will Be Painted With Data (2019). His career spans impactful stops at Disney, AOL, American Greetings, and more.
During their conversation, Charlie gives Yon the overview of his career and how it led to his interest and writing on the metaverse, before the two dive into how to define the metaverse today, the different generations of tech each generation of humans have had to work with and its implications on them, the future of devices and hardware, and much more.
Yon will be appearing on Charlie’s podcast in the near future, so be on the lookout for that to get more of this riveting conversation!
Chapters
Follow Charlie: Website | X | LinkedIn
Read Charlie on Forbes
Listen to This Week in XR: Apple | Spotify
Learn more about Into the Metaverse by visiting the website.
Learn more about Supersocial by visiting the website.
Welcome to Into the Metaverse. In today’s episode, Yon welcomes Matthew Ball to the podcast. Ball is eponymous for his writings on the evolution of the media landscape and the metaverse and his book, The Metaverse: Building the Spatial Internet. A second edition of the book will be released later this year.
Yon and Matthew had an excellent, wide-ranging conversation about the metaverse's past, present, and future. They discuss where we are in realizing 100% of the metaverse vision, the major ways AI will impact the metaverse’s evolution, how and why the youngest generations have always driven adoption, and much more.
With a lot of ground still to cover, Yon and Matthew will be doing a follow up part two to this conversation in the near future, so be sure to subscribe so you don’t miss when that releases!
Preorder the updated and revised version of Matthew’s award-winning best-seller, The Metaverse: Building the Spatial Internet, on Amazon, or visit here for more info and purchase options.
Follow Matthew: Website | LinkedIn | Twitter
Chapters:
00:00 Intro
00:24 Welcoming Matthew
02:04 The Four Bounces of the Metaverse Theme
07:19 Where Are We in Realizing 100% of the Metaverse
13:07 The Youngest Generation Has Always Driven Adoption
17:35 Roblox and the Current Size of MAU in Metaverse Applications
22:25 Four Major Ways AI Impacts the Evolution of the Metaverse
32:05 Enabling Interoperability Across the Metaverse
39:24 Shifting Anchors within Entertainment Industry
43:37 Wrap Up
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Follow Yon: LinkedIn | Twitter
Learn more about Into the Metaverse by visiting the website.
Learn more about Supersocial by visiting the website.
Welcome back to Into the Metaverse. In this week’s episode, Yon and Matthew dive into four topics from the last week or so that we see as influential to the development of the metaverse. This weeks topics are:
Nvidia’s earnings report and how the company is helping fuel the future infrastructure of the metaverse. (More on this in our recent blog post)
The recent leadership changes at Unity.
Some thoughts from Yon on Roblox’s earnings.
Brand activations on the Roblox platform.
If there’s any topics you’d like us to cover in future episodes, please get in touch with us. And if you haven’t already, please complete our short survey to help us understand how we can best fine-tune our content.
Chapters:
00:00 Introduction
01:29 Nvidia Earnings
08:15 Unity Leadership Changes
12:33 Roblox Earnings
19:16 Brand Activations on Roblox
25:16 Wrap Up
Learn more about Into the Metaverse by visiting the website.
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Follow Matthew: LinkedIn | Twitter
Learn more about Supersocial by visiting the website.
Welcome back to another episode of Into the Metaverse. In this episode, Matthew breaks down four news items from the past week or so that we believe are important to the development of the metaverse including:
We hope you enjoyed Matthew’s takes on these topics. If there’s any topics you’d like us to cover in future episodes, please get in touch with us. And if you haven’t already, please complete our short survey to help us understand how we can best fine-tune our content.
Roblox is the closest platform to the true vision of the metaverse; a persistent, immersive, shared, 3D space that re-imagines how users can connect, communicate, play, shop, and express themselves. In a sense, Roblox can be viewed as the public beta of the metaverse. And Roblox is already emerging as the primary social platform for Gen Alpha and younger Gen Z.
With 72 million daily active users and approximately 350 million monthly active users, all of whom spend about 2.4 hours per day on the platform, Roblox is truly the most engaging platform on the Internet. And with a user base that is increasingly getting older, with 40% of DAU now over the age of 16, Roblox is no longer just a platform for young kids.
But how did the Roblox of today come to be? From its founding as Dynablox 20 years ago, to launching the first experience, to opening up the avatar economy and more, Yon and Matthew dive deep into the company and platform’s history, its founders and its future in our latest episode of Into the Metaverse.
And as always, if you liked this podcast, make sure to rate, review and subscribe to our substack.
Topics:
Where Roblox Started (02:07)
Building the Developer Community (10:10)
Four Core Values Drive Employee Ownership and Accountability (19:01)
The Numbers Behind Roblox’s Present (23:10)
Brands and IP Have Begun Leveraging Roblox (29:17)
How Roblox Gets to 1 Billion Users (38:18)
AI and New Technologies Impact on Roblox Growth (40:41)
The Economics of Building on Roblox vs Other Platforms (46:40)
The Future of Real World Commerce on Roblox (53:09)
The Challenge of IP Use in a World of Digital Self Expression (58:41)
Could Roblox Ever Be Acquired (01:04:22)
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Learn more about Supersocial by visiting the website.
Roblox has a large, vibrant community of Gen Z users that spend on average about 2.5 hours per day on the platform. And to discuss how best to market to this audience, Yon welcomes Krystal Hauserman, a dedicated marketing executive to the podcast.
Krystal was previously the CMO of 11:11 media, the company founded by Paris Hilton to transform the celebrity’s consumer products, entertainment and media empire for a youth audience. Notably, they launched a persistent Roblox experience themed around Paris.
Krystal and Yon had a great conversation covering a broad range of topics, including bringing celebrity experiences to the Roblox platform, learnings from interacting with Gen Z and Gen Alpha users on Roblox and more broadly in marketing and much more.
Follow Krystal: LinkedIn | Website
Learn more about Into the Metaverse and Yon by visiting the website.
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How are enterprises viewing investing in the metaverse today? Yon was delighted to welcome Edwina Fitzmaurice, the Chief Customer Success Officer at EY to the podcast. Edwina is also a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council, an adjunct associate professor at Trinity College Dublin and a board member and chair of the governance committee of WIN: Women in Innovation.
Edwina and Yon had a wonderful conversation covering a broad range of topics, including which technologies are driving the conversation in the boardroom today, why companies are expanding into immersive metaverse platforms and why inclusivity is a core tenet of building disruptive technologies.
Follow Edwina: LinkedIn
Read Edwina’s column in Information Week.
Learn more about Into the Metaverse and Yon by visiting the website.
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Learn more about Supersocial by visiting the website.
The views reflected in this video/podcast are the views of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of the global EY organization or its member firms.
Roblox just reported a very strong set of results for 2023 and Yon and Matthew are back to break it down. We also had to dive into Epic and Disney’s new partnership.
For those that missed it, Disney is investing $1.5 billion for an undisclosed equity stake in Epic. They will partner to build immersive experiences around Disney’s iconic IPs like Star Wars, Marvel and Pixar.
Chapters:
Key Highlights from Roblox’s Earnings (01:22)
Aging Up of the Roblox Platform (06:18)
Roblox Cash Flow & Financial Numbers (07:10)
Upcoming Initiatives for Roblox (08:38)
AI Deployment on the Roblox Platform (11:05)
Roblox Wrap Up (13:45)
Epic x Disney First Reactions (14:20)
Disney’s Gaming Strategy (20:37)
Epic’s 3rd Party Partner Strategy (22:05)
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Learn more about Into the Metaverse by visiting the website.
Follow Yon: LinkedIn | Twitter
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Learn more about Supersocial by visiting the website.
Welcome back to Into the Metaverse. In this week’s episode, Yon and Matthew dive into four of the most important and interesting news stories related to the metaverse.
The topics we discuss today include the smash hit new video game Palworld, the latest salvo in the Apple vs. Epic saga, the launch apps for the Apple Vision Pro and Netflix’s gaming strategy.
Check out friend of the pod Joost Van Dreunen’s take on the Palworld controversy.
Read the interview Netflix Co-CEO Greg Peters did with Stratechery.
Chapters:
Learn more about Into the Metaverse by visiting the website.
Follow Yon: LinkedIn | Twitter
Follow Matthew: LinkedIn | Twitter
Learn more about Supersocial by visiting the website.
