Planning a metaverse family vacation

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market timer
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Planning a metaverse family vacation

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Is anyone here using the metaverse to stay connected with friends and family? I'd like to learn more about this topic from people with experience. This idea just came to me as I watched my son play Roblox, a multiplayer platform for games. We play a trivia game together that is quite fun, and I think would be a good way to stay connected with friends and family. I don't find social media like Facebook a great alternative to face-to-face interaction, but the metaverse offers potential.

The experience I'd like to recreate is hanging out with family on vacation or a reunion. This is a different type of interaction than having a call. You have shared activities and experiences. A gaming environment is a step in the right direction, in that it is a shared activity. A similar experience is when people watch a movie or sporting event remotely as part of a group chat. I wonder if people here have better ideas.
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Re: Planning a metaverse family vacation

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market timer wrote: Sun Jul 18, 2021 1:31 am Is anyone here using the metaverse to stay connected with friends and family? I'd like to learn more about this topic from people with experience. This idea just came to me as I watched my son play Roblox, a multiplayer platform for games. We play a trivia game together that is quite fun, and I think would be a good way to stay connected with friends and family. I don't find social media like Facebook a great alternative to face-to-face interaction, but the metaverse offers potential.

The experience I'd like to recreate is hanging out with family on vacation or a reunion. This is a different type of interaction than having a call. You have shared activities and experiences. A gaming environment is a step in the right direction, in that it is a shared activity. A similar experience is when people watch a movie or sporting event remotely as part of a group chat. I wonder if people here have better ideas.
I have never used the term metaverse in conversation, though I googled it in light of this thread. Um, yeah, FB is terrible and games played remotely are great as a starting point ... I can't quite tell what you're asking though.

Maybe I'm old, or you're old, but ... is the mataverse just a word for the web, but limited to games/interactions that go beyond basic social media? I'm sincerely curious how you came across it and who else is using it in your world.

A lot depends on the technology you're using ... Zoom is great for family gatherings. Oculus might be good for fun interactive multiplayer chatting and gaming. I'll readily admit I'm not sure what your target is here, but I can semi-confidently say tech is going to be the enhancing/limiting factor.
Recently a lot of movies are coming out with the intention of being watched as a group not necessarily in person, too, if that helps. Personally, I hang out on Discord/Zoom with friends and fam and that's about as good as it gest in the era of COVID and remote hangouts IMHO, but YMMV.
Last edited by Noobvestor on Sun Jul 18, 2021 1:53 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Planning a metaverse family vacation

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Noobvestor wrote: Sun Jul 18, 2021 1:46 am
market timer wrote: Sun Jul 18, 2021 1:31 am Is anyone here using the metaverse to stay connected with friends and family? I'd like to learn more about this topic from people with experience. This idea just came to me as I watched my son play Roblox, a multiplayer platform for games. We play a trivia game together that is quite fun, and I think would be a good way to stay connected with friends and family. I don't find social media like Facebook a great alternative to face-to-face interaction, but the metaverse offers potential.

The experience I'd like to recreate is hanging out with family on vacation or a reunion. This is a different type of interaction than having a call. You have shared activities and experiences. A gaming environment is a step in the right direction, in that it is a shared activity. A similar experience is when people watch a movie or sporting event remotely as part of a group chat. I wonder if people here have better ideas.
I have never used the term metaverse in conversation, though I googled it in light of this thread. Um, yeah, FB is terrible and games played remotely are great as a starting point ... I can't quite tell what you're asking though.

Maybe I'm old, or you're old, but ... is the mataverse just a word for the web, but limited to games/interactions that go beyond basic social media? I'm sincerely curious how you came across it and who else is using it in your world.
For a specific use case, imagine you'd like to replace the concept of a family reunion online. Normally, I meet my extended family once a year in an interesting location, e.g., Ireland, Utah National Parks, Alaska cruise, etc. Because of the pandemic, such a trip is off the table this year. Also, these trips tend to be outrageously expensive for my family, easily $10K per trip. Is it possible to have a cheaper, online version, free of covid risk, that achieves the same goal: get people together (virtually) having fun? With lower cost, this could be a more frequent occurrence than an annual trip.
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Re: Planning a metaverse family vacation

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market timer wrote: Sun Jul 18, 2021 1:52 am
Noobvestor wrote: Sun Jul 18, 2021 1:46 am
market timer wrote: Sun Jul 18, 2021 1:31 am Is anyone here using the metaverse to stay connected with friends and family? I'd like to learn more about this topic from people with experience. This idea just came to me as I watched my son play Roblox, a multiplayer platform for games. We play a trivia game together that is quite fun, and I think would be a good way to stay connected with friends and family. I don't find social media like Facebook a great alternative to face-to-face interaction, but the metaverse offers potential.

The experience I'd like to recreate is hanging out with family on vacation or a reunion. This is a different type of interaction than having a call. You have shared activities and experiences. A gaming environment is a step in the right direction, in that it is a shared activity. A similar experience is when people watch a movie or sporting event remotely as part of a group chat. I wonder if people here have better ideas.
I have never used the term metaverse in conversation, though I googled it in light of this thread. Um, yeah, FB is terrible and games played remotely are great as a starting point ... I can't quite tell what you're asking though.

Maybe I'm old, or you're old, but ... is the mataverse just a word for the web, but limited to games/interactions that go beyond basic social media? I'm sincerely curious how you came across it and who else is using it in your world.
For a specific use case, imagine you'd like to replace the concept of a family reunion online. Normally, I meet my extended family once a year in an interesting location, e.g., Ireland, Utah National Parks, Alaska cruise, etc. Because of the pandemic, such a trip is off the table this year. Also, these trips tend to be outrageously expensive for my family, easily $10K per trip. Is it possible to have a cheaper, online version, free of covid risk, that achieves the same goal: get people together (virtually) having fun? With lower cost, this could be a more frequent occurrence than an annual trip.
OK, I'm spitballing here, but first I would start a family Discord channel - basically it's a micro-forum you can all interact in. Beyond that, there are a lot of different directions you can go - there are games, for instance, you can play communally on the web via (for example) Steam. Simplicity dictates that Zoom is a great place to hang out - it's just you and yours hanging out face to face, but it doesn't serve the higher purpose of a common thing (like a game or a movie) necessarily, though I find it fairly well satisfies the 'social interaction' aspect we're lacking in the COVID era.

So backing up: I'd start with a Zoom call just to get everyone talking - maybe use that to brainstorm what else you'd want to do (a particular game or other thing that maybe has a different technology behind it). Zoom is just ... easy and straightforward and gets you all face to face as a start.
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Re: Planning a metaverse family vacation

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Noobvestor wrote: Sun Jul 18, 2021 1:46 amA lot depends on the technology you're using ... Zoom is great for family gatherings. Oculus might be good for fun interactive multiplayer chatting and gaming. I'll readily admit I'm not sure what your target is here, but I can semi-confidently say tech is going to be the enhancing/limiting factor.
I have done some Zoom reunions, but find them rather stilted. I think it is better to have a common purpose to give the interaction some direction. For example, this is why people might go to a baseball game together. Of course, the goal is to chat and catch up, but watching the game provides a secondary purpose that adds to the enjoyment and makes the conversation more casual.
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Re: Planning a metaverse family vacation

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market timer wrote: Sun Jul 18, 2021 1:59 am
Noobvestor wrote: Sun Jul 18, 2021 1:46 amA lot depends on the technology you're using ... Zoom is great for family gatherings. Oculus might be good for fun interactive multiplayer chatting and gaming. I'll readily admit I'm not sure what your target is here, but I can semi-confidently say tech is going to be the enhancing/limiting factor.
I have done some Zoom reunions, but find them rather stilted. I think it is better to have a common purpose to give the interaction some direction. For example, this is why people might go to a baseball game together. Of course, the goal is to chat and catch up, but watching the game provides a secondary purpose that adds to the enjoyment and makes the conversation more casual.
There is a new trend of releasing movies for group/remote rental/screening - I think Hulu might have an edge on that front. Beyond that, Steam games offer a lot of interaction but a slightly higher bar to participation (gotta get everyone to download the right thing, set it up, etc...). I've done both and the latter is fulfilling but if and only if you have one person in each household who can navigate the basics of signups, etc.
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Re: Planning a metaverse family vacation

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Just buy one of those holodeck things they have in startreck
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Re: Planning a metaverse family vacation

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Noobvestor wrote: Sun Jul 18, 2021 2:01 am
market timer wrote: Sun Jul 18, 2021 1:59 am
Noobvestor wrote: Sun Jul 18, 2021 1:46 amA lot depends on the technology you're using ... Zoom is great for family gatherings. Oculus might be good for fun interactive multiplayer chatting and gaming. I'll readily admit I'm not sure what your target is here, but I can semi-confidently say tech is going to be the enhancing/limiting factor.
I have done some Zoom reunions, but find them rather stilted. I think it is better to have a common purpose to give the interaction some direction. For example, this is why people might go to a baseball game together. Of course, the goal is to chat and catch up, but watching the game provides a secondary purpose that adds to the enjoyment and makes the conversation more casual.
There is a new trend of releasing movies for group/remote rental/screening - I think Hulu might have an edge on that front. Beyond that, Steam games offer a lot of interaction but a slightly higher bar to participation (gotta get everyone to download the right thing, set it up, etc...). I've done both and the latter is fulfilling but if and only if you have one person in each household who can navigate the basics of signups, etc.
Do you know the name of the "sharing movies" thing/software?

I had read about it maybe 2-3 years ago, and we looked into it, but there was a problen like it didn't handle premium channels... something silly like that (the silliness was *us* fretting about that particular limitation!).

And now I can't remember it.

Now, with Covid, almost anything child-appropriate would be great for watching movies with the grands!

Thanks!

RM
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Re: Planning a metaverse family vacation

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market timer wrote: Sun Jul 18, 2021 1:31 am The experience I'd like to recreate is hanging out with family on vacation or a reunion. I wonder if people here have better ideas.
Better idea: If you actually want to hang out with family on a vacation, or to have a reunion, do it in the real world.
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Re: Planning a metaverse family vacation

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Maybe something like https://www.gather.town?
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Re: Planning a metaverse family vacation

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market timer wrote: Sun Jul 18, 2021 1:31 am Is anyone here using the metaverse to stay connected with friends and family?
It seems like a good idea compared to losing touch with extended family, (the second cousin who lives in New York or Montana) or as a say, monthly supplement but I am not planning this to replace in person interaction.
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Re: Planning a metaverse family vacation

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I agree that life is about experiences. However, this seems about to rate a 2 on the 1 to 10 scale.

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Re: Planning a metaverse family vacation

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Noobvestor wrote: Sun Jul 18, 2021 1:46 amI have never used the term metaverse in conversation, though I googled it in light of this thread. Um, yeah, FB is terrible and games played remotely are great as a starting point ... I can't quite tell what you're asking though.

Maybe I'm old, or you're old, but ... is the mataverse just a word for the web, but limited to games/interactions that go beyond basic social media? I'm sincerely curious how you came across it and who else is using it in your world.
I follow many tech people and VCs on Twitter. Balaji Srinivasan is an example of a VC who uses the term "metaverse" often.
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Re: Planning a metaverse family vacation

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JoeRetire wrote: Sun Jul 18, 2021 5:02 am
market timer wrote: Sun Jul 18, 2021 1:31 am The experience I'd like to recreate is hanging out with family on vacation or a reunion. I wonder if people here have better ideas.
Better idea: If you actually want to hang out with family on a vacation, or to have a reunion, do it in the real world.
Hasn't been easy the past couple years, particularly as it would involve international travel in my case.
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Re: Planning a metaverse family vacation

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Random Musings wrote: Sun Jul 18, 2021 7:56 am I agree that life is about experiences. However, this seems about to rate a 2 on the 1 to 10 scale.

RM
For the alternatives I've seen so far, I agree the experiences don't see to be high quality. I'm optimistic the tech will improve around virtual experiential get-togethers. I'd love to be an early adopter if the tech becomes available, maybe even a contributor to the tech.

Does anyone know where this tech is discussed?
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Re: Planning a metaverse family vacation

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ccf wrote: Sun Jul 18, 2021 7:18 am Maybe something like https://www.gather.town?
Interestingly, there is an academic economics conference using Gather this week. First time I heard of it was your post. I'll dig into it more, thanks.
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Re: Planning a metaverse family vacation

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Linden Labs' Second Life is still alive and kicking. You could meet family and friends at a pre-arranged location, or even get your own sim. Be warned, though, that the learning curve is steep. It takes effort and time.

https://secondlife.com
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Re: Planning a metaverse family vacation

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market timer wrote: Mon Jul 19, 2021 8:51 pm
JoeRetire wrote: Sun Jul 18, 2021 5:02 am
market timer wrote: Sun Jul 18, 2021 1:31 am The experience I'd like to recreate is hanging out with family on vacation or a reunion. I wonder if people here have better ideas.
Better idea: If you actually want to hang out with family on a vacation, or to have a reunion, do it in the real world.
Hasn't been easy the past couple years, particularly as it would involve international travel in my case.
(shrug)

I guess if easy is the priority, then texting, phone calls, or virtual get together is good. Not the same as real though.
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Re: Planning a metaverse family vacation

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market timer wrote: Mon Jul 19, 2021 8:58 pm
Random Musings wrote: Sun Jul 18, 2021 7:56 am I agree that life is about experiences. However, this seems about to rate a 2 on the 1 to 10 scale.

RM
For the alternatives I've seen so far, I agree the experiences don't see to be high quality. I'm optimistic the tech will improve around virtual experiential get-togethers. I'd love to be an early adopter if the tech becomes available, maybe even a contributor to the tech.

Does anyone know where this tech is discussed?
I haven't used my Oculus for this personally, but: from what I can gather a lot of people gather (virtually/remotely) and play games in places like the 'rec room' - things like virtual laser tag and other relatively 'simple' games that are also spatial, so: simulated interaction.

(I confess I've stuck entirely to solo games so far I just see this talked about a lot on boards where I go looking for new games to try)
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Re: Planning a metaverse family vacation

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Interesting interview with Mark Zuckerberg about the metaverse: https://www.theverge.com/22588022/mark- ... -interview
Mark Zuckerberg wrote:I think over the next five years or so, in this next chapter of our company, I think we will effectively transition from people seeing us as primarily being a social media company to being a metaverse company.
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Re: Planning a metaverse family vacation

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I think for most families, we aren’t there yet. The older generations (and this may be anyone older than ~40) don’t understand what you’re talking about, don’t have the equipment required, or the interest in taking on the learning curve. The younger generation understands exactly what you mean - and our kids have done a lot of this by playing video games (mostly Minecraft) remotely with friends while simultaneously on video chat, but there are still enough technical hurdles in getting everyone reliably connected that we usually spend about half the time just getting everyone online at the same location. When our kids were starting virtual schooling last year, I realized that if they could hold the school ‘in’ Minecraft, the kids might actually get more out of it…

Eventually, as technology continues to improve and multiple generations have grown up accustomed to interacting this way I think this will become common, but right now, I think it’s a bit of a stretch beyond group video calling, perhaps shared video watching, etc. (You’ll note that the Zuckerberg interview with The Verge was held via Zoom…)
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Re: Planning a metaverse family vacation

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My familiarity with the term metaverse was from the novel Snow Crash. I had never heard it before or encountered it again until this thread. That said, there was an article in Marketwatch today titled Why is ‘metaverse’ the hottest tech buzzword? Apple has something to do with it --- https://www.marketwatch.com/story/why-i ... =home-page
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Re: Planning a metaverse family vacation

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ResearchMed wrote: Sun Jul 18, 2021 4:57 am Do you know the name of the "sharing movies" thing/software?

I had read about it maybe 2-3 years ago, and we looked into it, but there was a problen like it didn't handle premium channels... something silly like that (the silliness was *us* fretting about that particular limitation!).

And now I can't remember it.

Now, with Covid, almost anything child-appropriate would be great for watching movies with the grands!

Thanks!

RM
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I think you can do it in youtube also....
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Re: Planning a metaverse family vacation

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onourway wrote: Fri Jul 23, 2021 5:45 am I think for most families, we aren’t there yet. The older generations (and this may be anyone older than ~40) don’t understand what you’re talking about, don’t have the equipment required, or the interest in taking on the learning curve.
+1

Unless your family is different than the many hundred of zoom calls I've attended or set up in the last year and a few months, I suspect it will be fraught with technical glitches. I often find, more than half of the scheduled meeting time is spent just getting people to mute/unmute microphones and get the ability to see everybody instead of just one rotating picture. Most of the time, there are a few who never figure it out or their internet connection is too glitchy and they disappear. I can't imagine the difficulties involved in getting everyone focused on the correct game and getting it started with everyone present. YMMV.
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Re: Planning a metaverse family vacation

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Noobvestor wrote: Sun Jul 18, 2021 1:57 amOK, I'm spitballing here, but first I would start a family Discord channel - basically it's a micro-forum you can all interact in.
While not going full metaverse yet, my family has followed up on this suggestion and are testing a monthly Discord call with 8 participants spread around the globe. This is a new experience that requires developing some communication structure. What we do is take turns going around the channel and sharing something--an update on life, a video from a trip, a topic they learned in school, whatever. Anyone can comment, but one person is in control of the topic at any time.

Based on my early observations, I think many families would benefit from this type of communication flow, but lack the knowledge of how to communicate virtually as a group. It's not just the technical aspect of how to set up a Discord server, but really how to organize a multi-person call. This channel gives my brothers a chance to have a relationship with my kids.

If anyone is trying something similar, I'm all ears. I believe it is important to rebuild some lost traditions digitally.
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Re: Planning a metaverse family vacation

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My college friends, who are all over the country, have a weekly Discord/gaming meetup. I Zoom with out of state family. None of us are thinking of it as *replacing* in-person meeting, nor using the term "metaverse". I doubt it will be replacing vacations or reunions but I think it's likely that a generation that uses discord/similar to play Minecraft with friends will be technologically savvy enough to use it instead of phone calls.
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Re: Planning a metaverse family vacation

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getthatmarshmallow wrote: Thu Aug 12, 2021 7:56 am My college friends, who are all over the country, have a weekly Discord/gaming meetup. I Zoom with out of state family. None of us are thinking of it as *replacing* in-person meeting, nor using the term "metaverse". I doubt it will be replacing vacations or reunions but I think it's likely that a generation that uses discord/similar to play Minecraft with friends will be technologically savvy enough to use it instead of phone calls.
By "metaverse," I basically mean doing something as a group online. Gaming works really well for this purpose, but many of us aren't into gaming. Distance keeps many families apart, and I think many would benefit from a structured get-together online. It is this type of get-together that interests me. I'm looking for places worth taking my family online, in the same way as one might wonder where to take a vacation.

The purpose of all this is to improve relationships throughout my extended family by finding common causes. With gaming, you start with a common cause in the game. The relationships might even be formed by the cause, as is the case on this investing forum. What I'd like to identify are meaningful common causes that are available online to bring my extended family together. I've started with the family itself as a common cause, having this round of life updates. That simple meeting felt novel to me and my family--not so much the technology, but the structure and sense of presence. We had never met online as a family before, and this was our first meeting of any sort in nearly 3 years. I think this is a big deal for families separated by distance. We know the technology is there, but not how to use it to replace the sense of group presence that comes from an activity done together.

Some other common causes that I'm exploring are virtual tours and education. For example, if my children lived near their grandparents, I'm sure the grandparents would like to teach them all sorts of things, from math to religion. In a one-to-one Skype call, teaching is outside the scope of a normal conversation. I'm considering offering my parents the opportunity to teach my children in a structured way, e.g., a scheduled time and topic with some advance preparation. The common cause here would be the child's education. I believe distance can be overcome with more intentional design of interactions. This idea has been on the top of my mind recently. Fostering relationships is one of those "important, but not urgent" tasks that I tend to deprioritize. Without intentional effort, my children will soon be adults with little relationship with my brothers or parents.
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Re: Planning a metaverse family vacation

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onourway wrote: Fri Jul 23, 2021 5:45 am I think for most families, we aren’t there yet. The older generations (and this may be anyone older than ~40) don’t understand what you’re talking about, don’t have the equipment required, or the interest in taking on the learning curve. The younger generation understands exactly what you mean - and our kids have done a lot of this by playing video games (mostly Minecraft) remotely with friends while simultaneously on video chat, but there are still enough technical hurdles in getting everyone reliably connected that we usually spend about half the time just getting everyone online at the same location. When our kids were starting virtual schooling last year, I realized that if they could hold the school ‘in’ Minecraft, the kids might actually get more out of it…

Eventually, as technology continues to improve and multiple generations have grown up accustomed to interacting this way I think this will become common, but right now, I think it’s a bit of a stretch beyond group video calling, perhaps shared video watching, etc. (You’ll note that the Zuckerberg interview with The Verge was held via Zoom…)
[emphasis added]

"...The older generations (and this may be anyone older than ~40) don’t understand what you’re talking about, don’t have the equipment required,..."

"Older generation" here. one who definitely does NOT "understand what you’re talking about, [does]n’t have the equipment required..." but IS INTERESTED IN <whatever this is>! :happy
... or at least starting to learn until I/we know enough to know whether we are interested... etc.

Until this thread started, I had never heard the word "metaverse"( or don't remember it, except perhaps decades ago in a poetry class?).

I'm sure it hasn't helped that because of the pandemic, we pretty much aren't leaving our little "homeverse" TM

We are still only visiting dinosaurland with Zoom, apparently.

RM
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Re: Planning a metaverse family vacation

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market timer wrote: Thu Aug 12, 2021 9:52 am
getthatmarshmallow wrote: Thu Aug 12, 2021 7:56 am My college friends, who are all over the country, have a weekly Discord/gaming meetup. I Zoom with out of state family. None of us are thinking of it as *replacing* in-person meeting, nor using the term "metaverse". I doubt it will be replacing vacations or reunions but I think it's likely that a generation that uses discord/similar to play Minecraft with friends will be technologically savvy enough to use it instead of phone calls.
By "metaverse," I basically mean doing something as a group online. Gaming works really well for this purpose, but many of us aren't into gaming. Distance keeps many families apart, and I think many would benefit from a structured get-together online. It is this type of get-together that interests me. I'm looking for places worth taking my family online, in the same way as one might wonder where to take a vacation.

The purpose of all this is to improve relationships throughout my extended family by finding common causes. With gaming, you start with a common cause in the game. The relationships might even be formed by the cause, as is the case on this investing forum. What I'd like to identify are meaningful common causes that are available online to bring my extended family together. I've started with the family itself as a common cause, having this round of life updates. That simple meeting felt novel to me and my family--not so much the technology, but the structure and sense of presence. We had never met online as a family before, and this was our first meeting of any sort in nearly 3 years. I think this is a big deal for families separated by distance. We know the technology is there, but not how to use it to replace the sense of group presence that comes from an activity done together.

Some other common causes that I'm exploring are virtual tours and education. For example, if my children lived near their grandparents, I'm sure the grandparents would like to teach them all sorts of things, from math to religion. In a one-to-one Skype call, teaching is outside the scope of a normal conversation. I'm considering offering my parents the opportunity to teach my children in a structured way, e.g., a scheduled time and topic with some advance preparation. The common cause here would be the child's education. I believe distance can be overcome with more intentional design of interactions. This idea has been on the top of my mind recently. Fostering relationships is one of those "important, but not urgent" tasks that I tend to deprioritize. Without intentional effort, my children will soon be adults with little relationship with my brothers or parents.
God bless you for taking this seriously. It has been encouraging to read your posts. At this point, we are (back to being more of) a meet in person family, with extended relatives across the US. However, I can respect your choice to not want to meet in person (or be able to) and your diligence in trying to make something virtual work. :beer
“The strong cannot be brave. Only the weak can be brave; and yet again, in practice, only those who can be brave can be trusted, in time of doubt, to be strong.“ - GK Chesterton
eggraid101
Posts: 43
Joined: Wed May 20, 2015 10:33 am

Re: Planning a metaverse family vacation

Post by eggraid101 »

JoeRetire wrote: Tue Jul 20, 2021 5:13 am
market timer wrote: Mon Jul 19, 2021 8:51 pm
JoeRetire wrote: Sun Jul 18, 2021 5:02 am
market timer wrote: Sun Jul 18, 2021 1:31 am The experience I'd like to recreate is hanging out with family on vacation or a reunion. I wonder if people here have better ideas.
Better idea: If you actually want to hang out with family on a vacation, or to have a reunion, do it in the real world.
Hasn't been easy the past couple years, particularly as it would involve international travel in my case.
(shrug)

I guess if easy is the priority, then texting, phone calls, or virtual get together is good. Not the same as real though.
I feel like you didn't really read his post, real life is too hard or not possible, regular online interactions (texting, phone calls) are not a good replacement.

My kids started playing games on the XBox with aunts and uncles who like to do that and everyone really had a good time. There wasn't much deep conversation, but it was fun for everyone to have that connection/shared goal that I think MarketTimer is looking for. The hard part is finding something that everyone would like to play and has access to.
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JoeRetire
Posts: 15381
Joined: Tue Jan 16, 2018 1:44 pm

Re: Planning a metaverse family vacation

Post by JoeRetire »

eggraid101 wrote: Thu Aug 12, 2021 2:25 pm
JoeRetire wrote: Tue Jul 20, 2021 5:13 am
market timer wrote: Mon Jul 19, 2021 8:51 pm
JoeRetire wrote: Sun Jul 18, 2021 5:02 am
market timer wrote: Sun Jul 18, 2021 1:31 am The experience I'd like to recreate is hanging out with family on vacation or a reunion. I wonder if people here have better ideas.
Better idea: If you actually want to hang out with family on a vacation, or to have a reunion, do it in the real world.
Hasn't been easy the past couple years, particularly as it would involve international travel in my case.
(shrug)

I guess if easy is the priority, then texting, phone calls, or virtual get together is good. Not the same as real though.
I feel like you didn't really read his post, real life is too hard or not possible, regular online interactions (texting, phone calls) are not a good replacement.

My kids started playing games on the XBox with aunts and uncles who like to do that and everyone really had a good time. There wasn't much deep conversation, but it was fun for everyone to have that connection/shared goal that I think MarketTimer is looking for. The hard part is finding something that everyone would like to play and has access to.
An Xbox interaction is easier. Got it.
This isn't just my wallet. It's an organizer, a memory and an old friend.
dboeger1
Posts: 1411
Joined: Fri Jan 13, 2017 6:32 pm

Re: Planning a metaverse family vacation

Post by dboeger1 »

I have a PSVR, and my father randomly bought an Oculus Quest 2 or whatever the cheap standalone Oculus VR headset is, I don't really follow their product names. That was a shocker to me because he's not really a device guy. Anyway, I was happy to discover that a free online "game" called "Rec Room" was cross-platform on most mainstream VR devices. It's a little bit like one of those Roblox/Second Life/PS Home type games where you create your virtual character and meet up with others but can also play scripted games, including user-generated content. We've only connected on their twice just due to scheduling constraints, but those were pretty wild experiences. There was one game in particular where characters are all members of a sort of fantasy party on a quest, and everyone chooses a weapon such as bows or swords in the starting room and then goes through a dungeon together fighting all kinds of monsters. I played that with my brother remotely, me on the PSVR and him on the Quest, and we were looking at each other in the virtual world and talking with our voices and slaying demons together. The barrier to entry is obviously quite high for people not particularly interested in such experiences, but man, if it's something you're considering and you have people with the devices, I definitely think it's worth trying. It just feels like such a modern experience, even though it was definitely rough around the edges and not without its technical challenges.

We have also had family Zoom calls with dozens of participants a couple of times over the past year, but it's just not the same thing as the virtual world, and it comes with all the usual stresses of work video meetings with people talking over each other, figuring out how to get the speaker in view, etc. It works in a pinch during these pandemic times, but I don't think it's necessarily a hugely compelling experience in and of itself the way VR gaming is.

I absolutely think traditional online games outside of VR are great ways over interacting with those interested in them, but in my experience, getting non-gamers to be emotionally invested in them just isn't easy. I think VR has significantly more potential for breaking down that barrier to the masses, but the tech is still somewhat finicky and expensive. Having enjoyed my limited experiences with it so far, I would not be the least bit surprised if in 20 years, everyone just had VR capabilities all the time, like as part of their glasses or cell phone or something, and they could just connect virtually to contacts on a whim. I would almost bet money that this will happen.
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