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What Will it Take to Make Standardized Metalinking?
Sky Nite
May 20, 2021

"In an ideal system you would be in one social app, say VRChat, and drop a “portal” (i.e. metalink) to an entirely different app, such as Chemistry VR."

Metaverse Dream or Possible Technology?


For as long as I’ve been working in VR and the surrounding space (7 years) there has existed this ideal of an interconnected metaverse. People will share and browse spatial experiences, moving from one application to another in a shared, interconnected virtual world (or so the conversation goes).


But, beyond idealizing, how can we make such a future possible? What are the technical challenges, what are the social challenges, and what are the economic challenges? This article will drill into these barriers and explore 

The Golden Goal:


Before diving too deep into the challenges, it will be good to clarify exactly what I mean by “standardized metalinking”. In an ideal system you would be in one social app, say VRChat, and drop a “portal” (i.e. metalink) to an entirely different app, such as Chemistry VR. 


The group of people you were with in VRchat would all be able to move through the portal to the exact same location in Chemistry VR. All this really requires is deep linking, an already maturing concept, with the addition of standardized user data for connecting people back up in the new app. In a perfect world there would be some sort of interim voice-chat app so that you never lose connectivity, but that’s not necessary to keep things connected.


Of course, if the user doesn’t have the app that is needed downloaded, there would be standardized handling for downloading the needed app, installing it, and finally launching the user into the desired experience at the correct location in the app (i.e. wherever the other people who joined through the metalink are).


The end result is that you can dynamically navigate with groups of people between apps, creating a truly open metaverse. There are plenty of edge cases I am passing over (such as how for-purchase apps would be handled), but hopefully you get the general idea.


Problem 1: Platform Disincentive

Problem 2: Security Vulnerability

Problem 3: Standardization

The idea of seamlessly interconnected apps sounds good, but then you hit the business reality that allowing seamless metaverse interlinking in your app means you’re giving people on your platform a direct way to leave the platform.


For example, if you’re in Altspace (a metaverse app owned by Microsoft), and they have seamless metalinking, you can meet a group of people in Altspace, then drop a portal to a world you found in VRchat, leaving Microsoft’s platform. Why would Microsoft directly support a feature that encourages people to leave their platform? In an economy of attention, this seems counter to self-interest.


I think the web-browser internet offers an interesting lens into how this disincentive may be flipped. When you are on Facebook, or pretty much any social platform, you can post hyperlinks to off-platform content. Why do Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin allow this? Well, hyperlinks are a fundamental part of the internet, around since its origination, and preventing their use would drive users off these platforms. Additionally, hyperlinks actually add to the value of these platforms, allowing users to share content with their social networks, and giving users a reason to use these platforms in the first place.


Why aren’t metalinks viewed in the same lens? Perhaps it is a problem of critical mass. When all metaverse apps are using metalinks, then there is a lot of potential value that can be linked to. However, when there are only a few apps to link to, the tradeoff isn’t seen as worth it. 

Just like with web links, whenever a user goes somewhere you don’t control, there is the possibility for bad things to happen to them. This could be data fishing, seizure inducing visuals, or virus-laden downloads, to name a few concerns.


Web browsers have been designed to minimize the potential harm to your computer, running all web applications in a sandbox. However, many metaverse apps require (at least for now) an app installed directly on your system.


Perhaps web-based applications will one day possess full performance and feature parity with downloaded apps. I’m keeping an eye on WebAssembly, and hope that such a future is possible, but it seems like early days. However, even WebAssembly doesn’t completely remove the concern of malicious links, just like how hyperlinks are still a security concern.


So, how do we secure metalinking when users could be pointed to any arbitrary code? I don’t have a good answer on a technical level (at least not at this time). Maybe there is some sort of whitelist of trusted apps that is approved by a third party, or some sort of required sandboxing as part of the metalinking standard.


It’s also worth considering what a user-trust based system would look like. For example, perhaps metalinks are only something you accept from trusted sources (such as trusted organizations or friends). This is tricky though, as when the user is responsible for their own security, there are plenty of users who haven’t been adequately educated, and impromptu mistakes happen even for those who are. To be truly secure, the solution will need to be automated.

Everyone has their own real time networking stack. Asynchronous code has had much better standardization efforts with structures like REST and JSON, but even those are evolving and changing and not used universally. I think part of the reason real time networking has stayed a dark art is the varied needs of different real time apps. What you need for a 100-person battle royal shooter is very different from what you need for 4 people playing a tabletop boardgame online. However, there are distinct concepts that generally exist across all apps, and we can certainly identify which of these need to be supported for metalinking to work.


For example, “parties” are groups of people who are connected together through voice chat or text chat, often spatially nearby and existing in the same world instance. User accounts are also pretty universal, containing some sort of display name. In the context of metaverse apps, avatar appearance is another widespread idea, however this one is usually custom across each app. 


The idea of an inter-app avatar system is interesting, but outside the scope of this article, and also unlikely to become widespread in my opinion. Oculus has implemented perhaps the most widely used example of such a system, but it highlights the difficulties and dangers of relying on a third party for user-based appearance (such as platform lock, sudden design changes, and being at mercy of the design whims of an external team). Apps have their own design aesthetics, and the majority will choose to keep it that way, for good reason.


So, what would it actually take to create a standardized metalinking layer? Someone, or more likely a group of people, would need to build the linking layer, a software library with all the features needed to seamlessly link apps together, and it would have to work across platforms. The linking layer would almost certainly have to be completely open source, and may or may not involve a standards body. The software library would have to be easy to integrate.


Then developers (and non-technical stakeholders) would have to be convinced to actually add support for metalinking.

Conclusion


Creating a metalinking standard for groups of people to seamlessly move between apps is a core dream of many in the metaverse industry. There are a number of challenges to overcome to make such a vision a reality, but I believe it is an achievable goal. We are in the early stages of creating an immersive internet, socializing across distance in ways that were previously impossible. Metalinking is an important technological pillar for enabling the next phase of our evolution.


Are you interested in metalinking and creating a standard for interconnected metaverse apps? Please reach out to me on Twitter: @VRInsider


By Ethan Berg 25 Feb, 2024
"Success in the forthcoming year, from my perspective, centers on advancing my research and practical applications within metaverses like Agora World. This endeavor aims to revolutionize educational spaces for educators in training, both domestically and internationally. By integrating cutting-edge virtual environments, the goal is to transcend traditional learning methodologies, offering immersive and interactive experiences that cater to the evolving needs of educators and students."
By Ethan Berg 02 Feb, 2024
Meet Ethan from Agora World Q: Can you briefly introduce yourself and your startup? A: Yeah. Hi, I’m Ethan Berg, the founder and CEO of Agora World. We’re creating Canva and WordPress for 3D. Our mission is to simplify 3D creation, enabling everyone to create their metaverse and immersive social experiences for brands, communities, and teams. I prefer not to use the term metaverse, though. Q: How did you come up with this idea? A: I started building this as a student at university with the initial goal of creating a meaningful experience for graduating friends. Traditional social media and communication tools like Zoom and FaceTime lacked the sense of reality and the creation of new memories. I aimed to build a VR shopping platform back in 2019, pre-COVID, even though I’m not a developer by background. Q: Why VR shopping? A: The idea was to strengthen bonds with friends leaving and continue making memories together. However, the challenge arose when I realized the limitations of creating 3D and VR experiences, especially for someone without a coding background. While tools like Canva or Wix exist for other purposes, the 3D and VR space was considerably limited, even with the emergence of AI implementations. Picking Startup Wise Guys Q: Why Startup Wise Guys? A: We were advised to apply by Amy Peck, a significant influencer in the space. The decision to participate was made on the same day we received a compelling offer to purchase the company. What drew me initially was the way they communicated, their goals, their vision. I respect Cristobal and the team, and that played a crucial role in our decision. Q: What stood out about Startup Wise Guys? A: Listening to podcasts and absorbing their vision, particularly their perspective on Y Combinator not being something that every startup can participate in, resonated with me. The idea of democratizing and making a program like that accessible to the rest of the world aligns with our ethos. They addressed the question of what happens to the countless startups globally that don’t get chosen for Y Combinator but have opportunities to flourish. This, coupled with insights on running a business, such as the impracticality of the “Uber mentality” of raising billions without a sustainable plan, appealed to me. Not to mention their successful early investments in countless companies I’ve come to know and love such as Read Player Me and Bolt. Q: Can you elaborate on the practical approach? A: The emphasis on building something substantial but doing it practically was a key takeaway. They spoke candidly about the importance of having a practical dream, and actualizable in both the short-term and long-term. This resonated with the values my father instilled in me about responsible business growth. The goal is to build something huge, but the approach must be grounded and sustainable. We are glad we took the opportunity to work with Startup Wise Guys. Q: How was the application process? Do you remember it at all? A: The calls stand out in my memory, considering they are Europe-based, and I’m on the United States East Coast. They hadn’t accepted many teams from the US at that point. Our cohort had three teams from North America—two from the US and one from Canada. The initial calls, especially during the virtual kickoff before meeting in person, were challenging due to the time difference. The interviews for acceptance were from two to four am, and I vividly remember staying awake with coffee until midnight or waking up after a quick power nap. It was grueling, but in the end, it was worth it. A Day in the Life during the Startup Wise Guys Program Q: Can you describe a typical day during the program? A: Mostly virtual, with three weeks in person at the beginning and about a week and a half at the end. Unlike most teams that went home, I stayed in Europe for the entire period. While not in person every day, I met people from various teams, cohorts, and their portfolios at different locations around Europe. It was a unique experience for me, considering others returned to their families and responsibilities. Being on the younger side, it was a decision I could make for myself, which turned out to be a good one. There was usually daily if not every other day programming which lasted a few hours. The sessions ranged from experts from various fields coming in to speak with us to group discussions with the other cohort members, pitches and every other week was a new sprint focused on a new topic so while we didn’t meet daily there were definitely things to accomplish every day. While rigorous, we went through a ton of vital exercises, some of which I had done before but was important to think through again. Some were more challenging than others so some weeks felt lighter than others and allowed me more time to focus on other aspects of our business. Ultimately, least for us and from our perspective, we ended the program is a better and more confident place than we started the program without a question. Q: What did your typical day involve? A: Meetings, or I don’t want to call them meetings—more like different types of programs. It varied every day or every other day. Some weeks were light, focusing on implementation where the goal was to put what we were learning into practice. Q: How much funding did you receive from the accelerator, and was it in exchange for equity? A: We received a hundred thousand euros for this program. The funding arrangement involved a convertible note. The Program’s Value  Q: Beyond the funding, can you pinpoint a particular moment where the accelerator proved its worth? A: The pivotal moment was understanding why we were doing what we were doing. Not just the what, but the why. The program emphasized the importance of starting with why, a concept I value from Simon Sinek. No one cares about what you do; they care about why you do it. Over time, I became more comfortable explaining our mission and quickly conveying it to others. That boost in clarity was invaluable. Q: How did this impact your approach? A: It allowed me to communicate more effectively, especially during elevator pitches. Being able to articulate our mission quickly and having people understand it was a significant achievement. Additionally, the exposure to their team, as well as people from their portfolio in various countries, broadened my learning. Being in Europe for six weeks to study abroad, courtesy of the program, provided insights into different business practices and cultures. This understanding, coupled with personal growth, contributed to becoming a better leader, ultimately benefiting our company. Q: In what ways did the program contribute to personal growth? A: The program not only benefited the company but also facilitated my personal growth. It provided an opportunity to learn and apply those learnings back to the company. Gaining insights into diverse business landscapes and cultures, both in Europe and through the network connections facilitated by the program, allowed me to become a more well-rounded leader, bringing back valuable lessons to our company. Q: What would you say was one of the greatest challenges during the program, and how did you overcome it? A: One of the challenges during the program was the two AMs and four AM calls. If you ask any of the North American founders, they’d likely say the same—it was difficult at the beginning. Late-night or early-morning calls were not ideal and posed a significant challenge. Q: What achievements has your company made post-accelerator? A: The major milestone for us is the upcoming beta launch on December 8th. Over the past eight months, our focus has been on crafting a better experience for creating 3D content. This involved creating a new UI/UX, implementing brand-new functionality, and completely automating certain aspects, including our sales pipeline. Q: How would you describe the change in the growth trajectory of your startup since completing the accelerator? A: Our growth potential timeline has significantly accelerated. The primary reason for joining the program was the recognition that there’s much I don’t know, and I wanted to learn. The program compressed a vast amount of learning into a short period. It was dense, and I would encourage others, especially from the US, to take the opportunity to stay. It was the most transformational experience, and I learned more in six months than I thought possible. The insights gained not only pertained to business but extended to personal growth, cultural understanding, and more. Being physically present there provided more value than a virtual experience. The program has undoubtedly expedited our growth timeline substantially. Advice for Accelerator Applications Q: Do you have any advice for those looking to apply to this accelerator or any other accelerator? A: Understand that the application process may take a while, and getting denied is part of the journey. Treat each application as a learning opportunity. The questions asked in these applications are the same ones any investor would want to know, so your message becomes more refined with each application. For instance, keep a record of your applications, creating a Google Drive folder. Over time, you can refer back to previous applications, see what worked and what didn’t, and make improvements. Persistence is key—getting a “yes” might not happen on the first attempt, and that’s okay. It’s a journey, and staying organized in your approach will be beneficial. Remember, it’s an incredible opportunity, and I can speak from my experience with Startup Wise Guys, which was a 10 out of 10.
By Louis Rosenberg (VentureBeat) 10 Jan, 2024
With the Consumer Electronics Show ( CES ) taking place this week, I wanted to explore how easy it would be for a developer to create a digital twin of Las Vegas that can be accessed from any computer with a quick download. I’ve heard lots of hype about new no-code tools that allow anyone to rapidly create virtual experiences, but I’ve been skeptical that it can be done quickly by creative designers with no programming skills . To test whether the reality lives up to the hype, I challenged Agora World CEO Ethan Berg to create a digital twin of Las Vegas in 20 minutes or less without writing any code. To be specific, I asked him to build an immersive experience that would place me at my hotel (the Luxor) and that would give me a virtual path I could follow from the hotel to the convention center. And, along the way, I asked him to toss in a few virtual elements that point out notable locations that I might be interested in....

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