
<h2>What is Meta?</h2>



<p>Meta was first announced during Connect 2021, Facebook’s annual developer conference which discusses all things virtual reality. CEO and Facebook creator Mark Zuckerberg revealed the company’s plans to rebrand the social media behemoth and start shifting its focus towards technology developments in the metaverse. What these developments would be were left vague for the most part, though Zuckerberg mentioned his desire to allow users to be able to engage more directly with the internet, rather than just viewing it on the screen.</p>



<blockquote class="wp-block-quote"><p><em>‘Meta builds technologies that help people connect, find communities, and grow businesses. When Facebook launched in 2004, it changed the way people connect. Apps like Messenger, Instagram, and WhatsApp further empowered billions around the world. Now, Meta is moving beyond 2D screens toward immersive experiences like augmented and virtual reality to help build the next evolution in social technology.’</em></p><cite><a href="https://about.fb.com/news/2021/10/facebook-company-is-now-meta/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"><em>Meta’s statement following their rebranding announcement</em></a></cite></blockquote>



<p>In a <a href="https://www.facebook.com/facebook/videos/577658430179350/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">film created in conjunction with Meta’s announcement</a>, Zuckerberg highlighted his plans for what he called a ‘more connected world’. The video shared a lot of similarities with what a vast majority of metaverse enthusiasts envision for the future of Web3: An AR/VR centric universe hosted entirely online complete with avatars, virtual worlds, and a completely immersive reality.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Meta’s plan for the metaverse was <a href="https://tech.fb.com/ar-vr/2021/10/connect-2021-our-vision-for-the-metaverse/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">broken down in another letter</a> that was released around the same time as the core announcement. At the time, their plans were broken down into a few core projects including developments in gaming, fitness, and what they called the ‘future of work’ which incorporated new technologies for businesses to further enable work from home.&nbsp;</p>



<h2>How’s Facebook’s Rebranding Been Going?&nbsp;</h2>



<p>Despite its attempt at rebranding and efforts to shape the metaverse, Meta has been struggling. <a href="https://www.npr.org/2022/02/03/1077820355/facebooks-transition-to-metaverse-has-eaten-into-the-social-media-giants-profits" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Web2 giant lost 26% of its market value</a>, more than $250 billion, in February of 2022. The reason? Facebook’s aging user base. With the rise of Gen Z and growing popularity of sites like TikTok, for the first time Meta is struggling to maintain users. </p>



<p><a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2013/05/21/part-1-teens-and-social-media-use/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">A Pew Research Survey</a> of 12-17-year-olds discovered that while 94% of teens had facebook accounts back in 2012, now only 27% of teens have Facebook accounts in the US. While Zuckerberg has made it a priority for his platform to start targeting younger users, a vast majority of Gen Z teens have declared Facebook a <a href="https://www.insider.com/facebook-gen-z-teens-boomer-social-network-leaks-2021-10" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">‘boomer social network’</a> and greatly prefer its competitors Twitter and TikTok.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Being seen as an archaic social media platform is not the only hurdle that Meta has to overcome. The company recently reached a <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2022/08/23/tech/meta-settlement-facebook-location-tracking/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$37.5 million settlement</a><a href="https://edition.cnn.com/2022/08/23/tech/meta-settlement-facebook-location-tracking/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> in a location tracking lawsuit</a> that further damaged the website’s reputation. With users already starting to distrust the giant, the knowledge that the app was illegally tracking users did little to help the company’s reputation..&nbsp;</p>



<p>In addition to the lawsuit and losing a significant chunk of its user base, Apple has recently updated its privacy settings which has made it difficult for the company to sell targeted ads. Meta explained that this change could cost them up to <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/danielnewman/2022/02/10/apple-meta-and-the-ten-billion-dollar-impact-of-privacy-changes/?sh=41cc09872ae7" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">$10 billion in lost ad revenue</a>.&nbsp;</p>



<h2>Meta, A Dystopian Nightmare?</h2>



<p>With a general distrust of Meta, and the company’s tendency to push the boundaries of the law, there are many who have spoken out against the company being allowed to build a metaverse. This includes one of its earliest investors, Roger McNamee.&nbsp;</p>



<p>&#8220;<em>It&#8217;s a bad idea and the fact we are all sitting and looking at this like it&#8217;s normal should be alarming to everyone.</em>&#8221; <a href="https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-59154520" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">McNamee told the BBC</a>, &#8220;<em>Facebook should not be allowed to create a dystopian metaverse.</em>”&nbsp;</p>



<p>McNamee, who went from one of Facebook&#8217;s first supporters to an open critic of the platform, cited the company’s tendency to promote misinformation and divisive rhetoric. He stated clearly that he did not believe that the metaverse would be safe in the Web2 giant’s hands.&nbsp; &#8220;<em>There&#8217;s no way that a regulator or policymaker should be allowing Facebook to operate there [in the metaverse] or get into cryptocurrencies,</em>&#8221; he said. &#8220;<em>Facebook should have lost the right to make its own choices. A regulator should be there giving pre-approval for everything they do. The amount of harm they&#8217;ve done is incalculable.</em>&#8220;</p>



<p>McNamee is far from the only person who has spoken out against Meta’s attempts to pioneer in the metaverse. <a href="https://fortune.com/2021/12/01/metaverse-facebook-meta-niantic-john-hanke-mark-zuckerberg-brainstorm-tech/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">John Hanke, CEO of Niantic</a>, also voiced his concerns about Zuckerberg’s vision of a more digital future. Expressing that while Sci-Fi fans like Zuckerberg might be thrilled by books like <em>Snow Crash</em> by Neal Stephenson, they are missing the core message of the book.&nbsp;</p>



<p>“<em>I’m a fan of the metaverse as a work of fiction,” </em>Hanke said. <em>“But if you read all the way to the end—I’m not sure everyone who’s been talking about it has read to the end—you know the world in those books is this horrible place.</em>”&nbsp;</p>



<p>Hanke suggested that Zuckerberg’s vision of the metaverse was one that would act more as a mask for a sad reality than a seamless integration of reality and technology. His hope is that instead of attempting to escape reality, technology will be created to enhance real life experiences and make the world a better place.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Meta executives,<a href="https://www.vox.com/recode/22799665/facebook-metaverse-meta-zuckerberg-oculus-vr-ar" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener"> Andrew Bosworth and Nick Clegg responded to critics</a> by attempting to assure users that they have no desire to be the owners of the metaverse. “<em>Meta is not going to build, own, or run the metaverse on its own</em>,” they said. “<em>We are starting conversations about our vision for the metaverse early, before some of the technologies even exist&#8230; We’re discussing it now to help ensure that any terms of use, privacy controls or safety features are appropriate to the new technologies and effective in keeping people safe.</em>”</p>



<h2>Who Will Lead The Metaverse?&nbsp;</h2>



<p>Despite the desire to keep the metaverse an independent and user-driven universe, there are several tech giants who have thrown their hat into the ring hoping to dominate the sector. This includes Web2 giants like Meta as well as developers like Roblox and Unity. </p>



<p><a href="https://www.nasdaq.com/articles/who-will-rule-the-metaverse" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Maxim Manturov, head of investment advice at Freedom Finance Europe</a>, expressed his opinions on the matter. &#8220;<em>It is likely that ‘the tide will raise all boats’ and Facebook&#8217;s actions have allowed many companies to discover new products or sales channels,</em>&#8221; explains Manturov. “<em>Given that FB is a tech giant, then for smaller companies like Roblox or Unity, the metaverse creates more accelerated growth opportunities, which was momentarily reflected in the price and which is why there was such interest from investors.</em>”</p>



<p>With many companies working to get a foothold in the developing sector, it remains to be seen who will step up and take leadership roles in the industry. Though it does seem that the more mainstream the metaverse becomes, the more fortune 500 companies seem interested in developing their own version of Web3.&nbsp;</p>



<p>Ultimately most would be against a dystopian future, and it&#8217;s certainly a reality many fear. As the giants of Web2 try to navigate their path into Web3, we can only hope that the original ethos behind Web3 holds true, that of trust, community, transparency and the creation of a new way for humans to interact and trade globally that has not existed before. </p>



<p>The Web3 way of thinking does not mesh well with Facebook&#8217;s reputation of surveillance and centralization and it seems likely that younger generations will naturally reject closed, corporately controlled metaverses in preference for decentralized, interoperable ones&#8230; Time will tell&#8230;</p>



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Meta shared his vision and future plans for his metaverse. This raised many concerns about a possible digital dystopia.

Facebook’s Meta Labeled Dystopian?


<p>As AMC’s The Walking Dead, the insanely popular series begins its final season on Sunday, October 2, 2022,visionary studio Orange Comet, a world class NFT company, is preparing the crypto world for the continuation of the series and its multifaceted storylines in a P2E Metaverse called “T<em>he Walking Dead Lands Universe</em>.” </p>



<p>Orange Comet, <strong>starting on Wednesday, October 5th at 12:00 noon Pacific Time</strong>, will launch a mint for 5,000&nbsp; 3-Dimensional NFT Avatars of some of the main characters of The Walking Dead. These 5000 NFTs are the final piece to the P2E gamification of the upcoming metaverse. Will you be one of the&nbsp; lucky souls to obtain one of these amazing pieces and be on your way to setting up shop in the The Walking Dead Lands NFT universe?</p>



<h2>The Walking Dead NFT: Previous Drops</h2>



<p><a href="https://orangecomet.com/collection/the-walking-dead-opensea" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The Walking Dead NFT Collection </a>by Orange Comet, is hosted on OpenSea on the Ethereum blockchain. <a href="https://orangecomet.com/collection/the-walking-dead/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">The list of NFTs previously minted from Orange Comet’s&nbsp; The Walking Dead NFT</a> Collection include:</p>



<ul><li>The Walker Access Pass &#8211; a “front of the line” ticket to free airdrops, allow list access and exclusive mints.</li><li>Deeds of Virtual Land in The Walking Dead Lands Universe.&nbsp;</li><li>An Array of Unique Motorcycles modeled on elements from the Walking Dead Series&nbsp;</li><li>Degenerative Walkers &#8211; a special breed of walkers that the mysterious CRM group has experimented on. Stage one degenerates into a new Stage 2 Walker and that to Stage 3.&nbsp; At the end of the degeneration HODLERS will have 4 NFTs for the price of one. What are their powers?&nbsp; We know one thing: these Walkers will be helpful in the upcoming Metaverse.</li></ul>



<p>These mints are no longer available from Orange Comet. However, these highly-coveted NFTs can sometimes be found on the secondary market on OpenSea so it’s worth looking into if you’re dying for one.</p>



<h2>The Walking Dead Avatars</h2>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img loading="lazy" width="975" height="539" src="http://100.96.1.66:3001/app/uploads/2022/10/the-walking-dead-NFT-avatar.jpg" alt="the walking dead NFT avatar" class="wp-image-67282" srcset="http://100.96.1.66:3001/app/uploads/2022/10/the-walking-dead-NFT-avatar.jpg 975w, http://100.96.1.66:3001/app/uploads/2022/10/the-walking-dead-NFT-avatar-300x166.jpg 300w, http://100.96.1.66:3001/app/uploads/2022/10/the-walking-dead-NFT-avatar-768x425.jpg 768w" sizes="(max-width: 975px) 100vw, 975px" /><figcaption><em>The Walking Dead Lands &#8211; 3D Avatars</em></figcaption></figure></div>



<p>One of the main elements of this universe is <a href="https://orangecomet.com/collection/twd-lands-avatars/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">the Walking Dead characters being represented as avatars</a> that will help guide you through the upcoming Metaverse! Essential&nbsp;to interaction with the elements of the virtual Walking Dead NFT world, these avatars have been handcrafted in 3D. This first wave of NFTs will represent the most emblematic characters of the series (Michonne and her pets, Mercer, Rick Grimes, Carol Peletier, Daryl Dixon&#8230;) and others are also planned. Imagine, playing in the TWD Lands Universe with Daryl Dixon as your guide? Or maybe tough as nails Carol Peletier to help you?&nbsp; Many things can be possible in the upcoming metaverse.</p>



<p>There will be 10,000 NFTs for this project, which will be minted in two categories: </p>



<ul><li>A 5000 pieces public mint</li><li>A 5000 pieces exclusive tiered mint reserved only for holders of the Walker Access Pass.</li></ul>



<p>Several levels of rarity will be available, but to be guaranteed access to a rare NFT, you must be present 24 hours before the allow list and the public list go live.&nbsp;</p>



<h2>Information About the Walking Dead Avatar Mint</h2>



<p>The Walking Dead Avatar mint will be divided into two parts. The first mint is reserved for existing Walker Access Pass holders and the second mint is open to the public. The price is set at $80 (adjusted in ETH at the time of sale) and the date will be October 5th 2022.</p>



<p>Depending on the number of Walker Access Passes held in the wallet, the time for mint will be different. Those wallets that hold 5 or more Walker Access Passes at the time of the snapshot will get <strong>24 hours</strong> to mint their Avatar NFTs. A pass will allow you to interact with an Avatar (so 5 passes, 5 avatars). These holders will also benefit from a discount of 0.02 ETH over the $80.00 public price.</p>



<p>For owners of 4 Walker Access or less, the mint opening window will be 6 hours and will also have a discount of 0.02 ETH for mint. Finally, during the last two hours of the allow list, Walker Access holders will be able to interact with as many NFTs as they wish.</p>



<p>Regarding the public sale, the reduction of 0.02 ETH will continue to apply for holders of the Access Pass but the mint will be open to all until the supply is exhausted.&nbsp;</p>



<p>For more information on this exciting drop visit: <a href="https://orangecomet.com/collection/twd-lands-avatars/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Website</a> &#8211; <a href="https://twitter.com/orangecometnft" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Twitter</a> &#8211; <a href="https://discord.gg/orangecomet" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Discord</a></p>



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The world was introduced to Walkers on Halloween night 11 years ago this year via AMC’s the Walking Dead.  Since February 2022, ‘Walkers’ have inhabited Web3, wreaking havoc and terrifying everyone in their quest for consumption and destruction. 

The Walking Dead NFT Universe Expands With New 3D Character Avatars


<p>The esports sector has experienced strong growth around the world during the past decade, with the sector becoming worth more than a billion dollars in 2021. One ongoing issue is the revenue that is generated by this industry suffers unfair distribution. A very large part is recovered by sponsors while gaming streamers get the smallest part of the cake and on the other hand the fan community doesn&#8217;t get anything at all.</p>



<p>Can NFTs change that? This is what Heroez wants to do by proposing a new way to create community around esports.</p>



<h2>Who is behind Heroez?</h2>



<p><a href="https://heroez.gg/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Heroez</a> wants to place players and especially their community at the center of their project. The founders come from the world of gaming and so can better identify and respond to the problems of the gamers universe. The team is composed of:</p>



<ul><li>General Manager : Remy Bompar</li><li>CMO : Loïc Bompar</li><li>Art Director : Theo Nicolas</li><li>CTO : Nicolas Senecal</li><li>COO : Black Sheep</li></ul>



<p>To be able to support them in this project, Heroez made several partnerships with The Sandbox, Polygon Studio and Gamerhash, to provide external advice with a team of eight advisors who will also be present.</p>



<h2>What is the Heroez Project?</h2>



<p>The project was born in June 2022 and has several objectives. The first of these is to decentralize the governance of esports teams through a collection of 3000 NFTs. These NFTs will make it possible to vote on the choices that relate to the strategies and direction the team will take in the future. Because that&#8217;s the first thing Heroez is all about: <a href="https://heroez.notion.site/heroez/Heroez-reshaping-esport-with-a-web3-native-club-81c4f86484d14f21948f6793b2308903" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">federating esports teams under the banner of &#8220;Web3&#8221;</a>, all with a governance that is looking to be as horizontal as possible.</p>



<p>One of Heroez&#8217;s other goals is to highlight the value that fans represent. To allow this synergy between players and fans, a DAO will be created to allow NFT holders to organize themselves and propose governance choices.</p>



<p>In a community-based way, <a href="https://heroez.gg/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Heroez</a> seeks to create a new form of esports team management that is more respectful of fan opinion while removing unnecessary fees and trusted third parties.</p>



<h2>Benefits of Heroez NFTs</h2>



<div class="wp-block-image"><figure class="aligncenter size-full"><img loading="lazy" width="500" height="498" src="http://100.96.1.66:3001/app/uploads/2022/09/heroez-NFT-lightsaber.jpg" alt="heroez NFT lightsaber" class="wp-image-67165" srcset="http://100.96.1.66:3001/app/uploads/2022/09/heroez-NFT-lightsaber.jpg 500w, http://100.96.1.66:3001/app/uploads/2022/09/heroez-NFT-lightsaber-300x300.jpg 300w, http://100.96.1.66:3001/app/uploads/2022/09/heroez-NFT-lightsaber-150x150.jpg 150w" sizes="(max-width: 500px) 100vw, 500px" /></figure></div>



<p>Heroez NFTs will have the primary purpose of creating a link between players and fans but they will also allow owners to obtain other benefits. Here is a small non-exhaustive list:</p>



<ul><li>Exclusive commercial rights on the assets.</li><li>Access to Heroez physical and metaverse gaming house, and to esport centers worldwide thanks to exclusive partnerships.</li><li>Be eligible for airdrops as per the roadmap.</li><li>Walk around in the metaverse thanks to the 3D assets.</li><li>Access private events all around the globe.</li></ul>



<p>Far from being limited to the virtual universe, many advantages will therefore be reserved for holders in the real world too. The fact that the commercial rights of the assets accrue to the holders of NFTs will allow them greater freedom if they want to develop their own brand in the future.</p>



<h2>The next steps for Heroez</h2>



<p>First of all, the first step to watch out for will be the mint that will take place on September 27th 2022. This collection will be the cornerstone of the rest of the project and the first decision will be submitted to the DAO very soon after the mint. This decision will concern the first game on which Heroez teams will play.</p>



<p>Here are the next steps of the project :&nbsp;</p>



<ul><li>Recruitment of players on the chosen game(s)</li><li>Search for sponsors</li><li>Participation in the first tournaments/scrims</li><li>Constitution of the DAO Councils</li><li>Implementation of a payment system in Fiat to prepare for wave 2 and to welcome the communities of our future players.</li><li>Developing the Sandbox Experience</li><li>Development of the Merch Heroez with our partnership with Fulllife</li></ul>



<p>Otherwise, several partnerships have already been made with the biggest gaming projects in the web3 industry. The innovation that Heroez wants to bring to the world of esports is ambitious but far from impossible given the skills of the founders.</p>



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<p></p>


As blockchain gaming in video games have opened up new possibilities for the world of gaming, we ask, is esports changing thanks to web3?

Shaping Web3 E-sport with Heroez

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