by Thea Engst, Exhibit City News
In the age of advances in virtual reality and the metaverse, it’s hard to not get excited about what the next few years—and beyond—hold for this groundbreaking field. Li Jackson, ECN Editor, sat down with the founder and creator of one of the pioneers in the metaverse today, John Rogers of AvaWorld, to discuss AvaWorld’s recent hosting of a metaverse tradeshow. (You read that correctly.) Plus, how AvaWorld was born, where it’s headed, and how this will impact the future of tradeshows.
The metaverse of AvaWorld was escalated like many current trends: from COVID-19. It’s no secret that the pandemic took a toll on the event and tradeshow industry. And sadly, virtual tradeshows during that time were nothing like the real thing. They lacked the personal touch, the face-to-face interaction. But with AvaWorld and other metaverse platforms like it, business owners can build their store from the ground up, own it, sell from it, and even integrate their pre-existing appsand software. This technology can, and will, evolve the tradeshow industry in more ways than one.
“AvaWorld is a platform with over 21 metaverses,” Rogers told us, “It’s a destination for education, entertainment, andsolutions. The purpose is to create a space that serves communities so we serve small businesses, schools, creatives—a musician can have their own world where they perform for guests, they can sell NFTs and even merchandise.” (That’s right, physical merchandise can be sent from the metaverse.) This means that a student can learn from a class that was taught across the country and someone who doesn’t have the funds for a passport or a plane ticket can see the Sphinx in Egypt or trekthe Ring Road of Iceland. “I started this project because I wanted to give a child the ability to look at Switzerland, experience Paris—then their minds start to churn on how they can get there and what they can contribute to society once they get there.” John told us.
AvaWorld is a B2B company differentiated by its focus on arts, education, and the technology that goes into keeping it running called Iconic Engine. Unlike the platform formerly known as Facebook—Meta, which requires goggles, AvaWorldcasts a wider net. All you need is a phone or headset to step into the metaverse that AvaWorld enables you to create. And what’s more? You build it, you own it. Full stop. It’s your data, your users, your policies, and your rules. You can even create your own form of currency—like gems, tokens, sand dollars—which translates to your country’s currency in a way that you dictate. For example: 5 gems equate to $10USD in your store, but next door, 20 sand dollars is $5USD in my store.
In comparison to an online retailer like Amazon, AvaWorldis more expensive to build as you get started, but you never pay them a fee per sale. You can put on a concert and sell t-shirts, sell an NFT of your artwork or create a virtual brick and mortar for your crocheted plants—all the profits go to you. Consider it the cheapest rent with lowest utility cost you’re ever going to get. (With little to no carbon footprint.)
And how does this impact the tradeshow industry? Well, in April 2023, AvaWorld put all their tech to work by reserving a suite nearby, but not in, NAB. They went to NAB and invited VIPs to their suite, where those folks were asked to try out the metaverse through AvaWorld for themselves. The results? A lot less money spent, a lot of excellent first-impressions, and perhaps—the first step in a new way to execute tradeshows. All done sustainably.
So, as we move towards the next innovation in the metaverse, we can also stop and consider the impact not only on our wallets, but on the planet. Events that produce waste and require energy and emissions can now be done from the comfort of homes and offices, all in the palm of your hand. Is the future meta? We think so, in one way or another.
Read full article in our 3rd Quarter Issue HERE .
